Language grief: A ‘raw material’ of ethnic conflict

Abstract

Ethnic conflict is defined as a breakdown of accommodation within a state, and five major types of explanation have been advanced: exploitation, relative deprivation and inclusion/exclusion, entrepreneurship/mobilization, identity and insecurity. Another important factor that can complement these explanations is grief over actual or anticipated language loss. Language grief can over time resolve itself, as it has done in Nova Scotia, Indonesia or the Republic of Ireland, but it can also provide a raw material for further refinement into a breakdown of accommodation as it has in Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka. It is possible for a state to intervene and manage the tensions caused by language loss, as India has done with a fair measure of success.

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