Language and New Nationalism in Higher Education

The politics of language: The case of national examinations in English in Russia

“…English often becomes a proxy for and a means to internationalisation and globalisation, but it also appears in opposite narratives – as a threat to national language, cohesion and national security at large (e.g. Saarinen, 2020). In the Finnish context Saarinen (2020: 119) shows that post-nationalist discourses of internationalisation were surprisingly fragile, and that nationalist discourses shifted from underlying the ‘inner cohesion of a nation’ to ‘construing a hegemonic majority and a national language under external threat’.…”

“…The existence of a shared language provides grounds for claiming an independent nationhood, leading to varied consequences such as viewing the presence of linguistic minorities as a threat to the state’s cohesive national identity or territorial integrity (Wright, 2016). Language skills are linked to citizenship both formally and morally, which can be seen in language tests (Khan and McNamara, 2017) or ‘as hegemonic understandings of what is an acceptable way of speaking’ (Ramjattan, 2019, cited in Saarinen, 2020: 14). Although linguistic tensions have largely decreased due to the expansion of employment, urbanisation, state education and the rise of other institutions and historical processes leading to linguistic unification and standardisation, this is not to say that the political relevance of language has been eliminated (Brubaker, 2015).…”

“…Although linguistic tensions have largely decreased due to the expansion of employment, urbanisation, state education and the rise of other institutions and historical processes leading to linguistic unification and standardisation, this is not to say that the political relevance of language has been eliminated (Brubaker, 2015). Language continues to both reflect and co-constitute political and ideological structures (Saarinen, 2020).…”

“…For example, the discourse of economic interests and global competition of ‘our’ nation against others habitually frames economic arguments touting the benefits of learning and diverse linguistic skills. Saarinen (2020: 6) therefore states that as scholars ‘unpack the hegemonic discourses’ they ‘find not one but many nationalisms’, which is also a reminder that these discourses are not successive but layered and recycled across time and space. To understand how nationalism persists and its force, we need to trace the processes of its metamorphoses and manifestations across various domains.…”

“…To understand how nationalism persists and its force, we need to trace the processes of its metamorphoses and manifestations across various domains. Saarinen (2020) gives an example of the English language transforming from ‘a guarantor of national interests and benefits’ to ‘today’s killer English’: a perception of English as a threat to mastering the national language and thus broadly to the continuity of national identity (p. 128). ‘Protecting’ national languages easily lends itself to nationalism that is, as essential for the reproduction of national identity and the link between nationhood and statehood (Kelly, 2018; Lee, 2017, as cited in Saarinen, 2020: 2).…”