1971—2010年西方关于语言权利的重要理论思考——《语言政策与规划·语言政策与语言权利》述评

Some Thoughts on Important Theories about Language Rights Developed in the Western World from 1971 to 2010:Review of Language Policy and Language Rights in the Series of Language Policy and Planning

本卷对西方学界自20世纪70年代以来关于语言权利与语言政策的重要理论思考进行了较为全面的回顾,在案例选取和作者来源上基本覆盖了世界各洲,所涉领域横跨语言学、政治理论、社会学等学科,充分展现了语言权利研究地方化、跨学科的特色。卷中探讨了语言权利作为语言政策的一种元规划取向的价值,涵盖小族权利、语言人权、语言多样性、语言歧视、语言公正、语言民族主义等热点话题。当前讨论显示,语言权利在理论上得到政治哲学等领域关于语言正义的论证支持,并以国际人权法律文件为重要法理渊源,不过迄今未能作为一个独立概念获得国际法律框架的承认。学界所重视的是语言权利本身所象征的身份认同意义及其在教育、行政、文化等领域的资源调配功能,关注移民、少数民族等小族群体能否通过语言权利的实现享受更高程度的社会公平,保留其多样性的语言文化。相关讨论也显示,语言权利仍在理论和实践上面临诸多挑战,学界在权利内容和法律定位等核心问题上仍未取得一致。中国学界不必盲目跟随西方的论证逻辑,而应提出适用于中国语情的语言权利话语体系,为语言权利研究的进一步发展提供更多地方化的解决方案。

This volume embarks upon a comprehensive examination about some important theories about the language rights and language policy that have been developed by Western scholars since the 1970 s.Both research cases included in the volume and their contributors are from all over the world,and the enquiry areas cover linguistics,political theories,and sociology,etc,showing the interdisciplinary nature and wide coverage in scale.The volume explores the meta-planning value orientation of language rights as a language policy,including minority rights,human language rights,language pluralism,language discrimination,language justice,language nationalism,and other currently hot topics.The current review shows that language rights in theory are supported by language justice rationality,and they are legally grounded in the principles of international human rights.But on the other hand,this argument as an independent concept is yet to be acknowledged in international legal framework.What draws attention from academics is its symbolic implications of collective identity and its function in distributing resources in the areas of education,administration and education,which covers immigration,small ethnographic groups and if they can enjoy higher level social fairness and be able to preserve the linguistic and language diversity as well.The discussions in this volume also show that language right faces a number of challenges both in theory and in practice.The researchers have yet to reach a consensus in some core contents and their legal status.In my conclusion,I argue that Chinese academics do not need to blindly follow up the Western logic and rationale,but instead to advance language right discourse that suits the indigenous demands,thus provide localized resolution for further development in language right study.