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Language and Nationalism in Europe
This volume examines the role of language in the present and past creation of social, cultural, and national identities in Europe, considering the way in which language may sometimes reinforce national identity (as in England) while tending to subvert the nation-state (as in the United Kingdom).
The book describes the interactive roles of language, ethnicity, culture, and institutions in the character and formation of nationalism and identity throughout Europe. A select team of international contributors consider various questions drawing on evidence from the majority of European countries.
The book concludes with a consideration of the current relative status of the languages of Europe and how these and the identities they reflect are changing and evolving.
The book describes the interactive roles of language, ethnicity, culture, and institutions in the character and formation of nationalism and identity throughout Europe. A select team of international contributors consider various questions drawing on evidence from the majority of European countries.
The book concludes with a consideration of the current relative status of the languages of Europe and how these and the identities they reflect are changing and evolving.
332 pages, Hardcover
First published December 14, 2000
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September 14, 2016
Brilliant. The pieces selected are all of great quality, and came together to paint a very diverse picture of the complex interplay of language and nationalism in Europe.
Linguistic imperialism, the deliberate suppression of minority linguistic identities to support simplistic 'one-nation one-language' dogma is one of the hallmarks of European nationalism, a practice that post-colonial states in other parts of the world were quick to mimic. Legal sanctions against usage of minority languages has wrecked havoc on Celtic languages everywhere, though perhaps most poignantly in Ireland - addressed in Stephen Barbour's second article. The French frenzy to invent a monolithic national identity around the language traditionally only spoken in Île-de-France virtually erased the minority languages of France - described engagingly in Anne Judge's piece. Carlo Ruzza's piece talks of the same phenomenon in Italy - with the crucial difference that because of the late standardization of 'Italian' (or Tuscanese, rather) and relatively low levels of literacy, 'homogenization' was not nearly as complete . Movements for autonomy in regions with distinct linguistic heritage, therefore, continued with a vigour that is no longer to be seen in France. The 12th article, by Cathie Carmichael, brings in the idea of how specific historical events have had repercussions on language policy, and therefore the systemic repression of Russian in nations that still live in Russia's shadow continues till date.
While it ideally takes complete books to convey the nuances of the phenomenon in particular regional contexts, this is the by far the best resource I've come across of similar scope and length.
Linguistic imperialism, the deliberate suppression of minority linguistic identities to support simplistic 'one-nation one-language' dogma is one of the hallmarks of European nationalism, a practice that post-colonial states in other parts of the world were quick to mimic. Legal sanctions against usage of minority languages has wrecked havoc on Celtic languages everywhere, though perhaps most poignantly in Ireland - addressed in Stephen Barbour's second article. The French frenzy to invent a monolithic national identity around the language traditionally only spoken in Île-de-France virtually erased the minority languages of France - described engagingly in Anne Judge's piece. Carlo Ruzza's piece talks of the same phenomenon in Italy - with the crucial difference that because of the late standardization of 'Italian' (or Tuscanese, rather) and relatively low levels of literacy, 'homogenization' was not nearly as complete . Movements for autonomy in regions with distinct linguistic heritage, therefore, continued with a vigour that is no longer to be seen in France. The 12th article, by Cathie Carmichael, brings in the idea of how specific historical events have had repercussions on language policy, and therefore the systemic repression of Russian in nations that still live in Russia's shadow continues till date.
While it ideally takes complete books to convey the nuances of the phenomenon in particular regional contexts, this is the by far the best resource I've come across of similar scope and length.
Displaying 1 of 1 review