Globalization of English, and language maintenance and shift in South Africa

Two key issues arise from the global use & spread of English in the world. The first issue concerns the future of English & is illustrated in Tom McArthur's (1998) book, The English Languages, in which the author wonders whether English can be considered a family of languages in its own...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of the sociology of language 2003, Vol.2003 (164), p.65-81
Main Author: Kamwangamalu, Nkonko M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cultural Maintenance
England
Globalization
Language Maintenance
Language Shift
South Africa
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Summary:Two key issues arise from the global use & spread of English in the world. The first issue concerns the future of English & is illustrated in Tom McArthur's (1998) book, The English Languages, in which the author wonders whether English can be considered a family of languages in its own rights, like the Romance languages. The second issue concerns the future of the languages with which English comes into contact & is illustrated in Skutnabb-Kangas's (2000) book, Linguistic Genocide in Education, in which she describes English as a killer language, for contacts between English & indigenous languages tend to lead to the demise of the latter. This paper attempts to address the latter issue, with a focus on the current trend towards unilingualism in English in South Africa & the consequent language shift from the African languages to English especially in urban black communities. It discusses some of the causes of language shift in these communities & suggests ways in which this might be stemmed to preserve the indigenous languages, knowledge, & culture. 65 References. Adapted from the source document.
ISSN:0165-2516
1613-3668
DOI:10.1515/ijsl.2003.056