Language, Ethnic Identity and the State [Paperback]

This new study powerfully asserts the pivotal importance of the interplay between language and ethnicity, which is often underestimated as a component for political stability.

These leading scholars present five key case studies of South Africa, Algeria, Canada, Latvia and Senegal. All five countries are multilingual nations where language has been a central political issue that has challenged their unity and stability.

These studies are underpinned by two general, comparative and theoretical discussions, which analyse how scholars consider social class and economic factors to be the primary sources for political cohesion or of malcontent with the system and the new avenues opened by a focus on issues of langauge.

This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of linguistics, language, politics and sociology.

This is a special issue of the leading journal Nationalism and Ethnic Politics.

Introduction: the Political aspects of Language, William Safran

Minority Languages and Globalization, J.A. Laponce

The Rise and Possible Demise of Afrikaans as Public Language, Hermann Giliomee

Language and Politics in Algeria, Mohamed Benrabah

The Limits of Bilingualism in Canada, Linda Cardinal

Ethnic Politics and the Soviet Legacy in Latvian Post-communist Education: The Place of Language, Fredrika Bjornlund

Senegalese into Frenchmen ? the French Technology of Nationalism in Senegal, Nancy Kwang Johnson

William Safranis Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado and Editor-in-chief of the journal Nationalism and Ethnic Politics.

Jean A. Laponce is professor of political science l³„