Regional economic development and language maintenance: is there evidence of policy integration?

While pursuing language policy objectives will often require interventions that cut across many different sectors, language policy research has not engaged with the notion of policy integration. In response, this article investigates policy integration by focusing on language policies that aim to maintain and revitalise regional or minority languages. Specifically it asks whether governments committed to language maintenance have succeeded in incorporating relevant linguistic considerations into policy-making in the key field of economic development. To address this question, an original content analysis framework is developed to examine economic development policy documents. It is then applied to the case of Wales, one of the UK’s devolved nations, to evaluate the extent to which consideration of the Welsh language has been integrated into recent economic development policy documents. Overall, the results reveal a mixed picture. While attention to the Welsh language increased in Welsh Government economic development strategies between 2002 and 2021, this trend has since reversed. Furthermore, the Welsh language remains a marginal consideration in policy documents produced by key sub-national economic bodies. The conclusion considers the implications of these findings for language maintenance efforts and reflects on the broader applicability of the analytical framework.