Language as a Contributing Factor in Conflicts

Language as a Contributing Factor in Conflicts Between States and Within States
Language and Conflict edited by Sue Wright (1998)

New Words
-Etymology is the study of the origin and history of words and their meanings.
-He is demonized by the media.
-It is impossible to discern a number of different techniques in her work.
-A number of the monuments are of considerable antiquity.
-The declaration proclaimed the full sovereignty of the republic.
-The country has a quota system for accepting refugees.
-These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications.
-Though a talented player, he was completely eclipsed by his brother.
-The President’s visit was intended to cement the alliance between the two countries.
-The government’s economic policies have created a marked cleavage between the rich and the poor.
-He took these actions purely in the furtherance of his own career.
-The crisis helped to weld the party together.
-The rebels finally managed to oust the government from power.
-I have a provision of food against a disaster.
-South America is really the most homogeneous in a way of populations.

Summary
Language has played an important role in nation building and warfare. There are two important European models for the nation building process; France as the contractual nation and German as the ethno-linguistic nation. In France, territory is thought to be important. Linguistic and cultural cohesion and unification were promoted through warfare and primary education given by the medium of French. In German, blood and belongings were the important factors as membership when Germany consisted of 350 small states and cities. Now language as mother tongue is more important marker. In terms of warfare, the novel and newspaper as well as army played key roles to promote a single lingua franca and form national identity. At the end of the 21th century, trend of devolution, autonomy and secession are prevailing. In the case of the collapse of Yugoslavia, there was a lack of communication. They were different politically, not linguistically because the majority of four different varieties speakers could do. On the other hand, devolution of political power causes the revival of the minority languages such as Welsh and Lallans, which is a dialect in the central Scotland, particularly in Glasgow. People in Wales and Glasgow will not be monolingual because they need English for wider communication. The languages are used as a marker of identity.