Languages of Conflict: Strategic language use by bilinguals

Times of conflict highlight the relationship that languages entertain with their context of usage and what the consequences of using one language rather than another, when you are a bilingual, actually mean. Is language use simply a question of communication effectiveness? Is language choice reducible to cultural contexts?



This Research Topic in Frontiers in Language Sciences is deliberately oriented towards the practical aspect of language use and whether there is such a thing as strategic language use in bilinguals, particularly in a context of conflict, e.g., in case of moral misalignments, political disputes, or even warfare.



Theoretical pieces, literature reviews, and empirical contributions providing insights into strategic language use in speakers of more than one language are invited for this Research Topic hosted within the Bilingualism section of the new journal. The focus is on conflict and problematic contexts in which language choice may not be simply guided by the need to maximise meaningfulness and precision, and may rather convey cultural and affective information critical in that particular situation. All studies looking at emotion-language interaction in bilinguals, the Foreign Language Effect, and culture-language synergies when ethical or moral issues are at stake are welcome. Such issues might concern race and gender biases, difficulties relating to diplomatic efforts or political crises, particularly conflict between organisations and nations, culminating in the case of war.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: conflict, bilingualism, strategic language use, foreign language effect, emotion-language interaction, culture-language synergies

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.