The Politics of Language : Conflict, Identity, and Cultural Pluralism in Comparative Perspective

The Politics of Language : Conflict, Identity, and Cultural Pluralism in Comparative Perspective PDF Author: Carol L. Schmid Professor of Sociology Guilford Technical Community College
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195350219
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
Important aspects of the history of language in the United States remain shrouded in myth and legend. The notion of "one nation, one language" is part of the idealized history of the United States, although in its short history it has probably been host to more bilingual people than any other country in the world. Language is more than a means of communication. It brings into play an entire range of experiences and attitudes toward life. Furthermore, language is a potent symbolic issue because it links power and political claims of ownership with psychological demands for group worth. How people belonging to different language and cultural communities live together in the same political community and how political and structural tensions arise to divide them along language lines, are questions addressed in The Politics of Language. This book analyzes the historical background and recent controversy over language in the United States and compares it to two official multilingual societies: Canada and Switzerland. It's accessibility as a survey of this topic makes it ideal for courses in linguistics, political science, and sociology.

The Politics of Language : Conflict, Identity, and Cultural Pluralism in Comparative Perspective

The Politics of Language : Conflict, Identity, and Cultural Pluralism in Comparative Perspective PDF Author: Carol L. Schmid Professor of Sociology Guilford Technical Community College
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195350219
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Get Book

Book Description
Important aspects of the history of language in the United States remain shrouded in myth and legend. The notion of "one nation, one language" is part of the idealized history of the United States, although in its short history it has probably been host to more bilingual people than any other country in the world. Language is more than a means of communication. It brings into play an entire range of experiences and attitudes toward life. Furthermore, language is a potent symbolic issue because it links power and political claims of ownership with psychological demands for group worth. How people belonging to different language and cultural communities live together in the same political community and how political and structural tensions arise to divide them along language lines, are questions addressed in The Politics of Language. This book analyzes the historical background and recent controversy over language in the United States and compares it to two official multilingual societies: Canada and Switzerland. It's accessibility as a survey of this topic makes it ideal for courses in linguistics, political science, and sociology.

Pluralism and the Politics of Difference

Pluralism and the Politics of Difference PDF Author: R. D. Grillo
Publisher: Clarendon Press
ISBN: 0191522236
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Is a plural, polyethnic, democratic society possible? Starting with Ernest Gellner's observation that `culturally plural societies worked well in the past', but `genuine cultural pluralism ceases to be viable under current conditions', this study explores pluralism in three settings; early states, modern industrial societies, and the contemporary `postmodern' world. Through a nuanced discussion ranging from pre-colonial Africa and Mesoamerica, to European and American experiences in the twentieth century, Grillo explores the ways in which different social and political forms cope with ethnic and cultural diversity. The study uncovers a range of different kinds of pluralism, from out-and-out separatism, through varieties of multiculturalism, to looser forms of `hybridity'. Rather than advocating one configuration over another, this important new book outlines the range of choices facing our societies as, moving into the twenty-first century, we try to reconcile the competing demands of universalism and difference.

Language Policy & Identity In The U.S.

Language Policy & Identity In The U.S. PDF Author: Ronald Schmidt
Publisher: Temple University Press
ISBN: 1439906092
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
An engaging discussion about the use of English and other languages in the United States.

Language and Identity Politics

Language and Identity Politics PDF Author: Christina Späti
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1782389431
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
In an increasingly multicultural world, the relationship between language and identity remains a complicated and often fraught subject for most societies. The growing political salience of questions relating to language is evident not only in the expanded implementation of new policies and legislation, but also in heated public debates about national unity, collective identities, and the rights of linguistic minorities. By taking a comprehensive approach that considers both the inclusive and exclusive dimensions of linguistic identity across Europe and North America, the studies assembled here provide a sophisticated look at one of the global era’s defining political dynamics.

