Linguistic Justice International Law and Language Policy

Author: Jacqueline Mowbray
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199646616
Published In: October 2012
Format: Hardback , 248 pages
Jurisdiction: U.K. ? Disclaimer:
Countri(es) stated herein are used as reference only

Out of stock

Description
Contents
Author

Details

Provides a comprehensive understanding of how and why international law influences language policy
Addresses the contentious issue of cultures with minority languages being potentially disadvantaged by an international legal sphere increasingly dominated by the use of English
Examines regional developments, including reports of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
Offers a new interdisciplinary perspective on international law by the application of Pierre Bourdieu's sociological work on language to the field

Globalisation and migration are producing societies of increasing linguistic diversity. At the same time, English is achieving unprecedented global dominance, smaller languages are becoming 'extinct' at an alarming rate, and ethnic tensions in countries from Belgium to Tibet continue to centre on questions of language. Against this background, the issue of how to ensure justice between speakers of different languages becomes a pressing social concern. Matters of 'linguistic justice' are therefore drawing increasing scholarly attention across a range of disciplines.

How does international law contribute to linguistic justice? This book explores that question by conducting a comprehensive, interdisciplinary examination of international law on language, analysing the many disparate fields of international law which affect language use both directly (human rights, cultural heritage laws, and EU legislation, for example) and indirectly (international trade law and international labour standards, among others). Moving beyond the technical analysis of legal provisions, the book explores the conceptual framework which underpins international law on language, unearthing underlying assumptions, and ideas about what constitutes a 'just' language policy from a legal perspective. In doing so, the book draws on the methodology of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, whose ideas of 'habitus' and 'field' offer a way of understanding the changing significance of language to human identity, and the way in which language becomes a focal point for the exercise of social power. This analysis reveals the limitations of contemporary international law on language, and charts a course towards the achievement of greater 'linguistic justice'.

Readership: Academics and postgraduate students of international law, law and linguistics, and the sociology of law; linguists.

Introduction
1: Language in Education: Context and Complexity
2: Language in Culture and the Media: Complexity and Change
3: Language and Work: Systematic Disadvantage
4: Language and the State: The Politics of Language
5: Language and Participation in Public Life: Democracy and Doxa
Conclusion

Jacqueline Mowbray, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Sydney

Jacqueline Mowbray is a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Sydney. She also teaches on the European Regional Master's Degree in Democracy and Human Rights in South-East Europe, based in Sarajevo. She is a graduate of the Universities of Queensland (BA/LLB (Hons)), Melbourne (LLM) and Cambridge (LLM (Hons), PhD).