< Back to previous page

Project

Language Loss and Injustice. A Structural Injustice Approach to Language Loss

Long-settled national language groups often get priority over recent immigrant languages. In terms of language recognition, such as the language(s) of public education, public media or the legal system, majority citizens come first, then national minorities. Even in multilingual countries that accord far-reaching language rights, such as Belgium, Canada, Spain or Switzerland, immigrant languages (such as Chinese and Turkish in Western Europe and North-America) typically get very limited state recognition, if any. This research project aims to develop a theory of immigrant linguistic justice, with an eye on power. I will address the questions such as “Should Australian schools adopt indigenous languages as main medium of instruction? Should schools in Chinatown in Sydney offer public education in Chinese instead of English? Should national minorities receive support while immigrants do not? Should these differences be normatively scrutinized?” Given the fact that immigrants are often subjugated people, I question how immigrants’ language rights could be understood in relation to currently manifest power structures in societies and how this understanding leads to specific theory of immigrant linguistic justice.

Date:1 Dec 2019 →  27 May 2022
Keywords:Linguistic justice, Structural injustice, Immigration
Disciplines:Social and political philosophy
Project type:PhD project