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Language Policy and Social Inequality: Managing Conflict

James W. Tollefson International Christian University

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Globalization

Interconnection & global interaction

Knowledge generation and transmission: Intense, rapid, virtually instantaneous

Two essential tools: technology & English

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Key Questions about English

1. Is the spread of English cultural and linguistic imperialism or is it the democratization of an elitist resource?

2. Is English a tool for economic exploitation or a tool for full participation in the world capitalist system?

3. Does the spread of English lead to displacement of other languages?

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Rise of Ethnolinguistic Nationalism

Groups mobilized along ethnolinguistic lines

1. Conflict between the state and ethnolinguistic minorities

2. Conflict among ethnolinguistic groups seeking to control state institutions

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Migration and Language

1. 13 million refugees2. 25 million internally displaced people3. Millions of economic migrants

Such as 11-12 million undocumented Latino migrants in the United States

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Theories of ethnolinguisticconflict

1. Language and ethnicity as primordial forces (“blind ferocity…orgies of passion,”van den Berghe, 1978)

2. Language as a surrogate for sources of inequality

3. Construction of ethnolinguistic identity and sociopolitical conflict

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Language Issues in Globalization

Integrative trend toward single international language (English)

Disintegrative trend toward ethnolinguisticnationalist movements

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Two Cases

1. Rise of ethnolinguistic nationalism: Yugoslavia

2. English in Malaysia

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Major Groups in YugoslaviaNationality Republic/Province

Slovene SloveniaCroat CroatiaMuslim BosniaSerb SerbiaMontenegrin MontenegroMacedonian MacedoniaAlbanian KosovoHungarian Vojvodina

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Languages in Yugoslavia

Serbo-Croatian (Serbian and Croatian)SloveneMacedonianAlbanianHungarianOthers (e.g., Italian)

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3 Language Policy Options3 Language Policy Options

Centralismdominant language in public useemphasis on national unity

Pluralismlanguage and cultural maintenanceemphasis on linguistic equality

Confederationautonomous units defined by language

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Language Rights under Pluralism

Official status for Serbian, Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene, Hungarian, Albanian (and other languages in local areas)Use multiple languages for education, government, courts, mass media, film, theatre, etc.

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2 Categories of Groups2 Categories of GroupsNATIONS

Serbs MacedoniansCroats MontenegrinsSlovenes Muslims

NATIONALITIESHungarians (Vojvodina)Albanians (Kosovo)ItaliansOthers

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RESCINDING PLURALISM: Slobodan Milošević

KOSOVO: The elimination of Albanian language rights in 1989

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Key Questions in Language PolicyKey Questions in Language Policy

What is the relationship between group and individual rights?

National rightsIndividual citizenship rights

What should be the basis for new states?Traditional borders / territory Ethnicity / nationality

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Nationalism and English in Malaysia

“Learning the English language will reinforce the spirit of nationalism when it is used to bring about development and progress for the country. . .True nationalism means doing everything for the country, even if it means learning the English language” (PM Mahathir, 1999).

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Language, Nationalism, and Globalization in Malaysia

“We believe that a nationalist is someone who has acquired all the knowledge and mastered all the skills and is capable of contesting against the rest of the world. But some Malaysians think that just being able to speak Malay makes you a nationalist, and that is wrong” (PM Mahathir, 2000).

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National Cultural Identity

“A national culture is a discourse – a way of constructing meaning which influences and organizes both our actions and our conceptions of ourselves. . .National cultures construct identities by producing meanings about the nation with which we can identify; these are contained in the stories which are told about it, memories that connect its present and its past images which are constructed of it” (S. Hall, 1996).

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Construction of National Cultural Identity

1. National spirit expressed in culture2. Historical memory3. Anticipated future and potential adversities/enemies4. Tradition and continuity of national character

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English Textbook in Korea“There are so many different languages in the world. Korean is the language of Korea and Japanese is the language of Japan…Is English especially important because it is spoken by so many different countries? What about Chinese which is spoken by the large number of people?. . .One language can be more important than another. . .Think of English, which has become an international language. However, the most important language to anyone is the language he uses in everyday life. To us Koreans, the mother tongue is Korean… Many Koreans think that Korean is better than any other language in the world. It is right for us to love our own language” (Yim, 2003).

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RESPONSES TO DIVERSITYRESPONSES TO DIVERSITY

Repress ethnolinguistic differences through centralism

Extend democratic pluralism

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Ethnolinguistic Nationalist MovementsEthnolinguistic Nationalist Movements

Bulgaria, Romania Spain, United Kingdom, Slovakia Turkey, Iran, Iraq Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, EthiopiaPakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, PhilippinesMexico, Guatemala

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Nationalism: Forms of Centralism and PluralismCentralism

Policies to favor the dominant language (Australia, UK)Official language laws (US)Immigration restrictions (France, Italy)Martial law & military action (Kosovo)

Pluralism- New discourses of the multilingual nation-state

Linking multilingualism and national identity (South Africa)Linking English to programs of national renewal

(Malaysia, South Korea)- Language maintenance and revival (Māori in New Zealand)