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Modern Society and Global Language

Instructor: Professor Yong-Won Lee

Department of English Language and Literature Seoul National University

Office: Building 3, Room 325 Email: ylee01@snu.ac.kr

Phone: 02-880-2536

Fall 2015

(Chapter 1)

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Overview Preface: Two Guiding Linguistic Principles Chapter 1: WHY A GLOBAL LANGUAGE? (Fascinating views: Varieties, MTS vs

NMTS)

- What is a global language? (Related terminology: LF, IL, GL) - What makes a global language? - Why do we need a global language? - What are the dangers of a global language? - Could anything stop a global language? - A critical period

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Preface: Two Guiding Linguistic Principles

Fundamental Value of Multilingualism - An amazing world resource and linguistic heritage; - Providing different perspectives and insights; - Helping us to reach a more profound understanding of the nature of human mind and spirit.

Fundamental Value of a Common Lan-guage

- An amazing world resource; - Providing unprecedented possibilities for mutual understanding; - Fresh opportunities for international cooperation.

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Introduction (Chapter 1) Recurring Newspaper/Magazine Headlines: “English is the global language”; “English Rules.”; Why is such head-

lines still newsworthy?

Worldwide Spread of English: The Full Retreat of the British Empire: symbolized by the Handover of Hong Kong (1997); But English is everywhere (Bengal, Belize, Las Vegas, Lahore);

Intriguing Questions to Ask: - What does it mean to say that a language is a global language? - Does it mean everyone in the world speak it? Or does it mean every country in the world recognize it as an official language? - Why is English mentioned most often in this connection? - Once a language becomes a global language, it is there forever? Or could the situation change?

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Introduction (Chapter 1) Two Fascinating Perspectives on Global English:

Mother-tongue vs. Non-mother-tongue Speakers of English.

Mother-tongue Speakers - Mixed feelings (Pride about “success”; Concerns about “abuse”; - Changing ownership of the Language. - Many Varieties of English (British, American, Australian, Indian, Singaporean, South African, etc.)

Non-mother-tongue Speakers: - Strong motivation to study, pride about your achievement; - Concerned that MTSs always having unfair advantage over you; - The threatened survival of your own mother-tongue.

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What is a global language? Global Language: Global Lingua Franca; A language “recognized” in

every country in the globe (world); A language achieves a genuinely global status when it develops a special role that is recognized in every country on the globe.

Many Facets of Special Role: Being recognized means (a) being used as an official language and (b) being taught as a priority or favored foreign language in every country.

Other Related Terms - Lingua Franca: “The language of the Frank”; Italian with elements of

Spanish, French, Greek, Arabic, Turkish; A common language used by speakers of different languages – Wordnet3.0

- International Language: A language (intended to be) used by people of different linguistic backgrounds to facilitate communication; Two different types - (1) Artificial IL (e.g., Esperanto) & (2) A national language used outside of their national boundary.

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What is a global language? Other Related Terms:

- English as an Lingua Franca English as an International Language English as a Global Language. c.f. World Englishes

- English as a First Language (or Mother Tongue)

- English as an Official Language

- English as a Second Language (ESL) English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

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What makes a Global Language?

The Political and Military Power of its People: Greek – Armies of Alexander the Great; Latin – Legions of Roman Empire; Arabic – Force of the Moorish army and spread of Islam; Spanish, Por-tuguese, French – Colonial policies of Renaissance kings and queens; English – Expansion of British Empire and pax Americana

The Economic Power of its People: It takes an economically powerful country to maintain and expand it

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What Makes a Global Language? Some Misconceptions

Not the Number of Speakers, but who the speakers are!

Some Other Misconceived Claims: Perceived aesthetic qualities (or beauty); Clarity of expression; Literary power, Religious standing; Easi-ness of grammatical construction; Paucity of inflection; Almost total disre-gard of the distinctions of gender;

Certain Properties Can Make a Language Internation-ally Appealing: The familiarity of English vocabulary (English being far more a Romance than a Germanic language; Absence in grammar of a sys-tem of coding social class difference (Appearing more democratic).

However, a language does not become a global lan-guage because of: its intrinsic structural properties, the size of its vocabulary, its traditional role as a vehicle of a great culture, or its associa-tion with a great culture or religion

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Why Do We Need a GL? Limits of Translation & Bilingual/Trilin-

gual Approaches:

Creation of International Organizations: United Nations Established in 1945; World Bank (1945), UNESCO & UNICEF (1946), WHO (1948), IAEA (1956).

Two Communities Feeling Strong Need for GL:

- International Academic Community; - International Business Communities: