The Crossroads of Identity: Linguistic Shift and the Politics of Identity in Southwest Asia and North Africa

After the Arab Spring, many ethno-linguistic minority groups in the Southwest Asia and North Africa region found themselves at odds with both their governments and themselves. Periods of Arab conquests, Ottoman rule, European colonialism, Arab nationalism, and most recently, brutal wars and conflicts, have shaped the nationalist ideologies that countries in the region adopted as an attempt to strengthen their states, ultimately resulting in the oppressive policies they direct towards minorities. Kurds, Copts, Assyrians, Amazigh, and other linguistic minorities are some of the last communities keeping indigenous cultures and languages alive. Through utilizing four case studies to examine relations between minority groups in the SWANA region and their respective states and an analysis of the viability of internal preservation efforts and questions of autonomy, I argue that the survival of minority linguistic heritage in the region depends most directly on state tolerance and policies promoting preservation.