Language and Identity Politics

In an increasingly multicultural world, the relationship between language and identity remains a complicated and often fraught subject for most societies. The growing political salience of questions relating to language is evident not only in the expanded implementation of new policies and legislation, but also in heated public debates about national unity, collective identities, and the rights of linguistic minorities. By taking a comprehensive approach that considers both the inclusive and exclusive dimensions of linguistic identity across Europe and North America, the studies assembled here provide a sophisticated look at one of the global era’s defining political dynamics.

Christina Späti is Associate Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Fribourg and Dean of the Faculty of Historical Sciences at Universitäre Fernstudien Schweiz. Her research focuses on language politics in multilingual states, institutional and societal bilingualism, anti-Zionism and antisemitism, and 1968 in Western Europe.

“This is a very interesting and well-written volume that brings together a number of theoretical stances on multilingualism as well as empirically grounded case studies. The applied focus of examples from both North America and Europe ensure that the book will not be of interest to only linguists and policy-makers.” · Philip McDermott, University of Ulster

“This book is thought-provoking and thorough in its insights. It is a welcome addition to the existing literature on language and identity politics and introduces new case studies that have not been previously explored or compared.” · Bernadette O’Rourke, Heriot-Watt University