Subject: linguistics and imperialism

it 's probably true that linguistics tends to thrive in circumstances of imperialism , but the reason is not that linguistics is inherently imperialistic by nature . when does linguistics happen ? when a society with a literate culture comes into contact with peoples speaking other languages , and takes an interest in them . imperialism provides one situation in which this can occur , but not the only one . bob hoberman rhoberman @ ccmail . sunysb . edu
