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Programme: accepted abstracts

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Abstract ID: 172

Thematic Session (Papers belonging to this Thematic Session)

Urban Language Conflict

Authors: Darquennes, Jeroen; MacGiolla Chríost, Diarmait
Submitted by: Darquennes, Jeroen (University of Namur, Belgium)

Due to an increase of in-migration since the second half of the 20th century especially bigger cities in Europe (and elsewhere) have become true laboratories of language contact. Typical for language contact settings is that the differences in social status and power as they exist between the groups that use the different languages are reflected in the status and the prestige as well as in the degree of institutionalisation and legitimisation of these languages (cf. Nelde/Strubell/Williams 1996). As a result, language in language contact settings often develops into a significant symbol of social conflict even when it may not be the direct cause of that conflict (direct causes being of a political, social, religious, ... nature).

 

Especially during the 1960s and 1970s many simmering conflicts in bi/multilingual settings came to the surface (e.g. in Brussels, Québec, ...) and illustrated the specific role of language in (neutralising) social conflict. It would, however, be a misunderstanding to assume that language conflict is a phenomenon linked to a period in history that was coloured by a so-called ‚ethnic revival‘. Language conflict (whether it is latent or manifest) is of all time (cf. Nelde 1989a&b). In present-day society (and most certainly in urban settings that are increasingly characterised by what some refer to as ‚hyperdiversity‘) language conflict even is more or less pre-programmed if only because of the interplay between processes of globalisation, nationalisation, regionalisation and urbanisation, the role of languages in these processes and the emergence of multiple (linguistic) identities challenging group membership (cf. Nelde 2006: 2427–2428).

 

In spite of the (manifest or latent) existence of language conflict in (contemporary) society, its systematic study within the language sciences (or the social sciences at large) is still underdeveloped. Only a few scholars have taken up the challenge to try and advance the study of language conflict at group level as it mainly emerged in the 1970s and 1980s (e.g. MacGiolla Chríost 2003, Rindler Schjerve 2007, ...). With our thematic session that focuses on urban settings in Europe and beyond, we intend to contribute to the further systematic development of ‘conflict linguistics’ by inviting experts to provide answers to one (or more) of the following questions:

 

- What kind of input is needed to further develop existing theories of language conflict? What are the major cornerstones of a theory of language conflict?

- What is the most suitable way to empirically study language conflict in urban settings from a synchronic (or diachronic) point of view?

- How does language conflict in urban settings emerge? What types of language conflict can be identified?

- How does / can language policy and planning contribute to the avoidance and/or neutralisation of language conflict in urban settings?

 

References

Darquennes, Jeroen/Nelde, Peter H./Weber, Peter J. (Eds.) (2005): Recent approaches in conflict linguistics (Plurilingua XXV). St. Augustin: Asgard.

Darquennes, Jeroen (2010): Language contact and language conflict in autochthonous language minority settings in the EU. In: Multilingua 29, 3/4, 337-351.

MacGiolla Chríost, Diarmait (2003): Language, identity and conflict. London: Routledge.

Nelde, Peter Hans (Ed.) (1989a): Urban Language Conflict (Plurilingua VII). Bonn : Dümmler.

Nelde, Peter Hans (Ed.) (1989b): Historische Sprachkonflikte (Plurilingua VIII). Bonn : Dümmler.

Nelde, Peter Hans (2006): La linguistique de contact, la recherche sur le conflit linguistique et l’aménagement linguistique au Xxe siècle. In: Auroux, Sylvain et al. (Eds.): History of the Language Sciences. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2413-2429.

Nelde, Peter Hans/Strubell, Miquel/ Williams, Glyn (1996): Euromosaic I. Luxembourg: Office for official publications of the European Communities.

Rindler Schjerve, Rosita (2007): Language conflict revisited. In: Darquennes, Jeroen (Ed.): Contact linguistics and language minorities (Plurilingua XXX). Asgard: St. Augustin, 37-50.