Strategies of "Securitizing" Language

Abstract

This academic research analyzes the concept of Language Securitization and its strategies. The study focuses on the process through which language is identified as a threat or a matter of national and social security. The theoretical framework utilizes Fishman’s Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (GIDS) to identify the risks of language shift between generations—a key cause of linguistic insecurity—alongside the UNESCO (2003) criteria for assessing language vitality. The findings indicate that while the Kurdish language in Southern Kurdistan ranks between levels 1 to 4 on the GIDS scale, it still lacks a unified standard in education, media, and administration. The use of two distinct formal writing systems, coupled with social neglect toward the mother tongue, necessitates a six-level strategy for language protection. This strategy encompasses the domains of family, education, administration, media, technology, and official legislation to build a unified system of language security.

This paper, entitled “Language Security Strategies”, aims to introduce the concept of language security and present the types of security and theories that explain the protection of the national language, so that appropriate strategies can be proposed for any problem that arises.

In this study, Kurdish dialect of Central Kurdish-Sulaimani dialect was used.

In the first part, it introduces the concept of language security according to the Copenhagen School, which recognizes language protection as an issue of national and social security and defines the distinct types of security. In the second section, he analyzes the theoretical foundations of language security according to the UNESCO criteria for language preservation and Joshua Fishman’s model for assessing the level of language vitality. These assessments can then be used to develop appropriate strategies for language threats.