What It All Means

Ideas spread via language. Most communication, and all of the important communication in modern affairs, happens in one language.

When communications break down, or can not be brought up, the choices that result are either separation or force.

The greater the linguistic difference between groups, (e.g. government and governed) the greater the power of the force of linguistic difference.

Modern governments, with some popular component such as elections, to be effective, rely on communications from the governors and the governed, between the governed, and, to a lesser degree, from the governed to the governors.

Justice, as meted out by governments, is rooted in law, which is generally fixed in a single language. The justice system includes arrests, interrogations, trials, imprisonment and pardoning. None of this can be expected to happen smoothely if the participants can not communicate with each other in a single language.

It seems that the natural extension of the jurisdiction of a government extends no further than the that of the language group. Areas controlled by further extension tend to independence.

That the functions of government, especially as it relates to law and justice, but even with respect to military matters, have an essential linguistic character. Language differences undermine attempts at persuasion, resulting in a requirement on force.

There exists ways to spread knowledge of a language outside of schools, but that a language is more difficult to learn than a religion or any other aspect of culture.

Business requires a shared language for negotiation, generally.

Romance is nearly impossible without a shared language, and hence ones group of potential mates is concommitant with, and thus reinforces, the language group.

Translation is an effort, and is likely to dampen the passion or complexity of the original. Complex ideas, e.g. Hegelian philosophy, use words and concepts which simply aren't available in many other languages. Very simple ideas, or ideas which are expressed simply, can be rephrased by a translator to make them eloquent, but it is not easy to imagine the translator will emote at the correct points in the plea, unless they were as good with acting as with translation.

Governments often attempt to create uniformity and allegiance through language policy.

To advance in government circles, if not often commercial ones, knowledge of the national language is required. Exceptions in multi-lingual states like the Austro-Hungarian Empire (with ten national languages) or Switzerland don't undermine the role of German in either case. This reinforces the linguistic sense of a nation.

Some elites require popular support for wars and hence use propaganda. Support for such wars is impossible outside of the language(s) of the propagandist.

People of different Christian faiths should not feel much antagonism over their differences, knowing that much had been decided by the languages of their forebears. And that, similarly, people of radically different faiths should not find their differences more than the results of a millenium of language based division.

In so far as most of the law is rooted in language, citizenship is closely linked to literacy.

Language is the part of human culture most resistant to change, and therefore needs to be recognized first in discussions of the political culture of a nation.

Language barriers are barriers to journalists, so naturally, for example, Francophone journalists have a much better change to get the real story in a Francophone country than a non-Francophone journalist. Language operates similarly on the dissemination of news, as Anglophone audiences have access only to Anglophone stories. In both gathering and disseminating the news, general knowledge of, and printed material about, the historical circumstances to a lesser degree pin knowledge in particular language communities.

Free communication is vital to debate. Transnational linguistic groups (e.g. Francophone and Anglophone) help this along.

Journalists can only cover stories when they can get them, which involves communication.

"Languages, if they survive, make it easier to foster and preserve traditions of knowledge [custom and culture], loss of languages makes it far easier to dissipate them." 1 I am not saying language is the only force, I am saying it is the one worthy of the most respect.