Description
Book SynopsisNon-linguistic conflicts - economic, religious, territorial - are often projected on to language differences, and may be played out in the language policies of governments and other holders of power. Jean-Louis Calvet deals broadly, in a non-technical and introductory style, with this interaction of language issues and political process. He examines the fundamental problems arising from language contact, multilingualism, and the conflicts caused by inequalities symbolized in various patterns of language use. The author draws extensively on his own research and uses numerous case studies to illustrate the power-political dimensions of language policies from many parts of the world, such as Africa, China, South America, the former Soviet Union, and Europe. He cites the former Soviet Union as a prime example of an attempt to impose, for ideological reasons, a supra-national vehicular language, in order to supersede the languages of regional nationalism. Professor Calvet offers no simple solutions to the `war of languages'' but urges all those involved in language intervention - from the professional `language planners'' to school teachers - to combine the need to promote majority languages with respect for the diversity of local languages and language varieties.
Trade ReviewNontechnical and interesting, it is addressed to nonspecialists and is recommended for all academic and public collections. * G. R. Wasserman, CHOICE *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ; PART I: THE ORIGINS OF CONFLICT ; 1. The Question of Origins ; 2. Religions and Language ; 3. A Multilingual World ; 4. Ideologists of Superiority ; PART II: THE BATTLEFIELD ; 5. Lingua Francas and Vernaculars ; 6. The Family as a Battlefield ; 7. Markets and Languages ; 8. Lingua Francas ; 9. The Death of Languages ; PART III: AMONG THE ADMINISTRATORS ; 10. Language Policy and Planning: First Approach ; 11. Case Studies: The Management of Multilingualism ; 12. Case Studies: Language Planning and Nationalism ; 13. Case Study: The Language Struggle of the Jivaro of Ecuador ; 14. The War of Writing ; 15. The War of Words ; 16. Trench Warfare: The Case of French ; 17. The Pacifist Illusion and Esperanto ; Conclusion
