Speaking Truth to Power: Language, Politics, and Human Rights in a Globalized World

Abstract

This article investigates linguistic socio-political structures in a globalized world, focusing on the intersections between language policy, ideology, and socio-political disturbances. It examines cases of linguistic suppression in Franco-era Spain and communist China to explore similarities in language policy in authoritarian contexts. A comparison of English and Portuguese lects serves to explore language ideologies within the context of social and cultural hierarchies. This article highlights the complex relationship between legal and social aspects of language discrimination within nation-states and linguistic cultures; it argues that understanding these linguistic socio-political structures can serve not only to better understand a political context, but as a bellwether for minority rights and human rights violations.