Ethnic Minorities and Language Rights: The State, Identity and Culture in International Legal Discourse

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Mowbray
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Legal Discourse ◽  
The State ◽  
Language Rights ◽  
State Identity

Language territorial regimes in multilingual ethnic territorial autonomies

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 358-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadezhda Borisova ◽  
Konstantin Sulimov
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
The State ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Language Rights ◽  
South Tyrol ◽  
The Way

Ethnic territorial autonomy (ETA) is an institutional way to ensure simultaneously the integrity of the state and the rights of ethnic minorities through preferential policies in certain ethnically sensitive spheres. Language preferential policies differ greatly across multilingual ETAs and can be analyzed through the concept of “language territorial regime” (LTR). In this paper, we examine LTRs along two dimensions: (1) the scope of state regulation of language use and (2) the way language rights are perceived and used. The first considers the depth and universality of state regulation of language use – “strong” or “weak.” The second concerns whether the community's approach to language rights is symbolic or pragmatic. The combination of these two dimensions allows the categorization of LTRs into four main classes: “strong parting-regime,” “strong pooling-regime,” “weak pooling-regime,” and “weak parting-regime.” A comparison of South Tyrol, Vojvodina, and Wales allows conceptualizing LTR as a system of de jure institutional arrangements of linguistic issues and practice of self-organization and perpetuation of multilingual communities.

“I'd make thee eat the mischief thou hast vented”: Discourse of Law in Ben Jonson's Catiline His Conspiracy

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-45
Author(s):  
Akihiko Shimizu
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Legal Discourse ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Gunpowder Plot ◽  
Effective Use ◽  
Legal Procedures ◽  
The Way

This essay explores the discourse of law that constitutes the controversial apprehension of Cicero's issuing of the ultimate decree of the Senate (senatus consultum ultimum) in Catiline. The play juxtaposes the struggle of Cicero, whose moral character and legitimacy are at stake in regards to the extra-legal uses of espionage, with the supposedly mischievous Catilinarians who appear to observe legal procedures more carefully throughout their plot. To mitigate this ambivalence, the play defends Cicero's actions by depicting the way in which Cicero establishes the rhetoric of public counsel to convince the citizens of his legitimacy in his unprecedented dealing with Catiline. To understand the contemporaneousness of Catiline, I will explore the way the play integrates the early modern discourses of counsel and the legal maxim of ‘better to suffer an inconvenience than mischief,’ suggesting Jonson's subtle sensibility towards King James's legal reformation which aimed to establish and deploy monarchical authority in the state of emergency (such as the Gunpowder Plot of 1605). The play's climactic trial scene highlights the display of the collected evidence, such as hand-written letters and the testimonies obtained through Cicero's spies, the Allbroges, as proof of Catiline's mischievous character. I argue that the tactical negotiating skills of the virtuous and vicious characters rely heavily on the effective use of rhetoric exemplified by both the political discourse of classical Rome and the legal discourse of Tudor and Jacobean England.

The State of Asian American Businesses

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 70-77
Author(s):  
Diem Tran ◽  
OiYan Poon
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Asian American ◽  
The State ◽  
Business Success ◽  
American Business ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Business Ownership ◽  
Careful Scrutiny ◽  
Potential Factors ◽  
Racial Ethnic

Business success is a dominant theme in the Asian American narrative. However, Asian American entrepreneurship is more complex and multilayered than commonly believed and requires careful scrutiny. This brief examines the state of Asian American business ownership between 2005 and 2007. Findings suggest that although Asian Americans form businesses at higher rates than other racial/ethnic minorities, Asian American business ownership and outcomes continue to trail those of non-Hispanic whites. Potential factors contributing to racial/ethnic gaps and policy recommendations are discussed.

Some Important Factors Hindering the Civic Integration of Ethnic Minorities

2021 ◽  
Vol X (2) ◽  
pp. 35-48
Author(s):  
Kakha Gabunia ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
General System ◽  
Language Barrier ◽  
The State ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Local Staff ◽  
Majority Group ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
The One ◽  
Political Economic

The purpose of this article is to compile and group the list of problems that hinder the integration of ethnic minorities in the political, economic and cultural life of the country, based on research conducted by various organizations over the past 10 yearს. According to these studies, the main problem is, on the one hand, the language barrier and, on the other hand, ethnic-nationalist tendencies and stereotypes. These national mythologies and notions play one of the crucial roles in the formation of national self-identification. Ethno-nationalist tendencies are strong both in minorities and in ethnic Georgians. There are several factors behind the emergence of the ethnonationalism in Georgia First of all, it is the legacy of Soviet totalitarianism, as well as the result of the current socio-political situation. Understanding these two factors will give us a better answer as to why ethnic-nationalist sentiments are still prevailing in Georgia and why the integration of the ethnic minorities is hindered, despite being repeatedly declared by the state. The language barrier of ethnic minorities is also an important problem in the process of integration into society. The education system should make the knowledge of the state language accessible to ethnic minorities and, at the same time, ensure the protection of minority languages. To do this, the state must maximize and encourage local staff; The general system of education should ensure the upbringing of the citizen of the country and not put any group (even the majority) in an advantageous situation. show the advantage of any (even the majority) group.

