Language and Power

Critical research on managing differences and achieving fairness

Author's name: Al-Zawawi Baghora

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The question of the relationship between language and power is as old as linguistic and philosophical thought alike. Our goal in this book is not to rewrite this history or study it in the eyes of a particular philosopher, but rather to present a critical approach to language based on discursive pragmatics, which views discourse as a social practice, or rather as a form of social practice. This is because language, and thus discourse, is part of society, and because language is a social process that manifests itself in many forms, the most important of which is the pragmatic form, which displays discourse in a state of action and practice.

We have studied this relationship through the lens of difference and fairness, given that linguistic diversity is a reality inherent in modern and contemporary societies. This diversity has been and continues to be a source of linguistic warfare, whether we mean war in its figurative or literal sense. This requires a fair linguistic policy that recognizes linguistic diversity and, at the same time, works to promote it in a way that serves the values ​​of freedom, justice, and peace.

Our purpose in this book is not to elaborate and present theories of linguistic policies, or to analyze what has become known as theories of linguistic justice, which constitute a fundamental part of contemporary theories of distributive justice in general, and theories of justice as recognition in particular. Rather, it is to discuss the experience of linguistic policy that Algeria has known since its liberation from French colonialism in 1962 until the present day, as well as the status of the Arabic language in the age of globalization.

Therefore, we were not concerned with championing the view that holds absolute power, nor with the view that language is merely a means by which we can do whatever we want. Rather, we tried to examine the issues closely and extract what we believed to be consistent with scientific data, evidence, and facts; and at the same time consistent with the idea of ​​linguistic justice, which is part of the idea of ​​justice as fairness.