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In this focus article, Fishman argues that issues of power are (and have been) at the center of the sociolinguistic enterprise, and advances a theory of Cultural Autonomy that is crucial for sociolinguistic power-sharing. He discusses the promotion, protection or the abrogation of language rights of three kinds — (1) the right to linguistic pluralism, (2) national linguistic rights of the territorial kind and (3) the right to individual or personal linguistic recognition — and discusses the tensions among them. Fishman develops a Cultural Autonomy Rating Scale by identifying four factors — group vs. individual focus;
power vs. powerlessness; unification vs. separation; and majority vs. minority designation. He advances that, at least in the liberal democracies of Europe, significant progress has been made, and points to the importance of international organizations. These efforts are then contrasted to how the US has dealt with Puerto Rico and the Navajo Nation. At the same time, Fishman points to some of the enduring difficulties and paradoxes that make states unaccountable to linguistic and cultural groups. Finally, Fishman draws attention to the centrality of language to identity and culture and argues that the importance of language cannot be sidestepped in any discussions about Cultural Autonomy.
