From linguistics to litigation: Reflections on the legal aspects of reversing language shift
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François Viangalli
Abstract
The Corsican language is in a paradoxical situation characterized, on the one hand, by a decline in its use which is directly related to strong political action by the French Republic in favour of a complete centralization of the language in the country – which began in the middle of the nineteenth century as regards Corsica in particular – and, on the other hand, by a strong political desire, expressed by a large majority of the population and carried out by the Corsican Assembly, to initiate a real program of linguistic revitalization in order to grant the language of the island an official status. This situation enlightens the linguistic tension hidden behind the official monolingualism that the French Constitution enacts. It constitutes a real challenge for the State, on both political and legal grounds. This article expounds, from a political and legal point of view, especially in municipal, international and European law, the different obstacles such a desire for a revitalization will encounter, as well as the potential legal disputes that could emerge from it, on the base of the European Convention on Human Rights or European Union law.
References
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© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction. The Corsican language: A singular, concerning and uncertain situation. Assessment and future challenges
- “Corsican sociolinguistics”: Key words and concepts of a cross-linguistic theory
- Elaboration, distanciation, polynomie: naissance et feux croisés de la sociolinguistique corse
- La langue polynomique, le concept phare de l’appareil critique corse
- Language ideologies and linguistic representations: Two lenses for a critical analysis of polynomie in Corsica
- Réévaluer le conflit diglossique en Corse: apports et dépassements de la sociolinguistique du conflit
- Chestnut beer, Corsica-Cola, and wine bottles: The commodification of Corsican in the linguistic and semiotic landscapes of the island’s drinks industry
- How language becomes a political issue: Social change, collective movements and political competition in Corsica
- Public policy for the Corsican language: From revitalisation to normalisation?
- From linguistics to litigation: Reflections on the legal aspects of reversing language shift
- Book Review
- Histoire sociale des langues de France
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction. The Corsican language: A singular, concerning and uncertain situation. Assessment and future challenges
- “Corsican sociolinguistics”: Key words and concepts of a cross-linguistic theory
- Elaboration, distanciation, polynomie: naissance et feux croisés de la sociolinguistique corse
- La langue polynomique, le concept phare de l’appareil critique corse
- Language ideologies and linguistic representations: Two lenses for a critical analysis of polynomie in Corsica
- Réévaluer le conflit diglossique en Corse: apports et dépassements de la sociolinguistique du conflit
- Chestnut beer, Corsica-Cola, and wine bottles: The commodification of Corsican in the linguistic and semiotic landscapes of the island’s drinks industry
- How language becomes a political issue: Social change, collective movements and political competition in Corsica
- Public policy for the Corsican language: From revitalisation to normalisation?
- From linguistics to litigation: Reflections on the legal aspects of reversing language shift
- Book Review
- Histoire sociale des langues de France
