Language ideologies and rhetorical structures in bilingual education policy and research: Richard Ruiz’s 1984 discursive turn

Richard Ruiz wrote “Orientations in Language Planning” in 1984, and it became an influential article in several language disciplines. How is it that this article became so popular and had such lasting impact? In order to answer this question, I undertook to understand the language political scene at the time, looked at his contribution within a continuing public dialogue, and assessed the impact of his contribution since 1984. Using methods from the history of ideas, testimonio, and rhetoric studies, I contextualized the article, analyzed its rhetorical structure, its impact over 30 years, and how it is currently being used in research and schooling. I found that a combination of factors contributed to its impact and lasting importance. It identified and focused on a critical juncture in the language planning field, thus promoting meta-model building in the field. His three orientations allowed for a political vocabulary for those in support of bilingual education. His timing of the article was key. Addressing the article to the broad, varied, committed communities of parents, teachers, administrators, researchers, policy makers, and other educational personnel through the NABE Journal, was key to making the several public ideologies visible. He also helped set future research and policy analytic directions.