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9 - Language Politics in India

Tradition, Regime, and Diversity

from Part II - Dependent Relationships

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2024

By
Selma K. Sonntag
Edited by
Ericka Albaugh ,
Linda Cardinal  and
Rémi Léger
Ericka Albaugh
Affiliation:
Bowdoin College, Maine
Linda Cardinal
Affiliation:
Université de l'Ontario français
Rémi Léger
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University, British Columbia
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Summary

This chapter deals with the Algerian language regime and its formation/operation during the history of contemporary Algeria, making the Amazigh language activism the common thread through which this language regime has been shaped. The objective is to present a particular postcolonial language regime, which reflects an entire political system. Indeed, it approaches the situation of languages from a double perspective: the status conferred and the status anticipated/expected. The balance, or not, between the two levels helps to define the type of language regime and its stability. However, in this case study, the fact that the Amazigh language is marginalized and far from meeting the expectations of those who claim it, means that the gap between the two statuses is significant. Thus, taking the Amazigh claims as a guideline for approaching the Algerian language regime seems to be the most efficient way to understand and present this language regime. It is the Amazigh language that has experienced the most intense activism. This seems to have weighed the most in the Algerian language regime, pushing it from the inside to evolve, in particular through the critical junctures of political crises.

Keywords

AlgeriaAmazighlanguage regimeactivismpostcolonialcrisisJacobinism
Type
Chapter
Information
States of Language Policy
Theorizing Continuity and Change
 , pp. 169 - 189
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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