Linguistic rights as a key categoryfor social justice: foundations foran engaged sociolinguistic

Abstract

This article examines the concept of linguistic rights (LLRD) as a key category for social justice. It aims to explore the theoretical, epistemological and political dimensions that converge in the formulation and contestation of the paradigm of DLLR. The method used consists of a critical-conceptual analysis based on specialized literature and philosophical approaches from critical sociolinguistics and linguistic rights studies. The study focuses on the academic debates that disqualify DDLL as a reified notion and questions the epistemological foundations of such criticisms. The results show that qualifying DDLL as a reified category implies a misinterpretation of the concept of reification, which in its original formulation alludes to the reification of human beings and not to theoretical categories. The analysis argues that concepts are theoretical constructions that should be evaluated for their discursive function, not denied in their existence. It concludes that the concept of DDLL remains a necessary tool for naming, interpreting and transforming the injustices affecting speakers of minoritized languages. Recognizing them as part of the human rights framework contributes to the construction of more just and inclusive societies in multilingual and postcolonial contexts.