Conflict and Linguistic Policy in Asturias
The object of study of this paper is the linguistic policy of the Principality of Asturias. The analysis will be conducted from the perspective of peace sociolinguistics, an interdisciplinary discipline formed from sociolinguistics and peace studies. This discipline
has only a brief theoretical development. However, its implementation can contribute significantly to the analysis of (socio)linguistic violence as well as possible manifestations of peace within identity conflicts. The study of linguistic policy or planning is of great importance for studying sociocultural conflict. This is because language planning is also a type of social planning. Considering the role that language has as a marker of differentiation in contemporary identities, the laws that regulate linguistic use also have an impact on the identity level of a community. In the Asturian case, the linguistic policy is almost non-existent, which relegates the use of one’s language to only private spaces. And it is even observed how the Asturian language gradually disappears to the detriment of Spanish. It is precisely for this reason that one of the greatest demands of Asturian language speakers is linguistic officiality. This research has two main objectives. The first is to contribute to the expansion of peace sociolinguistics, as well as show its potential in the analysis of sociolinguistic conflicts. The second is to show the sociocultural implications that an insufficient linguistic policy, such as the Asturian one, can have.