Language Policy and War

While issues of language have accompanied war from the earliest times, the attempt to understand these issues in terms of policy is very recent. In the last 20 years, the idea of language policy has widened to apply to the practices of political, social and cultural organisations, and to the ways these practices are thought and written about. It has recently included the practices of the armed forces and the language issues faced in war. This chapter aims to show how an understanding of language policy can shed light on issues of language that arise in situations of war and conflict. It will give examples drawn from conflicts of the last quarter-century, particularly in the policy and practice of NATO forces. It will also suggest that language policy is in constant tension with practice, as well as with policy areas that are not specifically focused on language.