Bilingualism and Nationalism

The impact of nat'lism on the role of link languages is outlined. Nat'lism may give rise to an urge to expand a language as a 2nd tongue in foreign countries; or it may motivate a nation to reject one foreign language in favor of another; or finally, it may cause new-born nations to adopt some imported language as a symbol of their nationhood. In multinat'l states a distinction is made between (a) countries in which 2 or 3 languages enjoy full equality of status, & (b) those which because of the multiplicity of the languages involved are compelled to select one language for nat'l purposes but otherwise treat all languages as equal. Among nation states, a distinction is made between genuine nation states where the dominant group forms a clear majority, & section-based nation states where a minority group either has subjugated the other groups (eg, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Liberia), or where the minority tongue has acquired its status with the consensus of all major speech communities (Indonesia, Tansania, Philippines). Where the dominant language & the minority tongue are closely related the dominant group often tries not to blot out, but to 'dialectize' the minority tongue; eg, in Spain the gov strives to blot out the Basque language but to relegate Catalan to the status of a mere dialect. AA.