Today there are six thousand known languages in the world - a number down from between seven and eight thousand.

International Mother Language (IML) Day was proclaimed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) General Conference in November 1999. IML Day is an international extension of the Bangladeshi Language Martyr's Day. That holiday commemorates the massacre of Bengali-speaking people protesting the Pakistani government's proclamation of Urdu as the country's official language. Since 2000, it has been observed every year on February 21 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

In today's global world, the battle for the preservation of linguistic heritage is being fought less with arms and protests and more with computers and schoolrooms. Unfortunately, sometimes the very resources used to promote linguistic diversity are themselves contributing to the problem.

Languages Are Going Extinct

Languages are perhaps our most powerful instruments for preserving and developing heritage and culture. When a language is lost, culture and heritage are also largely lost. Once, there were between 7,000 and 8,000 distinct languages. Now, very few people speak most of the 6,000 known languages around the world. Half of today's languages have fewer than 10,000 speakers and a quarter have fewer than 1,000. Over 500 languages are considered nearly extinct. Linguists face a race against time to document many of the remaining ones - time growing short due to the effects of globalization.

Half of today's languages have fewer than 10,000 speakers and a quarter have fewer than 1,000.

Significant global economic and structural realities make language preservation efforts increasingly difficult. Almost one billion people worldwide speak English, though less than half as their mother tongue. English is the dominant language of international business and economic development, and that dominance continues to grow with the continued globalization of business through mergers and international investment. Moreover, popular entertainment such as television, music, film and printed media are produced predominantly in English or Western European languages.

Even at the United Nations, the principal sponsor of IML Day, there are only six official languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish) and fluency in English is still a requirement for employment at many offices at UN headquarters.

Use of a language other than a nation's mother tongue in schools is commonplace and may perpetuate inequality in education, particularly for girls and women. Again, globalization is part of the problem. Foreign tongues, particularly English, are viewed as "prestige" languages that are viewed as connecting children to the expanded opportunities of the global economy. However, use of "prestige" (foreign) languages unknown to marginalized groups perpetuates class divisions and exacerbates gender and ethnic discrimination already present in society. Members of already marginalized groups face greater barriers to not only succeeding in school but also in understanding enrollment procedures and communicating with education officials. Girls in particular are less likely to be exposed to the "prestige language" due to a more limited presence in the workplace. Teaching in mother tongues makes education more accessible and gives native speakers an equal chance at succeeding in the classroom.

English also dominates academic research, another area critically dependent upon having a language of common understanding. In 1997, the Science Citation Index reported that 95 percent of its articles were written in English, even though only half of them came from authors in English-speaking countries. Analysts attribute this to the degree to which advances in scientific and technological research have come from English-speaking countries, particularly the U.S., since the industrial revolution. The concentration of U.S. funding into research continues to draw the best and the brightest to American research labs and universities from around the world. The flattening of the global economy now enables these well-educated scientists to return to their native countries to continue their research and buttress the credentials and capabilities of research facilities closer to home. Staying current and getting recognized, however, means that this research needs to be in English.

English - Lingua Franca or Killer Language?

Not everyone believes that the globalization of language is a bad thing. In fact, it does have positive aspects.

English is the dominant language of international business and economic development, and that dominance continues to grow with the continued globalization of business through mergers and international investment.

The language most commonly associated with globalization, often disparagingly, is English. Over two billion people speak English, some two-thirds as a second language. While there are more Chinese speakers in the world (combining all of its various dialects), English is spoken in more countries and more often as a second language than any other, and its use continues to grow. English is the language most often studied as a foreign language. For example, 89 percent of schoolchildren in the European Union study English as a foreign language, nearly three times the next-highest language (French, 32 percent).

The spread of English alarms many who view it as a "killer language," that is, one which displaces the use of a nation's mother tongue as it spreads. As the language of business, English is also associated with some of the harmful excesses of colonialism and corporate multinationals. More subtly, as English displaces native tongues, culture and history are lost. Cultural and historical references inherent in words, particularly place names, are lost in translation to foreign tongues lacking appropriate analogs.

On the positive side, because it is the language of business - meaning, investment - English is usually associated with rising economic tides, typically welcomed in developing countries. Moreover, some dispute its "killer" status. The language itself is flexible, often incorporating elements of the native tongue into its lexicon. In Singapore, for example, attempts to teach English alongside the native tongue resulted in a hybrid known as "Singlish." The phenomenon occurs in non-English situations as well. Papiamento, the language of Aruba, is a mix of Dutch, Spanish, and African-Portuguese.

English has become the modern lingua franca, i.e. the language of communication among speakers of other tongues. As such, English can help bridge communication barriers across cultures. A common language enables agreements between nations seeking trade or political ties. China and Brazil's cooperative agreement to develop and launch communications satellites was published in English as well as Chinese and Portuguese. English has emerged as either the de facto or official language for airline and maritime travel, computers, mass media, international sports (such as the International Olympic Committee) and tourism - all industries which themselves help connect cultures.

