The rights to language as a civil right Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The rights to language as a civil right - Essay Example One of the rights provided under civil rights is the right to language. Human communication would be limited and impaired if language did not exist. Different languages are widely spoken because of the different racial, cultural, and national backgrounds of the different groups of people in the country. The rights to language, also known as linguistic human rights, allow a person to decide on their own accord what language or languages they prefer to use as a means of communication, whether publicly or privately. (Moraes 43) Language rights were first recognized as an international human right when they were included in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. There is a distinction made between language rights and linguistic human rights. Language rights cover a wider range, and one can argue that all linguistic human rights are language rights, but not all language rights are linguistic human rights. Language rights are necessary basic human rights to ensure a dignified life, For example, the right of access to an official language. Linguistic human rights are not strictly essential human rights; they exist to improve on the basic human and civil basic right to language. They are above basic needs making them accessory rights under language rights (Moraes 47) The right to learn foreign languages is an example of linguistic human rights is. Individual linguistic rights are provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These are the Individual linguistic rights are applicable privately or publicly. According to Article 26 contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, â€Å"all people have the right to education with relevance to the language of medium of instruction, for example in the U.S., the Bilingual Education Act (BEA) of 1968 catered to students of Limited English Speaking Ability (LESA). The Bilingual Act, Title VI of the civil rights Act of 1964, was passed following the Civil Rights movement that peaked