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Linguistic Justice

Author

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  • Philippe Van Parijs

    (Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium vanparijs@etes.ucl.ac.be)

Abstract

The world is full of situations of asymmetric bilingualism: the members of one linguistic group learn the language of another without the latter reciprocating. In such a situation, the cost of learning is borne by one group, whereas the benefit is enjoyed by both. This paper first argues that, in the absence of any cost-sharing device, such situations are unjust. Next, it critically examines four potential criteria of linguistic justice, each of which offers a distinct answer to the question of how to allocate between two linguistic groups the cost of one of them learning a second language. Criteria suggested by Church and King, Jonathan Pool and David Gauthier are spelled out and rejected in favour of a criterion of equal ratios of benefit to cost. Lastly, the paper sketches some policy implications concerning what is owed by English natives to the rest of mankind as a result of English being adopted as a worldwide lingua franca.

Suggested Citation

  • Philippe Van Parijs, 2002. "Linguistic Justice," Politics, Philosophy & Economics, , vol. 1(1), pages 59-74, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:pophec:v:1:y:2002:i:1:p:59-74
    DOI: 10.1177/1470594X02001001003
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    Cited by:

    1. Bengt-Arne Wickström, 2010. "The Optimal Babel - An Economic Framework for the Analysis of Dynamic Language Rights," CESifo Working Paper Series 2956, CESifo.

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