The Politics of Language
When analyzing the political tensions that are causing unrest in so many areas of the world today, much of the focus is on the ethnic and religious divisions that are at the root of many of these tensions. In fact, as we have witnessed time and time again, ethnically- and religiously-divided countries and regions suffer from much higher levels of instability and unrest than countries and regions with more homogenous populations. However, there is another form of division that is also adding to the level of tension and unrest in many areas of the world, language. Around the world, many countries and regions are divided among different linguistic groups, and this has proven to be almost as divisive of an issue as ethnicity and religion. Sure, English has emerged as the world’s dominant language in the 21st century, but this has done little to diffuse linguistic tensions at a more local level. Moreover, some languages are gaining influence (and speakers) due to the growing power and influence of the countries in which these languages are spoken. At the same time, some formerly influential languages are losing influence to their more powerful rivals, breeding resentment in the countries where these weakening languages are based.
Here is a region-by-region overview of the linguistic tensions that are dividing each region:
Americas: English has emerged as the world’s dominant language thanks initially to the spread of the British Empire and then later to the vast power and influence of the United States. Moreover, English’s dominance was enhanced by the fact that it was the world’s leading language at the time of the Information Revolution, a development that has cemented English’s dominant position among the languages of the world. In fact, there are now more than two billion people around the world who are able to speak some level of English, far more than any other language. In the Americas, the region’s first- and third-largest economies are English-speaking countries. Meanwhile, most of the rest of the Americas is dominated by the Spanish language, which is the official language of the vast majority of the countries of Central and South America, something that has allowed Spanish to stake a claim as one of the world’s three- or four-most important languages. However, Latin America’s leading power is not a Spanish-speaking country, but rather, Brazil is a Portuguese-speaking country, with that country now the world’s most-powerful Portuguese-speaking country by a wide margin. While three languages (English, Spanish and Portuguese) account for nearly all of the official languages of the Americas, there are almost no linguistic tensions in this region. with the notable exception of Canada, where French continues to fight against the growing dominance of English in that country.
Asia: The world’s fastest-growing region, Asia, is a region highlighted by major linguistic divisions. In recent decades, English has made major inroads in the region, and is increasingly used as the language of cross-cultural communication in many areas. At the same time, the rising economic and political influence of China, and a large Chinese diaspora, has led to the spread of the usage of China’s main two languages (Mandarin and Cantonese) to other areas of the region. At the same time, regional languages such as Hindi, Malay, Bengali, Japanese and Javanese remain the dominant languages within powerful countries in Asia and have lost none of their influence within their respective countries. Meanwhile, a large number of the region’s largest countries, such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines, are home to a large number of diverse languages, a factor that sometimes adds to the divisions within those countries.
Europe: Language is a highly sensitive issue in Europe, as it is the region from which many of the world’s leading languages spread to all corners of the globe. Since the Second World War, English has gained a leading position in Europe, and is now the dominant second language for nearly all Europeans. However, with the United Kingdom preparing to withdraw from the European Union, some European leaders (particularly those from countries’ whose languages have been in decline) are calling for the use of English to be reduced. For example, many French political and cultural leaders have called for the French language to return to its leading position in Europe, even as few Europeans outside of French-speaking countries can speak that language today. Likewise, some German cultural leaders have called for a greater role for the German language, given the leading economic position that Germany enjoys within the European Union. Nevertheless, it is hard to envision English losing its leading position in Europe, particularly as the number of younger Europeans learning the English language continues to grow rapidly.
Middle East and North Africa: In much of the Middle East and North Africa, Arabic is the dominant language. In fact, Arabic is the leading language of many of the most powerful countries in the region, and plays a dominant role in the region’s culture thanks to the special position that the Arabic language holds within the Islamic religion. Nevertheless, there are other important languages spoken in the Middle East and North Africa. For example. Turkey’s key role in the region allows Turkish to remain an important regional language, just as Iran’s growing influence allows Persian to remain a key language in the region. At the same time, foreign languages also play a leading role in many areas of the region, with English widely spoken in most of the region’s leading economies, and with French remaining in use in many areas of North Africa. While religion has emerged as the most divisive issue in most areas of the Middle East and North Africa, the importance of linguistic divisions in some areas of this region should not be under-estimated.
Sub-Saharan Africa: Thanks to its soaring population and deep linguistic divisions, Sub-Saharan Africa is emerging as the leading battleground for the languages that aspire to play a greater global role. Across this region, there are hundreds of local languages that are spoken, and sometimes these local languages are in competition with one another for influence within a specific area of the region. However, it is the global languages that are also spoken in Sub-Saharan Africa that are truly battling for influence and usage. For example, English is the leading international language in use in most of the region’s most powerful countries, including South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. Moreover, English is making major inroads into areas of Sub-Saharan Africa where other international languages were long dominant. Likewise, French remains the leading international language of many areas of West and Central Africa, and supporters of the French language are basing their language’s future influence on the fast-growing populations of French-speaking areas of Africa. Portuguese too is an international language that is spoken in some areas of this region, with that language trailing only English and French as the most widely-spoken international language in Sub-Saharan Africa. These divisions are already leading to higher levels of unrest in areas where two or more of these international languages are present, such as Cameroon. As a result, Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to prove to be the region where the battle for language supremacy is most keenly contested in the coming years.