Capabilities and Linguistic Justice

Abstract

Language conditions our socio-political world in fundamental ways. How public institutions deal with linguistic diversity, and how they distribute linguistic benefits, has an important impact on an individuals’ life. This article studies the value of language in multilingual environments by evaluating the debate on linguistic justice through the capabilities approach. It studies the value of language to assess what principles of justice are required to secure individual freedom. First, we explore the value of language within the framework proposed by the capabilities approach. Second, we assess the role of language in enabling the development of certain capabilities. As a first attempt to comprehensively address the relationship between linguistic justice and the capabilities approach, it evaluates how linguistic justice theories fare in fostering four capabilities from Martha Nussbaum’s list. We provide a conceptually sound normative assessment of the role played by language within the capabilities framework, and how it translates into policy.

Towards an index of linguistic justice

“…In recent years, a new approach to linguistic justice has been proposed (though not yet fully developed) in which linguistic disadvantage is defined in terms of what people are able to be and do in a given language, rather in terms of what they can receive (see Brando and Morales-Gálvez, 2021; Carey, 2019; Lewis, 2017; Shorten, 2017). In this application of the capabilities approach developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, resources or means should be viewed as only part of the story, since ‘if the goal is to establish conditions that provide people with truly fair opportunities to use and sustain their respective languages, then additional ‘conversion’ factors, for example the constraining influence of implicit social norms and conventions, also need to be considered and addressed’ (Lewis, 2017: 604).…”

Pratiques éducatives ouvertes au postsecondaire en milieu minoritaire francophone au Canada : défis et possibilités pour viser l’équité linguistique

“…Bien que le français soit une langue internationale avec le statut de langue majoritaire dans différents coins du monde, au Canada elle représente une langue minoritaire dans les provinces et territoires hors Québec. Avec la montée puissante de l'anglais comme langue véhiculaire mondiale, notamment dans la production de connaissances scientifiques, les enjeux liés aux politiques des groupes linguistiques minoritaires, ainsi que leurs revendications, sont un point d'intérêt depuis plusieurs décennies (Brando et Morales-Gálvez, 2021).…”

The practical ethics of linguistic integration: Three challenges

“…This is a common (and lamentable) attitude, including in mobility/ies research, which can greatly benefit from greater attunement to scholarship on D/deaf migrants (e.g., Emery and Iyer 2022;Moriarty and Kusters 2021). 3 E.g., Lewis 2017;Shorten 2017;Brando and Morales-Gálvez 2023;Shorten 2022. 4 E.g., von Busekist andBoudou 2018;Oakes and Peled 2018, chap.…”