Language & Nationalism in Europe

1. Language & Nationalism in Europe Chapter 13: Language & national identity in Europe

2. Changes in Language Use • Some languages have been almost extinguished by violence: Yiddish, Irish • Violence involved in the creation of Spain, Germany, Croatia • National identities & histories are often artificially constructed • Nationalism is part of modernization & standardization of languages serves the communication needs of modern societies

3. Role of EU • EU has facilitated new ties and new identities • Within the EU, it is possible to be both a nationalist and a transnationalist at the same time, creating “multinational nationalists” • “Nationality becomes simply a question of identity, choice, and introspection” -- some think it will become a thing of the past

4. But nationalism is still with us! • 1990s witnessed violent nationalism & ethnic cleansing • 1990s 15 new states were created in Europe, evidence of strong nationalist aspirations • “We are witnessing 2 parallel & apparently contradictory phenomena: the abandonment of nationalism and the re-emergence of nationalism”

5. The role of language • Herder: “one’s true homeland is one’s language” • “to kill a nation there is nothing more deadly than to kill its national language” • “But if language inhabits the realm of emotions, it is also involved in state formation and in functioning as a citizen in a modern (linguistically) unified state”

6. Final notes • The new nations are new politically, but not culturally (they were there all along) • Unfortunately, violence works -- no one ever noticed all the human rights violations against the Kosovars until they revolted • Postmodern vision: decentered centers, information technology