Linguistic Freedom, Justice, Democracy and Inequality: Do We Need a Standard?

Language plays a crucial role in our fight for justice, equality, and democracy. Language use often leads to conflict. Some language policies may lead to social inequality and may even undermine democracy. When people are discriminated against, their language is usually ostracized and downgraded. This may be true for different languages such as Polish and Spanish, or for different varieties within one of these. Having to speak a standard variety of a language may be seen as injustice and discrimination. Imposing a spoken standard variety is a political decision and it enhances inequality. There is no spoken standard Norwegian, which contributes to social equality and peaceful coexistence. We tend to be intolerant and look down on people who use language in ways other than ours.