The Five-Minute Linguist - Bite-sized Essays on Language and Languages Third Edition - Caroline Myrick
45. Why Do People Fight Over Language?
The Five-Minute Linguist - Bite-sized Essays on Language and Languages Third Edition - Caroline Myrick
Paul B. Garrett [+]
Temple University
Paul B. Garrett is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Temple University and a linguistic anthropologist whose research focuses on the creole languages and cultures of the Caribbean. His other interests include language contact, ideologies of language, and interspecies communication.
Description
Language differences tend to be powerful markers of social, cultural, and political differences. Where there are conflicts over language, there are typically also struggles over territory, religion, political power, and other matters. Such conflicts may give rise to tensions that persist for many years, affecting the lives of millions on a daily basis. If they go unresolved, they may even lead to large-scale violence such as war and genocide.