Until recently and despite the ubiquity of language conflicts, normative literature has not paid much attention to language, and even less to the linguistic dimension of democracy. Post-Rawlsian political theory discusses many culture or identity related topics, but has barely considered language. Neither liberals nor liberal culturalists, nor communitarians have really addressed language equity. It was only in the 90’s that scholars in Comparative Politics [Laitin, 1994] and Economics [Pool, 1991a, 1991b, Grin, 2004,] began to research language issues, generating sophisticated game theory models that, unfortunately, do not always apply to real world problems.
However, shedding a new light on linguistic diversity and linguistic justice in a system dominated by powerful global languages rapidly leads to a wider discussion on the usefulness and the threats of a common language, a lingua franca (in Europe as well as in multilingual societies, and sometimes even on a global level). The fundamental idea is that a healthy democracy depends on some kind of common tool of communication. Of course, one can also argue, on the contrary, that the acknowledgement of individual (or collective) claims to language diversity enhances the democratic quality of politics when the linguistic identity of every speaker or linguistic community is fully and equally respected [Kymlicka, Patten, 2003]. But the path taken by recent normative literature is an attempt to reconcile the polity’s systemic (linguistic) capacity alongside the citizen’s effectiveness (or voice) [Dahl & Tafte, 1974]. The" deliberative turn" of the 90’s and the following “talk-centric” theories of democracy [Dryzec, 1990], indeed, focused on communication and debate rather than on voting, but without mentioning the precondition of successful public debate: a common language. The discussion of a common language as a necessary condition for a more substantial democracy has been particularly intense in Europe. It addresses the following questions: do we need a common language for a healthy democracy? Would social mobility and employability be enhanced if everyone spoke the same language? In order to discuss global concerns (such as environmental issues), is a common language required to create a more substantial democracy (local, national, global)? Would a common language avoid brain drain (if it were English for instance?) If we chose a natural language, is it fair – and under what conditions - that everybody learn it? Or should we opt for an artificial language?
There are different ways of linking these questions to the theory and practice of democracy.
In my presentation, I will comment on three models that I have drawn from recent research. 1. The identity model that argues for some kind of restorative justice after centuries of nation building and linguistic rationalization: the claim for language diversity is morally relevant and nations ought to acknowledge those claims. 2. The procedural model that is not outcome oriented: people should equitably discuss the language choices of their polity. 3. The economy or utility model, which has three components: (a) Utility: what are the costs and benefits of learning/spreading a lingua franca? (b) Diversity: if we assume that English is the proper common language, are there means to guarantee the speakers' individual language choices and their chances of social mobility? (c) Justice: why is it reasonable that everyone speak English? I will comment on a few European cases, Belgium and France, in particular.
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