Webinar on Linguistic Justice and Public Policy

As a result of these trends, the occasions of contact and therefore of potential conflict between languages and cultures have increased. The range of issues raised by linguistic diversity calls upon new solutions to manage and arbitrate conflict and integration. In other words, linguistic diversity cannot be left alone. This requires government involvement in the management of multilingualism through language policy. However, not all language policies are the same: some can contribute positively to solving language issues, while others can have negative effects, exacerbate tensions and inequalities, and create injustice.

The aim of the webinar is to discuss the concept of linguistic justice from an interdisciplinary perspective, to explore how language policy can contribute to creating or reducing situations of political, social and economic disadvantage for individuals in society, and how can we measure such disadvantage. The debate will benefit from contributions coming from different scientific areas, including Economics, Sociology, Linguistics and Political Theory.

The event is organised by the School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences of Ulster University with the kind support of Esperantic Studies Foundation (ESF) and the Centre for Public Administration.