If development is to mean more than economic growth, then language should be on top of our agendas. The preservation of minority languages and the building of lingua franca is crucial for the cultural, social and civil well-being of societies. Development which values culture is inseparable from policies which preserve and languages. In this conversation with James Griffiths, the author of ‘Speak Not: Empire, Identity and the Politics of Language’, Zilun delves deep into the history and various cases of language revival policies to examine their beneficial impact on development.
Interview by Zilun Lin
Music by Lorcan Cudlip Cook
Oxford Society for International Development 