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THE ROLE OF THE LINGUISTIC FACTOR IN THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE STATE. (ON THE EXAMPLE OF ITALIAN, FRENCH AND CHINESE LANGUAGES)

M. A. Egorova, N. I. Bolotina, N. A. Avdeeva

Abstract

The article considers an actual issue of how important is the language aspect in state-building. In history, there are many examples where the language of one of the cities or region became the language of the emerging state and, at the same time, the basis for the formation of its national unity, common culture and identity. The article analyzes the role of language as one of the main connecting elements of the country. History shows that polylinguism always hinders the formation of a single state, and the presence of strong dialects is a potential threat to the unity of the country. Dialects impede the spread of the state language or challenge its dominant role, which actually lays the foundation for the weakening of central authority and the strengthening of regionalism. The authors argue that language is not just a reflection of the ideas of the people, it is the united spiritual energy of the people. The development of language is directly interrelated with the process of the formation of the nation's self-consciousness and the formation of the statehood. It can be said that these are interconnected and interdependent processes. For example, for such countries and regions as Catalonia, the Basque Country, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Corsica, South Tyrol and others, the formation of national identity began at the same time with the revival of their native language. In order to demonstrate the universality of the use of language as an instrument of central authorities for the consolidation of the state, the strengthening of the political system and the weakening of the positions of regions and local dialects, regardless of the fact to which region of the world the research country belongs, the article focuses on three countries as the most striking examples: two European countries - Italy and France, as well as China with its many-thousand-year history of polyilingism (dialectic diversity). The formation of the Italian and French statehood is inseparably linked with the history of the development and strengthening of the Italian and French languages, respectively. Particular attention is paid to the role of the Tuscan dialect in the formation of the modern Italian language. Another example is the French language, the distribution of which, especially in the twentieth century, in contrast to the spread of Italian, was aimed at suppressing the languages of the regions in order to strengthen the unity of the French Republic. As for China, the plurality of dialects makes the language unification of the country extremely difficult and greatly complicates understanding between people from different places of residence. This problem has been throughout the history of the country and remains to this day one of the factors of the weakening of the state power, it impedes the unity of the country, and also hinders China in its desire to fully integrate into the world community and achieve the status of the В«number oneВ» power in the international arena.

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