Writing regime change: a research agenda

This essay reviews some of the changes engendered by the digital turn in language attitudes and language behaviour. It compares the current nexus of technology and language with that of print capitalism and examines the dimensions of digital society that have been affected particularly strongly, paying special attention to social practices, Bourdieu’s notion of “legitimate language”, legal issues, and our general understanding of how language works. It concludes by proposing a new research agenda in the form of a list of topics that sociolinguistics should address in the future, in particular the role of language institutions in cyberspace, the future of multilingualism, and a reinterpretation of Bourdieu’s notion of “legitimate language”. The paper is intended as a contribution to the ongoing and increasingly urgent discussion about the nexus of cyberspace, deliberative democracy, and multilingualism.