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ERIC Number: EJ1135830
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0046-760X
EISSN: N/A
Languages, Script and National Identity: Struggles over Linguistic Heterogeneity in Switzerland in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Boser, Lukas; Brühwiler, Ingrid
History of Education, v46 n3 p306-323 2017
For centuries, Switzerland has been a multilingual country (which currently has no less than four official languages.) Furthermore, one of those languages, German, is characterised by bigraphism (i.e. the coexistence of two different type styles). This article discusses the role played by language and writing systems in the great educational scheme that was designed to create a shared national identity among Swiss people--despite the friction caused by cantonal and local idiosyncrasies, different cultural backgrounds, and deep-rooted traditions. It focuses on the timespan from the mid-nineteenth century to the end of the First World War, a period during which nation-states were formed all over Europe. The findings show how language and writing systems were intertwined with local, cantonal and national identities in a state (Switzerland) that had no uniform national language. It was through the use of language and writing that ideas of "us" (herein, the Swiss) and "others" (herein, the non-Swiss) were constructed, disseminated and perpetuated.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Switzerland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A