Cultivating the Art of Anxiety: Securitising Culture in China

China Report ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 000944552110470
Author(s):  
Rudolf Fürst
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The State ◽  
Public Communication ◽  
The Political ◽  
Xi Jinping ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Security Concern

Deepening globalisation and worldwide availability of free information and ideas raise concerns of the communist China’s political leadership about the stability of the regime and the sustainability of the state ideological orthodoxy. Therefore, the state’s tightening control of the public communication to curtail the domestic criticism and occasional public discontent is becoming framed and legitimised in terms of cultural security as a non-traditional security concern. This study argues that the restrictive impacts of the politicisation of culture in the centralised agenda of President Xi Jinping reinvigorate China’s anti-Western narratives and attitudes. The research focuses on the state’s cultural security-related and applicable strategy in the political and institutional agenda and media. Moreover, the study also traces the state cultural security policy in the field of the civic and non-governmental sector, religious and ethnic minorities policy, literature, film and audiovisual sectors. The findings assess the concern that the intellectually anachronistic, self-restraining and internationally hostile policy devaluates China’s cultural potential and complexity.

Between the utopian imaginaries of literature and international law: The question of the insurgent child in international legal discourse and Kris Montañez’s Youth

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
José Duke S. Bagulaya
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
International Law ◽  
Legal Discourse ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
State Of Exception ◽  
Utopian Vision ◽  
The World ◽  
Realistic Representation ◽  
The One

Abstract This article argues that international law and the literature of civil war, specifically the narratives from the Philippine communist insurgency, present two visions of the child. On the one hand, international law constructs a child that is individual and vulnerable, a victim of violence trapped between the contending parties. Hence, the child is a person who needs to be insulated from the brutality of the civil war. On the other hand, the article reads Filipino writer Kris Montañez’s stories as revolutionary tales that present a rational child, a literary resolution of the dilemmas of a minor’s participation in the world’s longest-running communist insurgency. Indeed, the short narratives collected in Kabanbanuagan (Youth) reveal a tension between a minor’s right to resist in the context of the people’s war and the juridical right to be insulated from the violence. As their youthful bodies are thrown into the world of the state of exception, violence forces children to make the choice of active participation in the hostilities by symbolically and literally assuming the roles played by their elders in the narrative. The article concludes that while this narrative resolution appears to offer a realistic representation and closure, what it proffers is actually a utopian vision that is in tension with international law’s own utopian vision of children. Thus, international law and the stories of youth in Kabanbanuagan provide a powerful critique of each other’s utopian visions.

scholarly journals Bilingualism in Latvian and Russian in the context of demographic processes in Latvia

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-190
Author(s):  
Vineta Poriņa
Keyword(s):  
Bilingual Education ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
The State ◽  
Entire Population ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Dominant Language ◽  
Demographic Processes ◽  
Similar Decrease ◽  
State Language ◽  
Common World

This article deals with Latvian becoming the dominant language in Latvia. The results of the study show that the proportion of Latvians increased from 52% in 1989 to 57.7% in 2000 and to 59.3% in 2009. The percentage of the entire population who are speakers of Latvian increased from 61.7% in 1989 to 79% in 2000 and 93% in 2008 (Latvijas 2000. gada tautskaites rezultāti 2002, Valoda 2008). Since regaining independence, many positive changes regarding the de facto functioning of Latvian have taken place in Latvia e.g. the proportion of non-Latvians purporting to possess good knowledge of Latvian increased 10–15% between 2000 and 2008, whilst a similar decrease is registered for those whose knowledge of Latvian is weak. The most dramatic increase in Latvian speakers is in the 15–34 age group, which must be attributed to bilingual education; Latvian is becoming a more frequent tool of communication between Latvians and ethnic minorities. At present, the favourable conditions for the strengthening of the state language are contrary to common world practice.

Confusion of Tongues: Constitutional Recognition of Languages and Language Rights in Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Reilly
Keyword(s):  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
The State ◽  
National Language ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Language Rights ◽  
Language Recognition ◽  
National Unity ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Torres Strait

This article considers the YouMeUnity Report proposal for the inclusion of new language provisions in the Australian Constitution as part of a package of reforms for the constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The article outlines the important symbolic and substantive effects of recognising language rights in the Constitution. The article explains how the recognition of a national language and the recognition of minority languages are conceptually distinct — promoting a national language is aimed at promoting national unity and enhancing the political and economic participation of individuals in the state, whereas protecting minority languages is aimed at recognising linguistic diversity, enriching the cultural life of the State, maintaining connections with other nations, and recognising language choice as a basic human right. The article argues that there is a strong case for minority language recognition, and in particular, the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, in the Australian Constitution, but warns against the recognition of English as the national language.

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