Linguistic Diversity

B. Let’s apply

Linguistic Diversity

The spread of multilingualism and the spread of English

Multilingualism can be the result of different factors. Some of them are the following.

- Historical or political movements such as imperialism or colonialism. In the case of the spread of some languages, such as Spanish to Latin America, it results in the coexistence of different languages.

- Economic movements in the case of migration. The weak economics of some areas and countries results in movement of the population to other countries and to the development of multilingual and multicultural communities in the host countries.

- Increasing communications among different parts of the world and the need to be competent in languages of wider communication. This is the case with the development of new technologies and also with science. English is the main language of wider communication but it is used by millions of people who use other languages as well.

- Social and cultural identity and the interest for maintenance and revival of minority languages. This interest creates situations in which two or more languages co-exist and are necessary in everyday communication.

- Education. Second and foreign languages are part of the curriculum in many countries.

- Religion movements that result in people moving to a new country.

English is the most important language of wider communication in the world as the result of British colonial power in the nineteenth century and the first decades of the leadership of the USA in the twentieth century.

English is also the main language of science and technology in the world and its spread is advancing in many countries and regions where English has not been traditionally spoken. English is also the main language of popular culture and globalization as can be seen in advertising. Nowadays multilingualism usually implies English and other languages. English has also been considered a threat for linguistic diversity (Philipson, 1992).

The spread of English has been visualized in terms of three circles representing the historical and sociolinguistic profile of English in different parts of the world (kachru, 1985). The inner circle includes the countries that are traditionally considered the bases of English, where English is the first language for the majority of the populations: UK, USA, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia. Nevertheless, English is not the only language spoken in these countries because it is in contact with heritage languages or languages that are spoken as the result of immigration.

The outer circle includes those countries where English is not the first language of the majority of the population but English is a second language that is used at the institutional level as the result of colonization. The expanding circle includes those countries where English has no official status and is taught as a foreign language.

The contact between English and other languages in the three circles and the spread of English in the outer and expanding circles has important sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic implications. At the sociolinguistic level, the spread of English has important implications regarding the ownership of English and the varieties of English. The spread of English as a lingua franca threatens the traditional ownership of English as a property of native speakers. At the same time, new non-native varieties of English (Indian English, Nigerian English, etc) have been developed as the result of the contact between English and other languages in different parts of the world. Furthermore, the contact between English and other languages and the spread of English also has implications at the psycholinguistic level. English is being learned by many individuals not only as a second language but also as a third or fourth language and in many cases English is one of the languages in the multi-lingual’s linguistic repertoire.

C. General questions

Answer the following questions about the content of the reading.

1. Are multilingualism and language diversity considered as synonyms? Explain.

2. Is learning English a necessity in today’s world? Explain.

3. Should we view English as a language that belongs to a specific country or culture?

4. Is learning English considered a threat for native languages around the world?

D. Reference

Read the text again and write what the underlined words refer to.

1. ‘them’ in line 1:_____________________________

2. ‘it’ in line 4:________________________________

3. ‘this’ in line 11:_____________________________

4. ‘it’ in line 13:_______________________________

E. Grammar

-Fill out the chart below with vocabulary from the reading in part B above. Use your dictionary if necessary.

Verbs nouns adjectives adverbs prepositions pronouns other

F. Filling in

Reread the parts suggested and say what is being done: comparing and contrasting, classifying, defining or argumenting.

1. “Multilingualism can be the result… result in people moving to a new country”._______________________________________________

2. “English is the most important language… considered a threat for linguistic diversity”.______________________________________________

3. “The spread of English has been visualized… English has no official status and is taught as a foreign language.__________________________

28 de marzo.

B. Apliquemos

Diversidad Lingüística

La difusión del multilingüismo y la propagación del Inglés

El multilingüismo puede ser el resultado de diferentes factores. Algunos de ellos son los siguientes.

- Movimientos históricos o políticos,

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