What are Language Rights?
Language is central to human nature and culture. It is an expression of identity. It is a symbol of unity and is the key to inclusion. Having the freedom to express oneself through language is a human right. Language Rights are human rights which concern the individual and the collective right to one’s own language in all spheres of life. Issues surrounding language are particularly important to linguistic minority communities seeking to maintain their distinct group and cultural identity. These communities are the most vulnerable to be discriminated against based on the language which they choose to express themselves in. Therefore, language and linguistic rights assume a very important role in safeguarding the interests of such communities.
Linguistic human rights impose upon the state obligations which prevent the state from unfairly discriminating (directly/indirectly) against linguistic minorities. Many international and international laws and policies have been implemented to protect the linguistic rights of minorities. For instance, Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ensures that linguistic minorities can use their own languages in their community. However, innumerous tribes and communities lose out on political and legal participation, employment opportunities, preservation of their culture, etc. because of poor implementation of such laws and lack of apathy by the state. Exclusion experienced by individuals because of their language, or lack of fluency in a state’s official language has extreme consequences. It results in exclusion from participation in public life and is discriminatory.
The State must actively work to see that the language rights of any community are not being violated. The adversities faced by linguistic minorities must be considered by the State while Language Planning and Policy Making. This would ensure that the minority children get access to quality education. It will promote equality and empowerment of minority women. It would promote diversity and ensure that there is no loss of linguistic heritage and there exists a mutual respect between all communities. Political participation would also be ensured if the language rights of an individual and a community are protected.
Marginalization of Minority Languages
The characteristic feature of marginalisation of a language can be attributed to the imbalance of power that exists between the concerned language and the dominant one. In multicultural societies, prejudice against a person or a group of persons because of their native language or their inability to speak the dominant language has its negative effects in various dimensions including education, access to health-care and legal assistance.
When human rights are discussed, language discrimination that impacts millions around the world needs to be addressed. In many parts of the globe, the colonization by the Europeans and the imposition of their language has discriminated against the people speaking indigenous languages. One such example is of discrimination in New Zealand.
Te Reo Maori is a language spoken by the indigenous Maori population of New Zealand but due to colonial laws prohibiting its use and going to the extent of forbidding the use of Maori in schools. Although the New Zealand government has been accredited with taking positive measures to revitalize the language, it continues to remain endangered and further impedes not only the civic but also cultural rights of the Maori.
In the United States, Spanish speakers have been discriminated against from time to time. There have been instances of employers adopting a ‘No Spanish’ policy to keep the employees from communicating in Spanish. Even though the country offers public services bilingual customer help, it is reported that 55 million Latinos that live in the U.S.A lack support and also suffer xenophobic attacks.
Another example is the French language in Canada. French is the official language of the province of Quebec in Canada. French Canadians form a minority in the country and they are especially discriminated against in Quebec as they are perceived as a threat to the purity and survival of the Quebecois language. Cantonese, a vernacular language in China, is not valued by the dominant language-speakers despite it being the second most popular vernacular. Speakers of Cantonese are discriminated against often in China because of their language and their native region. A speaker of Cantonese will not get an equal employment opportunity as compared to a speaker of Mandarin.
In the Indian context, while many languages co-exist, many are victims of discrimination and also face deprivations in various forms. While certain languages enjoy privilege and access to power, others are marginalized and disadvantaged. The dominated languages are consequently barely maintained and become impoverished which restricts their scope for development. For example, Gondi, which is classified as a language of the central Dravidian branch, has seen a steep decline in the numerical strength of its speakers. This is an indication of the loss of language due to assimilation into the dominant regional languages. The post-independence era has also seen the disintegration of the culture and language of the minority groups. This is further exacerbated when the indigenous languages are not incorporated even at the primary level of education which inevitably forces them to turn bilingual and their traditional language suffers the most. While the Constitution of the country provides for the protection of rights of tribes and minorities, in practice, the minority languages are not given due recognition in the socio-political world. The ultimate effect is on the minority/tribal languages which are on the way to decline and eventual death.
Our Aim
As students of law, we believe that this rampant discrimination and marginalization of linguistic minorities can only be resolved by State interference. This is not limited to the idea of “rights” as guaranteed by the State based on legal, social and ethical principles but also extends to the role of a ‘welfare state’ in securing equal opportunity, equal distribution of resources and responsibility to ensure that all citizens have access to basic provisions to lead a good life. In furtherance of this ethos, this blog aims to provide a platform to critically analyze the role played all the organs of government – the legislature, in creating laws and statutes to guarantee language rights by protecting the language itself, its speakers and to prevent discrimination against them ; the executive, in drafting schemes and policies that provide additional benefits to linguistic minorities for their economic, social and cultural well-being; and the judiciary, in empowering linguistic minorities through various court judgements. We aim for a global analysis of the plight of linguistic minorities in relation to their empowerment or the lack thereof by their respective governments, This is why we have chosen to not restrict the scope of our blog to any particular territory.
Along with this broad, macro understanding of language rights, we also seek to get a worm’s eye view of the issue by focusing especially on the role of an individual belonging to such minorities. Hence, we also encourage analysis on the lines of identity, cognition, et cetera. Lastly, understanding intersectionality is a crucial goal of this blog as language is only one aspect of a broad range of social and political identities, the combination which results in either discrimination or privilege. In the same spirit, we appreciate analysis on intersectional identities including but not limited to disability, feminism, religion, caste, sexual orientation, et cetera. We hope to create a diverse platform which allows us to enrich our understanding of language rights by critically analyzing the numerous aspects enumerated above and provide a holistic understanding of the same.
We look forward to your enthusiastic response!
