Language Policy And Conflict Prevention

Language Policy and Conflict Prevention analyses the components of a balanced language policy with a view to reducing conflict potential. It draws upon contributions from experts working for the OSCE HCNM, Council of Europe, UN as well as leading academics.

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 selected articles compiled in the present volume are based on contributions prepared for the 17th International L.A.U.D. (Linguistic Agency University of Duisburg) Symposium held at the University of Duisburg on 23-27 March 1992. The 13 papers in this book focus on problems and issues of intercultural communication. The first part is devoted to theoretical aspects related to the interaction of language and culture and deals with the issue from anthropological, cognitive, and linguistic points of view. Part II raises issues of language policy and language planning such as the manipulation of language in intercultural contact; it includes case studies pertaining to multilingual settings, for example in Africa, Australia, Melanesia, and Europe. The volume opens with a foreword by Dell H. Hymes.

TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing.

The end of the twentieth- and beginning of the twenty-first centuries have witnessed a large scale increase in demands for international peace keeping mechanisms. Because of a complex history of spread and power, English has become the de facto lingua franca of international communication and negotiation, and the inevitable accompaniment to this is the growth in hostility against the perceived imperialism of the English language. This book argues that the growth of English(es) as a lingua franca has the potential to foster closer bonds between communities, countries and continents. Using the background methodology of Peace Studies, Patricia Friedrich applies political theory to linguistic evidence, to show how English can be instrumental both in the restoration of peace and in the building of social justice. In this analysis, the language classroom emerges as a central site in conflict prevention. A fascinating, innovative study of the place of the English language in the modern world, this book will be of interest to academics researching applied linguistics or world Englishes.

Emphasising the significance of foreign languages at the centre of war and conflict, this book argues that 'foreignness' and foreign languages are key to our understanding of what happens in war. Through case studies the book traces the role of languages in intelligence, military deployment, soldier/civilian meetings, occupation and peace building.

The Routledge Handbook of Language Policy and Planning is a comprehensive and authoritative survey, including original contributions from leading senior scholars and rising stars to provide a basis for future research in language policy and planning in international, national, regional, and local contexts. The Handbook approaches language policy as public policy that can be studied through the policy cycle framework. It offers a systematic and research-informed view of actual processes and methods of design, implementation, and evaluation. With a substantial introduction, 38 chapters and an extensive bibliography, this Handbook is an indispensable resource for all decision makers, students, and researchers of language policy and planning within linguistics and cognate disciplines such as public policy, economics, political science, sociology, and education.

The contribution of this collection of articles is to construct an updated picture of languages and language policy in and around Afghanistan, and give potential language learners a clearer picture of what kinds of resources exist, and what is still needed. The book was co-edited by Brian Spooner, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania.