Language Problems and Language Planning - Online First

This study employs Lindblom’ s incrementalism theory to analyze Vietnam’ s language policy evolution from 1945 to the present, emphasizing its dual focus on stability and adaptive incrementalism. Post-independence reforms, such as the National Literacy Campaign (1945–1950s), eradicated pre-independence period scripts like Chữ Nôm chatacters, achieving rapid linguistic unification but disrupting cultural continuity. Subsequent phases — including language purification (1960s) and standardization (1979–1990s) — shifted toward incremental adjustments, balancing nationalist agendas with globalization demands. The 1986 Đổi Mới reforms further prioritized English for economic integration while marginalizing minority languages through bilingual education. Vietnam’ s policies reflect a path dependence on colonial and nationalist legacies, yet demonstrate strategic adaptation to global pressures. Incrementalism enabled controlled reforms, maintaining socio-political cohesion through Vietnamese dominance while cautiously addressing minority language attrition and foreign language needs. This approach challenges binary views of post-colonial policy as either radical rupture or passive continuity, and illustrates how gradual adjustments reconcile cultural sovereignty with globalization. The study highlights incrementalism’ s utility in managing multilingual societies, advocating for policies that balance majority-language promotion with endangered language revitalization. It offers insights for nations navigating linguistic inequality and cultural preservation amid globalization.

This article examines how targeted investment in Arabic linguistic infrastructure, coupled with coordinated language planning, can strengthen cognitive sovereignty — understood as the capacity to produce, circulate, and validate knowledge through Arabic at high levels of scientific complexity. Using Saudi Arabia as a case study and drawing on comparative lessons from CLARIN (Europe), U.S. Language Resource Centres, and selected revitalisation and digital-sovereignty initiatives, the analysis maps Saudi interventions across language technology, corpus and terminology development, higher-education reform, and institutional governance. It then proposes an evaluative framework for estimating the cognitive return on linguistic investment through measurable KPIs (bibliometric, educational, digital-usage, and innovation indicators). To support practical uptake, the paper outlines a staged implementation pathway — baseline measurement, limited pilots in priority domains, and iterative refinement through an annual dashboard — so indicators can be tested, validated, and scaled. The study concludes with policy recommendations for positioning Arabic as a strategic knowledge asset and for enabling regional collaboration on shared infrastructure and standards.