The Politics of Multilingual Communication: Case Studies and Research Agendas

Due to globalisation, and different forms of migration and mobility there is a proliferation of linguistic diversity and multilingual communication. At the same time the recognition of the use of one’s first language receives more and more support in international political, legal and institutional frameworks. The promotion of linguistic diversity is the official language policy of the European Union.1 Because of such policy, it is to be expected that languages will be, and will remain, in contact at all levels of governance. This situation will not be restricted to indigenous, regional and minority languages only, but will affect ‘new’ immigrant or heritage languages as well. As we know from the work of political scientists, like Pierre Bourdieu, and contact linguists, like Peter Nelde, there are manifold connections between language and power, inter-group conflict will always have a language element to it. Hence, it is to be expected that large-scale linguistic diversity and multilingual communication will be the subject of power conflicts and hegemonic strives. Due to the fact that most languages are connected to a kinstate, this will immediately have repercussions for international relations and can cause conflicts in this domain. In this chapter, I will analyse some case studies to demonstrate conflicts within complex societies and in international relations caused by linguistic diversity and multilingual communication. A detailed analysis in a transnational theoretical framework allows me to put forward a coherent set of research agendas in order to guide research work further and elaborate on resolution strategies.