Language and neutrality: glottopolitical processes and consequences. Introduction to the monographic section

Abstract

This monographic section of Revista de Llengua i Dret examines whether and how language neutrality is a discursive construction that results from political positionalities and vested socioeconomic interests. Adopting a critical lens on “neutrality” as a political position in a given sociopolitical and language struggle, the five contributions look into language as the vehicle of such a stance in post-colonial language blocs such as la Francophonie and la Lusofonia, early 20th century Esperantism, and language policies in an international organisation and in two officially multilingual states, Switzerland and South Africa. We propose a historiographic approach to the conditions of production with a focus on ideological tensions, the linguistic work required to (re)produce language neutrality and the resulting social differentiation and exclusion in specific language interventions.