[...]... synthesises the work of some of the major writers on the study of nationalism, highlighting in particular the importance of the nationalist xi movements in the late eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries Many of these writers specifically discuss the role of language in nation-building and in the construction of national identity This will help form the basis from which to explore this role in the Spanish-speaking. .. politics of language and the way these operate in the Spanish-speaking world Grillo (1989:7–21) gives an excellent summary of current definitions of the field of the politics of language Of his three main categories, which range from the macro to the micro observation of the political in language and the linguistic in politics (Grillo, 1989:21), this book will focus almost exclusively on the most macro—what... see the beginnings of the standardising, fixing and creating of norms of the language which, as we have seen, is an essential part of the process of linguistic nationalism Following Anderson’s model (1992:44–6), we can see that with the work of the Academy, Castilian can now become the print language to draw together the Spanish ‘imagined’ community, simultaneously confirming its role in the linguistic... here on the emergence of Castilian as the dominant variety and on its development as ‘Spanish’ Although I have argued that this development parallels the process of nation/state-building, I will not be offering a discussion of nation-building in Spain (or, in the later section, in Latin America) except insofar as this concerns the role of language. 5 In terms of the history of the Spanish language, the. .. examination of models of Language Planning and particularly language policies in the Spanish-speaking world Again we move from the general to the specific cases of Language Planning in Spain and Latin America In Chapter 4 we look at the issues raised by an understanding of linguistic rights, such as the conflict between collective and individual rights and how this affects language policies and language. .. surprising, then, that Herder relates his views on language to the idea of the nation, views which have rightly earned him a place in the literature as one of the foremost early thinkers on the idea of the nation and nationalism Herder’s prize-winning essay of 1772 Ueber den Ursprung der Sprache (‘Treatise upon the Origins of Language ) is often cited as the seminal work for the origins of linguistic... Arab-speakers as these two communities came into contact as a result of the Portuguese drive southwards At the time of the Arab invasion the Asturian-Leonese variety was probably the most dominant in the centre of the Peninsula (Diez et al., 1977), but the role of Castile in the Reconquista is crucial in ousting the former from this position The Christian opposition to the Arab invasion was increasingly directed... resemble the unity of modern-style states A further highly significant date linked with the origin of modern Spain is that of 1492 In this year the last of the occupying Arabs were defeated at Granada This is also the year of the first of Christopher Columbus’ voyages to the Americas, and therefore the beginning of the future vast American empire for Spain From a linguistic point of view, too, this... Melilla, in the Philippines, and in parts of North Africa and the Middle East where Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) can still be found.2 These latter examples of Spanish-speaking communities are all ones where the use of Spanish is largely on the decline and even likely to become extinct altogether The use of Spanish in Latin America, and particularly in the US, is, on the other hand, on the increase in regions... linguistic hierarchy of the state Between 1726 and 1739 the RAE produced its first authoritative dictionary This was followed in 1741 by the Ortografía of spelling norms, and then in 1771 by the Gramática castellana The role of this latter is highly influential in a further part of the nation-building project as the basis for the teaching of the language Indeed another highly important aspect of the now deliberate . Counter-nationalism and the other languages of the Spanish-speaking world 38 The linguistic minority communities in Spain 39 The ‘other’ languages of Latin America 51 The triumph of Spanish 60 PART. just the case of Puerto Ricans. In Chapter 10, the concluding chapter, the role of language in society, and, in particular, in the Spanish-speaking world, is examined in this post-modern world of. summary of current definitions of the field of the politics of language. Of his three main categories, which range from the macro to the micro observation of the political in language and the linguistic