1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Language Problems and Language Planning
  4. Volume 45, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 45, Issue 2
  • ISSN 0272-2690
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9889
PDF

Abstract

Abstract

The territoriality principle stipulates that minority communities in a given territory should be linguistically accommodated. What are the economic effects of this principle? In this paper, we argue that the recognition of multiple languages confers respect on the minority group; it allows people to engage and participate meaningfully in society – thereby facilitating economic well-being. There is, however, a caveat: when recognition happens in areas where the minority is the overwhelming majority, there is a risk that the near-exclusive use of the minority language cuts the community off from the larger national state, which in turn stunts development. To test this, we focus on Transylvania, Romania. We leverage a legal stipulation that recognizes minority languages in areas where the minority constitutes more than 20% of the population. Using data at the municipal level, we find that recognition increases economic well-being in general – but not in areas where the minority are numerically dominant. Our results are normatively welcoming, but they also caution governments not simply to recognize minority languages but also to protect them adequately.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Available under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/lplp.00076.csa
2021-11-24
2023-03-25

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/lplp.00076.csa
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/lplp.00076.csa.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1075/lplp.00076.csa&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Alesina, A., Baqir, R., & Easterly, W.
    (1999) Public goods and ethnic divisions. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 114(4), 1243–1284. 10.1162/003355399556269
     https://doi.org/10.1162/003355399556269 [Google Scholar]
  2. Arcand, J. L., & Grin, F.
    (2013) Language in economic development: Is English special and is linguistic fragmentation Bad?InE. Erling & P. Seargeant (Eds.), English and development: Policy, pedagogy and globalization17 (pp.243–261). Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. 10.21832/9781847699473‑015
     https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847699473-015 [Google Scholar]
  3. Boia, L.
    (2015) Cum s-a românizat România. București: Humanitas.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Bracic, A.
    (2020) Breaking the exclusion cycle: How to promote cooperation between majority and minority ethnic groups. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/oso/9780190050672.001.0001
     https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190050672.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  5. Csata, Z.
    (2017) Munkaerőpiaci egyenlőtlenségek Romániában, etnikai metszetben. Erdélyi Társadalom, 15(1), 81–103.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. (2018) Economy and Ethnicity in Transylvania. InT. Kiss, I. Székely, T. Toró, N. Bárdi & I. Horváth (Eds.), Unequal accommodation of minority rights (pp.345–379). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978‑3‑319‑78893‑7_9
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78893-7_9 [Google Scholar]
  7. Csata, Z., Hlatky, R., & Liu, A. H.
    (2020) How to head count ethnic minorities: Validity of census surveys versus other identification strategies. East European Politics. doi:  10.1080/21599165.2020.1843439
     https://doi.org/10.1080/21599165.2020.1843439 [Google Scholar]
  8. Csata, Z., & Marácz, L. K.
    (2016) Prospects on Hungarian as a regional official language and Szeklerland’s territorial autonomy in Romania. International Journal of Minority and Group Rights, 24(1), 1–30. 10.1163/15718115‑02304005
     https://doi.org/10.1163/15718115-02304005 [Google Scholar]
  9. De Schutter, H.
    (2008) The linguistic territoriality principle: A critique. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 25(2), 105–120. 10.1111/j.1468‑5930.2008.00397.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-5930.2008.00397.x [Google Scholar]
  10. den Butter, F. A., & Mosch, R. H.
    (2003) Trade, trust and transaction cost. Amsterdam and Rotterdam: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper, 03-082/3. 10.2139/ssrn.459501
     https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.459501 [Google Scholar]
  11. Fosztó, L.
    (2009) Colecţie de studii despre romii din România. Cluj Napoca: Editura ISPMN.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Ginsburgh, V., & Weber, S.
    (2011) How many languages do we need?: The economics of linguistic diversity. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Habyarimana, J., Humphreys, M., Posner, D. N., & Weinstein, J.
    (2009) Coethnicity: Diversity and the dilemmas of collective action. New York: Russell Sage.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Horváth, I.
    (2009) A romániai nyelvpolitikák értékelése. Regio, 20(1), 3–16.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Horváth, I., Csata, Z., & Székely, I. G.
    (2021) Utilizarea limbii materne la nivelul unităților administrative locale: Estimare costuri. Cluj Napoca: Institutul Pentru Studierea Problemelor Minorităţilor Naţionale.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Huebert, E. T. & Liu, A. H.
    (2017) Ethnic identity and attitudes toward state institutions: Evidence of judicial legitimacy among the indigenous in Latin America. Politics, Groups, and Identities, 5(4): 561–579. 10.1080/21565503.2015.1136223
