Globalization and Language in Conflict: A Case of Igbo
Keywords:
globalization, language contact, conflict, Igbo languageAbstract
Globalization, the interconnections of global economic, political, cultural and environmental processes, has continued to have effects on many aspects of the society. One major consequence of globalization is the increased spread and interconnectedness of languages with the language of the world which is English language. Conflict between different languages often results from language contact. Language contact and conflict are seen as interdependently related elements applicable both to individuals and to language communities, yet these phenomena occur only between speakers of languages, not between languages per se. Based on ongoing research on the development of the minority languages in Nigeria, this article will analyze how language conflict between English and indigenous languages and minority languages shift operation on the level of cultural models, discourse, and language use. It will show in which ways these processes affect linguistic human rights in two key areas of social organization: bilingual education and the administration of justice. This broad sociolinguistic perspective will allow the author to relate the Nigerian experience to other cases, and to draft a list of minimal criteria for the evaluation and defiance of linguistic human rights. The sociolinguistic framework that broadens the concepts of language and communication underlying existing models for language planning will be best suited to describe language conflict situations, and to establish an adequate basis for the definition and implementation of linguistic human rights.
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