The Internet - English Dominance Waning

A major focus of International Mother Language Day is the use of technology and the Internet to promote linguistic diversity. The Internet, particularly the World Wide Web, can be used first and foremost to promote awareness of the issue. Second, the Internet can be used to catalog, warehouse and provide access to storehouses of information on the languages themselves. Technologies such as podcasts can even preserve spoken versions of the language while written documents can preserve native literature and linguistic information.

English has become the modern lingua franca, i.e. the language of communication among speakers of other tongues. As such, English can help bridge communication barriers across cultures.

The irony of this effort is that the Internet itself contributes to the increasing hegemony of English. From the basic codes and standards upon which web pages are built and linked to the content of pages themselves, English is the predominant language of choice on the Internet. Computer scientists estimate that only 10 percent of the world's languages are represented on the Internet to date. The popular search engine Google allows the user to select from 36 languages - 28 of them European in origin. International Internet provider Verisign estimates that 65 to 70 percent of all Internet content is in English.

While translators exist, they are also largely English-dominated. For example, Altavista's popular "Babel Fish Translation" language site contains 36 translators - 23 of them for converting to or from English. Only eight translate Asian tongues - all to or from English. Clearly, knowledge of English, while not a prerequisite for Internet use, certainly provides an advantage. Those considering posting new content are cognizant of this bias. Posting in English must be a consideration for almost anyone wishing to reach the maximum number of readers.

There is, however, a growing awareness of the language limitations of the Internet within the private and public sectors. Verisign estimates that global Internet use doubles every twelve to eighteen months. With English-speaking nations much closer to the saturation point, non-English-speaking nations represent the bulk of future growth. Of the estimated 900 million current Internet users, less than 250 million reside in Asia, the world's most highly-populated continent - and largely non-English-speaking.

Many public and private sector organizations are taking steps to widen the diversity of languages available to Internet users. Microsoft Windows, the most popular operating system for personal computers, now ships in over 40 languages, up from 24 in 2001. Application software is now developed for Africa's three most popular languages (Shona, Ndebele and Buganda). UNESCO's "B@bel" Initiative develops and encourages the creation and dissemination of media and information to promote cultural and linguistic diversity, with a particular focus on the Internet and high-technology.

Computer scientists estimate that only 10 percent of the world's languages are represented on the Internet to date.

Still, the Internet's ability to promote language diversity is limited. Languages themselves must first survive - if not thrive - in their native lands in order to gain a foothold elsewhere. Recognizing this, efforts are underway to strengthen linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism in countries around the world. Leading the effort is UNESCO's "First Language First" program, which promotes mother-tongue literacy and education. In addition, regional and national efforts are underway in areas as disparate as Wales, Yoruba and Australia to revive native tongues in the nations' education systems.

The ability of the Internet to contribute to linguistic and cultural diversity will depend on a number of factors. First is the willingness of content contributors - and consumers - to conduct business in native tongues rather than English. Second is the ability of software and systems to adapt quickly to an increasingly non-English user base. Third, the languages themselves must survive. This will require the commitment of individuals, governments, international organizations and private sector companies to identify and promote the use and documentation of languages threatened with extinction.

Neither globalization nor English are to blame for the loss of languages and their associated culture, nor, per se, are those who use English as the world's lingua franca. Rather, globalization applies pressure to adopt a common language of exchange. Meanwhile, English's malleability makes it particularly suitable as the lingua franca and its ties to sources of economic investment give it an established foothold worldwide. However, the common language should be a secondary language, rather than becoming a primary one that displaces native languages. International efforts that promote awareness and education in mother tongues, often leveraging the Internet, are essential first steps to preserving linguistic and cultural diversity in our global era.

Sources

• "English Language," Wikipedia.Org.
  
  
• The United Nations Works for Cultural Diversity.
  
  
• United Nations International Mother Language Day .
  
  
• "The Babel Initiative". United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
  
  
• "VeriSign Announces Plan to Further Enhance .com and .net Global Internet Constellation Sites with Regional Resolution Servers," Verisign.Com. Ammon, Ulrich. The Dominance of English As a Language of Science, Walter de Gruyter, 2001.
  
  
• Benson, Carol. "Girls, Educational Equity, and Mother Tongue-based Teaching," UNESCO, 2005.
  
  
• Chowdhury, Kabir "21st February : International Mother Language Day", Bangladesh.
  
  
• Descarries, Francine. "The Hegemony of the English Language in the Academy: The Damaging Impact of the Sociocultural and Linguistic Barriers on the Development of Feminist Sociological Knowledge, Theories and Strategies," Current Sociology, Vol. 51, No. 6, 625-636 (2003)
  
  
• Kelly, Terri. "From Lingua Franca to Global English" Global Envision July 29, 2004.
  
  
• Norris, Sharon. "International Mother Language Day", Economic, Social, and Research Council.
  
  
• Ross, Jen. "The Carribean Conundrum," Global Envision, January 10, 2007. Reprinted by permission from Creative Commons.
  
  
• Tsiko, Sifelani. "Promoting African Languages On the Internet in Zimbabwe," Global Envision, January 10, 2007. Reprinted by permission from allAfrica.com.

Contributed by Gary Corbin, Ph.D., freelance writer and consultant in Portland, Oregon.

To read another Global Envision article about the English language, see From Lingua Franca to Global English.



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