     https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2015.1136223 [Google Scholar]
  17. Ionescu-Heroiu, M., Burduja, S., & Sandu, D.
    (2013) Competitive cities: Reshaping the economic geography of Romania: Report. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Kim, M., Liu, A. H., Tuxhorn, K.-L., Brown, D. S., & Leblang, D.
    (2015) Lingua mercatoria: Language and foreign direct investment. International Studies Quarterly, 59(2): 330–343. 10.1111/isqu.12158
     https://doi.org/10.1111/isqu.12158 [Google Scholar]
  19. Kiss, T.
    (2010) Támpontok az erdélyi etnikai rétegződési rendszer vizsgálatához II. Pro Minoritate, 2, 3–42.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. (2018) A changing system of ethnic stratification: The social positions of Transylvanian Hungarians. InT. Kiss, I. Székely, T. Toró, N. Bárdi & I. Horváth (Eds.), Unequal accommodation of minority rights (pp.419–458). Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. 10.1007/978‑3‑319‑78893‑7_11
     https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78893-7_11 [Google Scholar]
  21. Knack, S., & Keefer, P.
    (1997) Does social capital have an economic payoff? A cross-country investigation. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(4), 1251–1288. 10.1162/003355300555475
     https://doi.org/10.1162/003355300555475 [Google Scholar]
  22. Liu, A. H.
    (2015) Standardizing diversity: The political economy of language regimes. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 10.9783/9780812292107
     https://doi.org/10.9783/9780812292107 [Google Scholar]
  23. Liu, A. H., & Baird, V.
    (2012) Linguistic recognition as a source of confidence in the justice system. Comparative Political Studies, 45(10), 1203–1229. 10.1177/0010414011434294
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414011434294 [Google Scholar]
  24. Liu, A. H., Brown, D. S., & Dunn, M. H.
    (2015) Minority language recognition and trust: Evidence from twenty-five democracies. Taiwan Journal of Democracy, 11(2), 113–138.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Liu, A. H., & Pizzi, E.
    (2018) Language of economic growth: A new measure of linguistic heterogeneity. British Journal of Political Science, 48(4), 953–980. 10.1017/S0007123416000260
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123416000260 [Google Scholar]
  26. Liu, A. H., Shair-Rosenfield, S., Vance, L. R., & Csata, Z.
    (2018) Linguistic origins of gender equality and women’s rights. Gender and Society, 32(1), 82–108. 10.1177/0891243217741428
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0891243217741428 [Google Scholar]
  27. Marquardt, K. L.
    (2018) Identity, social mobility, and ethnic mobilization: Language and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Comparative Political Studies, 51(7), 831–867. 10.1177/0010414017720701
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414017720701 [Google Scholar]
  28. Miguel, E., & Gugerty, M. K.
    (2005) Ethnic diversity, social sanctions, and public goods in Kenya. Journal of Public Economics, 89(11–12), 2325–2368. 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2004.09.004
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2004.09.004 [Google Scholar]
  29. Putnam, R. D.
    (2007) E pluribus unum: Diversity and community in the twenty-first century. Scandinavian Political Studies, 30(2), 137–174. 10.1111/j.1467‑9477.2007.00176.x
     https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9477.2007.00176.x [Google Scholar]
  30. Ricks, J. I.
    (2020) The effect of language on political appeal: Results from a survey experiment in Thailand. Political Behavior, 42(1), 83–104. 10.1007/s11109‑018‑9487‑z
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-018-9487-z [Google Scholar]
  31. Salat, L., & Novák, C. Z.
    (2015) Ethnicity, nationalism, and the minority regime. InL. Stan & D. Vancea (Eds.), Post-communist Romania at twenty-five: Linking past, present, and future (pp.63–86). Lanham: Lexington Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Sandu, D.
    (2011) Social disparities in the regional development and policies of Romania. International Review of Social Research, 1(1), 1–30. 10.1515/irsr‑2011‑0001
     https://doi.org/10.1515/irsr-2011-0001 [Google Scholar]
  33. Toró, T.
    (2020) Detached implementation: Discourse and practice in minority language use in Romania. Language Policy, 19(1), 5–29. 10.1007/s10993‑018‑9494‑2
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-018-9494-2 [Google Scholar]
  34. Van Parijs, P.
    (2011) Linguistic justice for Europe and for the world. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199208876.001.0001
     https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199208876.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  35. Wickström, B. A.
    (2019) The percentage rule for minority language rights: Inadequate or discriminatory. Język. Komunikacja. Informacja, 14: 72–84.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Wolff, S.
    (2009) Ethnic minorities in Europe: The basic facts. Nottingham: Centre for International Crisis Management and Conflict Resolution.
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1075/lplp.00076.csa
Loading
The economic effects of the territoriality principle
Language Problems and Language Planning 45, 164 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1075/lplp.00076.csa
/content/journals/10.1075/lplp.00076.csa
/content/journals/10.1075/lplp.00076.csa
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): economic development; linguistic diversity; minority accommodation; Romania; territoriality principle; Transylvania

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error