Language in the world: properties and powers
Global and threatened languages
Home Office ministers believe that immigrants settled in Britain who apply for British citizenship should be able to demonstrate a 'modest grasp' of English. ... 'If we are going to have social cohesion we have got to develop a sense of identity and a sense of belonging,' said Mr Blunkett yesterday. (guardianonline.co.uk December 10, 2001)
Surprisingly, perhaps, Blunkett's claims about the unifying potential of the English language find echoes in the discussion of global and threatened languages. For example, consider the following two extracts:
(i) ... languages are expressions of identity: a nation without a language is like a nation without a heart ... languages are repositories of history.
(ii) Every society, every nation is unique. ... It has its own past, its own story, its own memories, its own ways, its own languages or ways of speaking, its own — dare I use the word — culture.
The first quotation is Headland (2002) summarizing Crystal's reasons for caring about language death (Crystal 2002), while the second is the Conservative politician Enoch Powell, quoted in Malik (2000). Both discourses, albeit for quite contrasting political reasons.
