LL-L: "Language politics" LOWLANDS-L, 21.JUL.2000 (09) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 21.JUL.2000 (09) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: john feather [johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk]
Subject: Language politics

Thanks, Sandy, for the information about the British constitution and
Parliamentary supremacy. I think the thing that's missing is the historical
context. Parliament claimed its "infinite" rights in the 17th century in
opposition to the Divine Right of Kings, which claimed even more. (Yes,
there are different infinities!) Whether the claim to have power everywhere
had to do with preventing the monarch acting contrary to the wishes of
Parliament outside British territory, or whether it was a question of not
imposing limits in a world which was far from closed I don't know.

There appear to me still to be good reasons to have the power to legislate
extraterritorially, but that gets us rather too far from language issues. It
seems worthwhile to add, however, concerning written constitutions
enshrining linguistic rights (I suppose that must be where this discussion
started)
1. "Linguistic rights" has to be a recognised issue when the constitution is
drawn up. The necessary rights and protections will only be written into the
constitution if the necessary political power exists to cause that to
happen. But the same power can be brought to bear through a parliamentary
system.
2. Whatever the constitutional system, those with power (whether nationally
or locally) may attempt to deny, and succeed in denying, rights to
individuals and groups. That is inevitable. What is the point of having
power if you can't abuse it for your own ends? The constitution of the USSR
guaranteed religious freedom, but the organs of the state effectively
abolished it. The written constitution of the USA did not prevent citizens
having their passports withdrawn during the Cold War. A written guarantee of
linguistic rights could in practice mean very little.

Sandy observed that people often choose (when they can) for their children
to speak a "prestige" language and wondered whether limiting their right to
do so would be morally justified. Henry "extrapolated" this to the idea of
"making" English the global language. This, of course, is a completely
different idea - imposing something rather than letting people choose it
freely - but a similar confusion seems to permeate a lot of linguistic
discussions.

Regarding the inevitability of language death, only truly "dead" languages
survive - because they are fossilised.

John Feather johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk

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