ABSTRACT
National language policy, historically, has represented the grand narrative through which the national imagery has been constructed. In the pluralist nationstate, it has served to legitimize the incorporation of discrete social groups into the ‘common’ (dominant) culture. This form of cultural assimilation has often led to the positioning of minority languages and their speakers at the periphery of cultural, social, and political life. The relationship between cultural imperialism and linguicide, ratified by colonial language policies, has already been well documented. Whilst many of the linguistic inequalities generated during the colonial period, and those embedded in the social relations of the nation-state still remain unresolved, new, more complex ones are emerging within the globalized cultural economy. This chapter seeks to examine the nature of some of the changes taking place, and their potential impacts on the way in which the concept of linguistic rights is conceptualized.
