Works Cited
MCWHORTER, JOHN. "What the World Will Speak in 2115." WSJ. Wall Street Journal, 2 Jan. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. .
Though out the semester the topic of multilingualism has been examined in a way that I would describe micro. The global landscape of multilingualism and where it is headed has never been a topic. Recently a read an article in the Wall Street Journal called, "What the World Will Speak in 2115" written by Dr. McWhorter a professor at Columbia University. The article's project is best summarize by its well choose tagline which says, "A century from now, expect fewer but simpler languages on every continent"(McWhorter). Part of his explanation for this is that, "It is easy for speakers to associate larger languages with opportunity and smaller ones with backwardness, and therefore to stop speaking smaller ones to their children."(McWhorter) On top of the pure difficulty of passing a language on within a small community. I wonder if in McWhorter's prediction he adequately accounts for role of cultural pride in keeping languages alive? That despite the constant shift towards fewer languages spoken by more people, people who take great pride in the language of their culture will fight tirelessly to revive and keep their language alive.
Works Cited MCWHORTER, JOHN. "What the World Will Speak in 2115." WSJ. Wall Street Journal, 2 Jan. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. .
2 Comments
Bethanie T.
2/27/2015 01:40:28 pm
I think I agree with the authors argument because the modern world is shifting its focus to practicality and logic rather than culture and tradition, which I also believe is unfortunate. You do however bring up an important argument that he does not account for cultural pride, but it the trend seems to be that cultures and their subsequent languages are diminishing so quickly, so I would have to disagree with you from a logical viewpoint. I would like to see some data backing up his argument though.
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Jalyn
2/28/2015 12:54:07 pm
I agree pride in culture can definitely be a great way for langauge survival. Kinda of like the Summer program that Miranda did with her sister that was created to promote native american culture and revive language. However, the best way to combat this theory is to keep promoting the culture. I think the main enemy here would be langauge attitudes of people in power and subordination of these 'small' languages. Which I will argue that no language is 'small' all languages are equal and unique and creative. After reading works by Dr. Tamasi in her book, Language and Linguistic Diversity in the US: An Introduction, it emphasizes that all langauges are created equal (Tamasi, 9) and language is a reflection of our identities (Tamasi, 24).
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AuthorThis is where I, a rising freshman at Emory University, blog about multilingualism. Archives
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