Language, Identity and Conflict

Language, Identity and Conflict PDF Author: Diarmait Mac Giolla Chríost
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134512015
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
This innovative study of language and identity in recent and contemporary cases of ethnic conflict in Europe and Eurasia sets out a response to the limitations in the fields of linguistics and political science. Using examples of language policy and planning in conflict situations, it examines the functions of language as a marker of identity in ethnic conflict, and the extent to which language may be a causal factor in ethnic conflict.

The Rising Tide of Cultural Pluralism

The Rising Tide of Cultural Pluralism PDF Author: Crawford Young
Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Press
ISBN: 9780299138844
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
Two decades after the publication of his prize-winning book, The Politics of Cultural Pluralism, Crawford Young and a distinguished panel of contributors assess the changing impact of cultural pluralism on political processes around the world, specifically in the former Soviet Union, China, United States, India, Ethiopia, and Guatemala. The result is an arresting look at the dissolution of the nation-state system as we have known it. Crawford Young opens with an overview of the dramatic rise in the political significance of cultural pluralism and of scholars' changing understanding of what drives and shapes ethnic identification. Mark Beissinger brilliantly explains the demise of the last great empire-state, the USSR, while Edward Friedman notes growing challenges to the apparent cultural homogeneity of China. Nader Entessar suggests intriguing contrasts in Azeri identity politics in Iran and the ex-USSR. Ronald Schmidt and Noel Kent explore the language and racial dimensions of the rising multicultural currents in the United States. Douglas Spitz shows the extent of the decline of the old secular vision of India of the independence generation; Alan LeBaron traces the recent emergence of an assertive Mayan identity among a submerged populace in Guatemala, long thought to be destined for Ladinoization. A case study of the diversity and uncertain future of Ethiopia dramatically emerges from four contrasting contributions: Tekle Woldemikael looks at the potential cultural tensions in Eritrea, Solomon Gashaw offers a central Ethiopian nationalist perspective, Herbert Lewis reflects the perspectives of a restless and disaffected periphery, and James Quirin provides an arresting explanation of the construction of identity amongst the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews). Virginia Sapiro steps back from specific regions, offering an original analysis of the interaction between cultural pluralism and gender.

Arabic in the Fray

Arabic in the Fray PDF Author: Yasir Suleiman
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 0748680322
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
The pre-modern period saw a background of inter-ethnic strife among Arabs and non-Arabs, mainly Persians. Starting from the symbolic and cognitive roles of language, Yasir Suleiman shows how discussions about the inimitability and (un)translatability of the Qur'an in this period were, at some deep level, concerned with issues of ethnic election. In this respect, theology and ethnicity emerge as partners in theorising language. Staying within the symbolic role of language, Suleiman goes on to investigate the role of paratexts and literary production in disseminating language ideologies and in cultural contestation. He shows how language symbolism is relevant to ideological debates about hybrid and cross-national literary production in the Arab milieu. In fact, language ideology appears to be everywhere, and a whole chapter is devoted to discussions of the cognitive role of language in linking thought to reality.

Language and Minority Rights

Language and Minority Rights PDF Author: Stephen May
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136837078
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 450

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Book Description
The Second Edition of this award-winning volume in the field of language rights and language policy is a timely and useful revision of its core arguments and examples, addressing new theoretical and empirical developments since its initial publication.

Nationalism, Language, and Muslim Exceptionalism

Nationalism, Language, and Muslim Exceptionalism PDF Author: Tristan James Mabry
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812246918
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
Drawing on fieldwork in Iraq, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, Nationalism, Language, and Muslim Exceptionalism compares the politics of six Muslim separatist movements, locating shared language and print culture as a central factor in Muslim ethnonational identity.

Minority Languages in Europe

Minority Languages in Europe PDF Author: G. Hogan-Brun
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230502997
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
Minority languages in Europe, as part of a common cultural heritage, need protection. The contributions to this book reflect urgent, stimulating and productive debates among researchers in sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, politics and sociology, and among language activists and policy makers. At the heart of the debate are the effectiveness of the existing political and legal frameworks aimed at protecting linguistic and cultural diversity, and prospects for the survival of minority languages in the process of European integration.