This book is intended to provide a fundamental understanding of the issues surrounding language rights and how these are integral to human rights in general, as well as an individual’s definition of personal and cultural identity. It then explores language conflicts in a variety of nations, and shows how those conflicts have affected the rights of certain groups to use their own language, the groups’ efforts to secure those rights, and efforts to deny those rights through legislation and other actions. Through careful and linguistically informed presentations of these matters, the book critically examines the significant intellectual issues underlying what can be an extremely emotionally-charged subject.