Survey Article: The Justification of Minority Language Rights*

Every society in the world is characterized by at least some degree of linguistic diversity. where more than a quarter of the population are members of historically rooted ethno-linguistic minorities. But even societies that like to think of themselves as having a single national language are home to significant language minorities. In the United States, for example, about 45 million residents over the age of five report using a language other than English in their homes, roughly 17.6% of all people surveyed in the 2000 census. In any context where more than one form of speech is in use, people face the problem of how they should communicate with one another. Although this problem arises in interesting ways in all sorts of informal, non-state contexts, it presents itself with particular force for public institutions that serve a linguistically diverse citizenry. Faced with linguistic diversity, what norms and practices of