1 Introduction

This article outlines the development process of language policy research, from early attention to the grammar and writing systems of indigenous languages, to the issue of language norms in the mid-20th century, to the "critical turn" in the 1980s, and in-depth exploration of the relationship between language policy and ideology in the 21st century. It specifically points out the four waves of language policy research, including language planning in the first wave, critical turning in the second wave, critical language policy research in the third wave, and language policy discourse research in the fourth wave. In the fourth wave, language policy is seen as discourse, a strategy for policy makers to participate in language management and governance. This study aims to explore the discourse characteristics of language policy, including practicality, historicity, and metadiscourse, and propose three dimensions for analyzing these characteristics. At the same time, the academic background of the research path of language policy discourse is discussed.

Academic background of the emergence of language policy discourse research

Explored the academic background of language policy discourse research and pointed out that this research path is developed on the basis of discourse research and sociolinguistic achievements. In the late 1970s, European scholars proposed the concept of "critical linguistics" to analyze ideology in the media. Subsequently, scholars such as Fairclough developed critical linguistics to the stage of critical discourse analysis and proposed various research methods. In the 21st century, critical discourse analysis has further developed, focusing on language use issues in social, political, and economic life, and emphasizing the study of social practices implemented by social activists through language. The new achievements and concepts in critical discourse research have had a significant impact on the study of language policy discourse in the 21st century, and are an expansion of theoretical understanding in the field of language policy and planning. The impact of critical discourse research on the research path of language policy discourse is multifaceted, including the understanding of "criticism", "discourse", "ideology", and "power relations", as well as the emphasis on interpreting the methods of social activists constructing identities and reproducing facts through specific discourse strategies based on text analysis. The research path of language policy discourse regards language policy as an ideology, believing that language policy not only reflects ideology, but also constructs, misappropriates, and contextualizes the value of language and the ideology of its users, guiding and regulating people's language choices. This research path focuses on explaining and analyzing the multi-level nature and impact of language policies, especially the influence of implicit language policies on language values and language choices. Through discourse analysis of various practical application forms of language policies from both structural and dynamic perspectives, it achieves theoretical interpretation of language policies.

The Discourse Characteristics of Three Language Policies

In the study of critical discourse, discourse has a dual meaning: firstly, as a language used in social life, and secondly, as rules that regulate the use of language. The practicality, historicity, and meta discursive characteristics of discourse make it a way for social subjects to participate in social activities through language, while also reconstructing historical events and regulating and controlling other discourses. Language policy discourse research regards language policy as a social practice with these discourse characteristics, focusing on its role in social interaction.

Analysis Dimensions of Language Policy Discourse Characteristics in Four Dimensions

Deeply explored the three analytical dimensions of language policy as discourse: text analysis, interaction analysis, and social analysis. The dimension of text analysis emphasizes the importance of linguistic analysis of language policy texts, such as systemic functional linguistics methods and corpus analysis methods, as well as the identification of discourse strategies. By analyzing texts such as the "National Standards for the Quality of Foreign Language and Literature Teaching", "Undergraduate Teaching Guidelines for English Majors", and "Undergraduate Teaching Guidelines for English Majors", the purpose, interpretation, and strategies in language policy texts are revealed.

5 Conclusion

This paper explores the research path of language policy discourse in the fourth wave of language policy research. Based on the tradition of critical discourse research, it emphasizes the three characteristics of language policy: practicality, historicity, and metadiscourse. Three dimensions were proposed for analyzing language policy discourse: textual characteristics, discourse interaction process, and role in social change. At the same time, it is pointed out that these features and dimensions are not unique, and further exploration is encouraged.