The Myth of Language as a Unifying Factor

Abstract

Unity is an ideal that all societies, whatever their backgrounds and histories, aspire to. Elaborate measures are often taken by communities and governments, through all the means available, to construct unity and the other byproducts of it, like peace. Often, language has been seen as a vehicle to help the achievement of unity, hence the view that language is a unifying factor. Associated with this is also the view that multilingualism is divisive and monolingualism is unifying.