The conflict potential of multilingualism

Abstract

In the introduction I treated multilingualism, i.e. a situation where several languages exist alongside one another in a society, as if it were naturally and necessarily a setting that is prone to conflict. There is no reason to think that multilingualism must always lead to a conflict, but in many cases, particularly when it overlaps with multiethnicity or multinationality, it does. The reasons for the conflict potential of multilingualism lie in the functions language plays in society – indeed, in any society. Across disciplines, many authors working on partial aspects of language-related conflicts and language regimes, agree that, languages defined as systems have at least two functions in a society.