Language politics in Latin America

Rajagopalan, Kanavillil

doi:10.1075/aila.18.07raj

Article published In: Applied Linguistics in Latin America
Edited by Kanavillil Rajagopalan
[AILA Review 18] 2005
► pp. 76–93

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Language politics in Latin America

Kanavillil Rajagopalan | State University at Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil

Published online: 2 February 2006

https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.18.07raj

This paper is an attempt to take stock of the politics of language as it has been playing out in Latin America, ever since the countries in this region were colonized by European powers, mainly Spain and Portugal. Linguistic imperialism is by no means a new phenomenon in this part of the world. In more recent times, the relentless advance of English as the world’s leading lingua franca has only brought to light the difficult North–South relations that have underpinned the geopolitics of the region.

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