Language Diversity Speaking to Autonomy: Exploring the relations between autonomy and minority language education

Abstract

This article explores the models through which political autonomy and language diversity relate to each other. Hence, it constitutes an approximation to the relation between different forms of autonomy (territorial, non-territorial) and educational models which separate or bring together students with different linguistic backgrounds (through immersion policies). It reflects on two longstanding notions: the imagination of a homeland and that of the mother tongue (where language is the essence of a particular group). It uses four parameters: the principles of territoriality and personality concerning autonomy and language rights on one hand and the principles of separation and immersion concerning public language education policy on the other. Following the idea that contact between different ethnic groups promotes integration, it advocates for immersion-based educational systems which promote integration with due respect to the linguistic rights and national, ethnic or linguistic identity of both minority and (relative) majority students.

Keywords

• Autonomy
• language rights
• minority rights.