Language, Ethnic Identity And the State

The interplay between language and ethnicity is often underestimated as a component for political stability. Many scholars consider social class and economic factors to be the primary sources for political cohesion or, alternately, for malcontent with the system.Language, Ethnic Identity and The Stateredresses this focus and asserts that language can also be of pivotal importance. Leading scholars present five case studies and two general, comparative and theoretical discussions. The five countries, South Africa, Algeria, Canada, Latvia and Senegal are all multilingual nations where language has been a central political issue that has challenged both their unity and stability.