LANGUAGES IN LANGUAGES IN SOCIETYSOCIETY

OUTLINEOUTLINE

Introduction Diglossia Additive & Subtractive context Language shift & language maintenance Language decline & death Language resurrection Language conflict Language and Nationalism English as a Global Language Conclusion

IntroductionIntroduction– Bilingual & Multilingual

constitute between 1/2 & 2/3 of the world's population

– Bilingual individuals exist in networks, communities and sometimes in regions

– Language minority is rarely stable in its size, strength and safety..

– In this chapter we will examine: language communities, language contact, language change & language conflict

– Sociolinguistic study…

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bilingual

multilingual

DiglossiaDiglossia

• Definition:

Two languages for one community..• Low language • High language• Intergenerational transmission…

Community characteristics

Diglossia

+

Diglossia

_

Individual Bilingualism

+

Everybody in the community can

use both languages for

different purposes high or low

Most people are bilingual but there is no restriction to one

language for a specific purpose

Individual Bilingualism

_

Community is divided into 2

different groups each group has his language

Where a linguistically diverse society has

been forcibly

Changed to relatively monolingual society

Additive and Subtractive ContextAdditive and Subtractive Context

• Additive bilingual situation: where the addition of a second language and culture of a second language is unlikely to replace or displace the first language and culture.. this case reflects language stability and maintenance

• Subtractive bilingual situation: when the second language and culture are acquired with pressure to replace or demote the first language… this case reflects language death & language shift

Language shift & language maiLanguage shift & language maintentenancenanceFACTORS ENCOURAGING

LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE

FACTORS ENCOURAGING

LANGUAGE LOSS

A. Political, Social and Demographic Factors

• Large number of speakers living closely together

• Recent &/or continuing in-migration

• Stability in occupation• Employment available

where home language is spoken daily

•Small number of speakers well dispread•Long & stable residence•Occupational shift especially from rural to urban areas•Employment requires use of the majority language

•Low social & economic mobility in main occupation

•Educated leaders loyal to their community

•Ethnic group identity rather than identity with majority language community nativism, racism & ethnic discrimination

•Potential community leaders are alienated from their language community by education

•High social & economic mobility in main occupation

•Ethnic identity is denied to achieve social & vocational mobility this is forced by nativism, racism and ethnic discrimination

B. Cultural FactorsB. Cultural Factors

•Mother tongue institution ..

•Cultural & religious ceremonies in the home language•Nationalistic aspirations as a language group•Mother tongue the homeland national language

•Emotional attachment to mother tongue giving self-identity & ethnicity•Emphasis on education in mother tongue schools

•Lack of mother tongue institution•Cultural & religious activity in the majority language•Few nationalistic aspiration

•Mother tongue not the only homeland national language, or mother tongue spans several nations •Self identity derived from factors other than shared home language •Emphasis on education in majority language

C. Linguistic FactorsC. Linguistic Factors

•Mother tongue is standardized & exists in a written form

•Use of an alphabet which makes printing & literacy relatively easy

•Home language is international status

•Home language literacy used in community & with home land

•Mother tongue is non-standard & / or not in a written form

•Use of a writing system which is expensive to reproduce & relatively difficult to learn

•Home language of little or no international importance

•Illiteracy in the home language

Language decline & deathLanguage decline & death

• Due to social changes & social networks• Some times we notice language activist such as

in Puerto Rico, some groups resist to the use of Spanish

• Language shift reflect a pragmatic desire for social & vocational mobility

• Education can play in the fast decline of a minority language & in slow resurrection

Language resurrectionLanguage resurrection

• It takes much time to grow

The language can be rapidly massacred

but the revival of a language is along term process. It is driven by the desire of man identity

• Teachers, students & parents are the important individuals for revitalization

they are the language Activists.

Language conflictLanguage conflict

• In civil war there is an attempt to social control so they attempt to enforce their language

• Is rooted in:

a. political power straggles

b. economic tensions

c. issues about rights & privileges

Language and NationalismLanguage and Nationalism• Languages are fated according to wider social,

economical & political issues:1. Key symbol of a national identity 2. Badge of loyalty3. Negative connotation: it is associated to racism &

language imperialism

4. United States Nationalism favors the replacement of immigrant languages by English

• Bilingualism is seen as an obstacle to Nationalism• In the world of the Internet , the global economy and

ease of transport between countries , the growth of economical & political interdependence give new mean known as Supra-Nationalism which has its effects on language

English categoriesEnglish categories

In the world

English

lies

in three categories

English as first language

English as second language

English as foreign language

The Future of EnglishThe Future of EnglishEstimates for number of English speakers in the worldEstimates for number of English speakers in the world

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1stlanguage

2ndlanguage

foreignlanguage

The Spread of EnglishThe Spread of English

• English dominates many prestigious domains and functions

• This wide spread of English ensures that

Anglo culture, Anglo institution & Anglo ways of thinking and communicating are spreading

Spread of EnglishSpread of English

ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES

English is a universal UTILITARIAN language

English is a part of IMPERIALISM dominance by the US and the Anglo-Saxon

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Spanish 1st Language

English 1st language

Estimates of First Language English & Spanish SpeakersEstimates of First Language English & Spanish Speakers

ConclusionConclusion

The English language is spreading rapidly mostly as a second and foreign language. It has different effects on the future of minority languages.

Bilingualism & Multilingualism in English and another language or languages is globally increasing

Languages in society

Presented By

Roula El Danna

BBE6590