ABSTRACT
Although some aspects of language policy, such as the introduction of 11 official languages in the Republic of South Africa, have been undertaken by linguists working in those regions, in other counties there is less interest in such topics. In Mozambique, where the research presented in this chapter took place, language remains a critical barrier to justice for many people. This chapter will demonstrate how research into language policy can also encompass the investigation of practical linguistic issues that linguists are well-placed to address. The mechanism for this multifaceted approach is field interviews with stakeholders – a tool typically associated with policy research, but which can be used to identify very specific linguistic issues, as was the case with the research reported here.
