Factors Affecting Language Choice In A Multinational Society
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Factors Affecting Language Choice In A Multinational Society
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND FOR THE STUDY
Most cultures have stories about the origins of life and why things are the way they are now. The story in Genesis would lead us to assume that language diversity is the curse of Babel.
The earth had a single language and speech. They said to each other… Let us build a city and a tower whose top may reach the heavens, and give us a name, lest we be spread across the face of the entire planet.
And the Lord came down to view the city and tower that the children of man had built. The Lord declared that the people are together and speak the same language. Let us go down and confuse their language so that they cannot understand each other’s words.
So the Lord scattered them all across the earth, and they stopped building the city. As a result, it is known as Babel, because the Lord confounded all of humanity’s languages there.
In the beginning, everyone spoke the same language. However, God chose to punish them for their arrogance in creating the tower by forcing them to talk in different languages. As a result, multilingualism hampered future collaboration and limited human achievement.
Most communities around the world are bilingual. In these towns, more than one language is important, and many or all of the residents are bilingual. The setting in which you find yourself dictates the type of language you use.
When discussing language choices in any country, it is important to consider multilingual societies. In monolingual countries, there is no need to worry about which language to use; people can only use the language that is accessible.
Cross-cultural communication is one of the most visible issues associated with newly developed multilingual societies, such as those in Australia and Canada, which have witnessed significant immigration from all over the world.
Sociolinguistic research has demonstrated that learning the phonology, grammar, and vocabulary of another language is insufficient for successful communication.
You must also learn how to use language effectively in specific social contexts, according to the standards used and accepted by its original speakers.
Potential multilingual speakers are those who have a significant interest in a foreign language and believe it is vital to learn a second or third language for practical reasons such as business, information collecting, or entertainment.
The global population is made up of more multilingual speakers than monolingual speakers. In a multilingual society, not all speakers must be bilingual. When all speakers are multilingual, linguists divide the community based on the functional distribution of the languages involved.
The researcher discovered that before an individual considers language choice, there must be certain motivating elements. Individual motivation and involvement in this process will be determined by the perceived value of projected gains associated with competency in the appropriate language. He also noted that utilitarian reasons influence language choice.
A speaker may believe that using a specific language will provide him an edge in a group or in a larger social context. If his opponents in a discussion or argument are less fluent than him, he will undoubtedly gain an advantage.
The apparent benefit need not be in connection to other people. A person may choose to speak a specific language only for personal reasons. A foreign language student may wish to utilise the language whenever possible in order to improve his skills.
Acquiring a second, third, or fourth language will be heavily influenced by the social, political, and economic milieu in which the acquisition takes place. Learners of multiple languages are either born into or move to a multilingual environment (due to migration).
Those born into such a scenario typically embrace multilingualism as a natural phenomenon and thus understand the significance and benefits of acquiring a high degree of skill in the numerous necessary languages. Those transferred to a multilingual context as a result of immigration have several difficult choices:
Maintaining the heritage language in order to maintain culture and ethnic identity.
Learning the new national language in order to have equal access to the new country’s resources.
Acquiring a language of general communication, such as English, for academic and professional purposes.
Finally, learning another local language is required for interaction with neighbours or coworkers at work. In this case, the learner may be required to pay certain “prices” for linguistic choices.
Communication is only feasible when both speakers speak the same language, and there is little value in addressing someone in a language they do not comprehend. There is an almost universal taboo against using a phrase that may exclude one or more members of a group from a debate, even if the content of that talk is unrelated to that person or persons.
For example, a group of Igbo speakers may be planning a farewell party for one of their coworkers who is due to retire. Another individual, who does not work at the same company, does not know the gentleman in issue, and will not be invited to the party, joins the gathering. This newcomer, too, does not speak Igbo.
It is now up to the group to continue their talk in a language that the person understands. Changing the language of the debate to one that is a second or third language for the majority of the members can, of course, stifle the flow of the discussion, making it more difficult to communicate thoughts and ideas.
However, in this scenario, the exclusion constraint takes precedence over the group majority’s preferred language. In extreme instances, the demand for a common language may force all speakers to use a second or third language.
The quest for a common language may be unsuccessful at times, and a group must select the language that permits the greatest number of participants.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
The focus of this research is on the factors that influence language choice in a multilingual community or society.
Keen observation and research have revealed that a variety of factors influence language choice.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
The following questions have been posed to lead this study:
What challenges do people have when deciding which language to speak in a multilingual society?
What exactly do we mean by “language choice”?
What are the elements influencing language choice?
To what extent do these factors influence language choice?
PURPOSE OF STUDY:
The goal of this research is to uncover factors that influence people’s language choice in a multilingual society. To investigate the difficulties people have while attempting to choose a certain language.
Significance of the Study
The purpose of this study is to identify the elements that influence language choice in a multilingual society or setting.
Limitations of the study
This research is limited to a multilingual society. It is limited to the elements that influence language choice in the aforementioned types of societies. Due to time limits, the researcher will be unable to investigate all of the criteria.
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