Language

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Language Nationalism in Europe, chapter 1

• Nationalism, Language, Europe

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Some mysteries of nationalism

• Power to arouse passionate loyalties, justifying
  extreme violence
• Motives can be hard to understand, due to lack of
  clear
• Genetic motivation (as for family or tribe)
• Spiritual motivation (as for religion)
• So what ARE the motives?

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Nations are imagined communities

• Q What need DO they fulfill?

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Nations are imagined communities

• Q What need DO they fulfill?
• A They provide
• A sense of identity
• Economic organization (though this may no longer
  be true, due to EU)
• Sense of greater community (to replace
  local/religious units)

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Nationhood is a recent construal

• Nation does NOT describe an objective reality
• The concept of Nation is a recent phenomenon, a
  product of the social and economic modernization
  that took place in Europe from the mid 18th
  century onwards

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A Nation is a population that shares

• WHAT?

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A Nation is a population that shares

• A name
• A territory
• Myths and memories
• A culture
• An economy
• Rights and duties
• Q What do you need to hold all of these together?

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A Nation is a population that shares

• A name, a territory, myths and memories, a
  culture, an economy, rights and duties
• Q What do you need to hold all of these
  together?
• A Communication. A shared language or languages.

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Nation vs. Nation-state

• Q Whats the difference?

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Nation vs. Nation-state

• Q Whats the difference?
• A A nation-state is a country that belongs to a
  nation. A nation-state is a nation that has
  political autonomy. A nation may have only
  aspirations for independence.
• An example of a nation that was not a
  nation-state Poland was merely an idea for 123
  years, until Poland was re-established after WWI.

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Poland 1795-1914
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Nation vs. Nation-state, contd.

• Q What situations challenge the ideal of the
  nation-state?

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Nation vs. Nation-state, contd.

• Q What situations challenge the ideal of the
  nation-state?
• A Any situation where the boundaries of a nation
  and a state are not the same.
• We will look at three of these
• states of many nations
• nations that do not accept their states
  nations that go beyond states (diasporas)

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Lets do the math

• Q How many countries are there in the world?
• A About 200.
• Q How many languages are there in the world?
• A Between 5,000 and 6,000

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Nation vs. Nation-state, contd.

• Name some states -- past or present -- that
  united or unite many nations

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Nation vs. Nation-state, contd.

• Name some states -- past or present -- that
  united or unite many nations
• Roman Empire USSR
• Chinese Dynasties India
• Austro-Hungarian Empire
• Russian Empire Ottoman Empire
• Czechoslovakia Yugoslavia

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Nation vs. Nation-state, contd.

• Q What are some examples of nations that do not
  accept the identity of the states they are in?

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Nation vs. Nation-state, contd.

• Q What are some examples of nations that do not
  accept the identity of the states they are in?
• A Scots Welsh
• many Arabs Basque

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Nation vs. Nation-state, contd.

• Q Some nations have large diasporas. Can you
  name some of them?

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Nation vs. Nation-state, contd.

• Q Some nations have large diasporas. Can you
  name some of them?
• A Hungary, Germany, Korea, Poland, Italian

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Nation vs. Ethnic Group

• Q What is the difference between a nation and an
  ethnic group?

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Nation vs. Ethnic Group

• Q What is the difference between a nation and an
  ethnic group?
• A A nation has a territory, but ethnic groups
  may be scattered and mixed (esp. in urban
  settings). An ethnic group is often smaller and
  more culturally coherent and usually has a shared
  language. The concept of ethnic group is older
  than the concept of nation and is functionally
  equivalent to tribe.

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Nationalism and Territory

• The connection between a nation and its territory
  is particularly significant. The territory is an
  important ingredient in national identity and
  nationalism. However, nationalism can inspire
  tensions when two or more nations have
  conflicting aspirations. Often these result from
  historical memories of territory that overlaps.

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Ethnic group vs. Religious group

• Q What is the difference between an ethnic group
  and a religious group?

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Ethnic group vs. Religious group

• Q What is the difference between an ethnic group
  and a religious group?
• A Religious groups tend to be bigger and may not
  share a language. There are, however, confusions
  between these two. For example, is Jewish
  ethnic or religious?

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Ethnic group and Language

• Language often helps to define the coherence of
  an ethnic group
• Language is also the vehicle for culture, which
  is particularly significant for an ethnic group

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Language or Dialect?

• Q How can you tell whether two groups of people
  are speaking different languages or dialects?

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Language or Dialect?

• Q How can you tell whether two groups of people
  are speaking different languages or dialects?
• A Ask them! Language is not a discrete entity.
  We have no operational definitions.

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Why are there different languages and dialects?

• Q What causes linguistic differentiation?

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Why are there different languages and dialects?

• Q What causes linguistic differentiation?
• A Barriers
• Geographic barriers -- mountains, bodies of
  water
• Political barriers -- administrative, economic,
  and judicial boundaries
• Social barriers -- class, rank, employment

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Language vs. Dialect

• Q What is the difference between having two
  different languages and having two different
  dialects?

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Language vs. Dialect

• Q What is the difference between two different
  languages and two different dialects?
• A common answer is
• If the two varieties are mutually
  incomprehensible, you have two different
  languages.
• If the two varieties are mutually comprehensible,
  you have two different dialects.

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Language vs. Dialect

• Q What is the difference between two different
  languages and two different dialects?
• A common answer is
• If the two varieties are mutually
  incomprehensible, you have two different
  languages.
• If the two varieties are mutually comprehensible,
  you have two different dialects.

BUT I DONT AGREE!
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Language vs. Dialect

• Mutual comprehensibility serves to distinguish
  language vs. dialect for some situations, such
  as Hungarian, Romanian, Basque.
• It doesnt work for many situations
• German (incomprehensible dialects)
• Norwegian,Swedish,Danish (comprehensible)
• Slavic (both situations)
• Chinese

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Language vs. Dialect

• Q What ultimately defines whether two varieties
  are languages or dialects?

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Language vs. Dialect

• Q What ultimately defines whether two varieties
  are languages or dialects?
• A Imagination.

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National Identity

• Q What ultimately produces a name and identity
  for a nation?

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National Identity

• Q What ultimately produces a name and identity
  for a nation?
• A Imagination.

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Language and Nationalism

• A single shared language is not absolutely
  necessary for a nation, but it is useful, and is
  often a goal of nationalist ideology.
• The mutual dependence of language and nationalism
  motivate two ideals
• A linguistically homogeneous nation
• A clearly distinct national language
• NB This is a modern, European view!

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Language and Nationalism

• In reality, the relationship between language and
  nationalism is very complex, and Europe is only
  one of several models.
• Linguistic homogeneity -- this ideal can motivate
  various repressive policies
• Distinct national language -- this ideal can
  motivate various responses, such as
  standardization or even the revival of a language
  (cf. Hebrew, Irish)

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Language Standardization

• This is a modern phenomenon.
• Selection of a language variety (or of selected
  features of various language varieties) and
  promotion to the status of a literary language,
  for use in public arenas.
• This is often a politically charged process, as
  we will see.

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Language Standardization

• Has side effects that might seem
  counter-intuitive
• The languages of the largest groups (nations,
  nation-states, empires, and especially
  nations/empires that undertake colonization) are
  the most unified and homogeneous.
• The languages of smaller groups tend to suffer
  more from dialectal fragmentation.