Introduction

The relationship between language and racial groups has both a biological and a political dimension. The biological dimension first emerged historically as distinct genetic characteristics evolved among various human tribes in relative geographical isolation. Thus, in the typical case, language and race were originally correlated directly. But throughout history, linguistic change has been both rapid and drastic in comparison with the stability of the distinct racial groups. Thus the relative status and life expectancy of a language have come to be much more a function of the political and economic circumstances of its speakers than of their race per se. Indeed, the speech communities of influential world languages like English and Russian are multiracial, a fact that reflects their global expansion and great political and economic influence.

Whatever the evolutionary correlation may be between race and language, linguists hold all races – and the languages of their speakers – to be equal. Franz Boas and his student Edward Sapir eloquently stated the case for the equality of race and language respectively: