Suchergebnisse

Verlagsinfo: This volume emphasizes the energetic nature of linguistic diversity and its consequences of how we think about language, how it affects the individual, education in school, and urban spaces across the globe. Hence, linguistic diversity reflects the constant state of rapid change prevalent in modern societies bearing opportunities as well as challenges. It is the prime objective of this selection of contributions to give a differentiated picture of the chances of linguistic diversity. Dynamics of Linguistic Diversity pays tribute to more recent developments in the study of language, applied linguistics, and education sciences. Contributions in this volume discuss how the concept of language is contextualized in a world of polylanguaging, investigate latent factors of influence, multilingual individuals, multilingual proficiency, multilingual practices and development, multilingual communication as well as teaching practices and whether they foster or hamper multilingual development.

The 19th-century European notion of the one people-one language nation as the ideal state has been a very pervasive influence in spite of the fact that most countries in the world today are multilingual, that is they contain ethnic groups in contact and not infrequently in competition. Such thinking has held implications for the setting of language policies, from hanging a wooden clog around the neck of a child heard speaking Occitan in Southern France to the considerable budgeting in Ireland for the promotion of Irish.In this book, Paulston presents an analytical framework for explaining and predicting the language behaviour of social groups as such behaviour relates to linguistic policies for minority groups. She argues that a number of factors must be considered in the understanding and establishment of language policies for minority groups:(1) if language planning is to be successful, it must consider the social context of language problems, (2) the linguistic consequences for social groups in contact will vary depending on the focus of social mobilization, i.e. ethnicity or nationalism, and (3) a major problem in the accurate prediction of such linguistic consequences lies in identifying the salient factors which contribute to language maintenance or shift, i.e. answering the question "under what conditions?".Part I outlines and discusses the analytical framework, beginning with a general consideration of language problems and language policies and of the social factors which contribute to language maintenance and shift. The author continues to discuss four distinct types of social mobilization, which under certain specified social conditions result in different linguistic consequences: ethnicity, ethnic movements, ethnic nationalism, and geographic nationalism. The argument is that such an understanding is vital to helpful educational policies and successful language planning in general.Part II contrasts and compares a number of case studies for clarification of their diverse courses of mother tongue maintenance. It particularly seeks to illustrate the type of social mobilization discussed in Part I and to understand the social conditions which influence and alter the effects of the type of social mobilization.

Argues that foreign language training, especially the learning of English, is vital to the effectiveness of North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) peace-support operations and the Alliance's enlargement and Partnership activities. Poor language skills can lead to mistakes in peace-support operations resulting in casualties and may reduce the influence of some nations and create unnecessary tension and frustration; and more must be done to train and retain soldiers with relevant skills for international assignments.

Recent studies in conflict resolution and peace negotiation have moved from macroperspectives and generalized attribute models of culture closer to the actual processes of verbal interaction that constitute the historical moment. An overview of this literature, however, shows that the field lacks concepts and methods to carry this trend into the details of talk. The article demonstrates how work from different fields concerned with language, culture, and their interrelationship provides the leverage to handle case materials in a more sophisticated and useful way.

Als Kirgistan im August 1991 seine Unabhängigkeit erklärte, schien es nur natürlich, daß die neue Verfassung Kirgisisch zur neuen offiziellen Landessprache erklärte. Dies hat sich jedoch bislang als wenig praktikabel erwiesen. Die infolge der Emigration von mehr als 100 000 russischsprachigen Einwohnern und der damit verbundenen Probleme des Brain Drain erzwungene Modifizierung der Sprachenpolitik der kirgisischen Regierung erfolgte nur halbherzig. Die ethnischen Kirgisen vermögen andererseits keinen Grund zu erkennen, warum sie sich bei der Benutzung der russischen Sprache Zurückhaltung auferlegen sollten. Russisch wird auch auf absehbare Zeit die lingua franca Kirgistans bleiben. (BIOst-Mrk)

Emphasizes the importance of foreign language training, especially English language instruction, to NATO's interoperability and capability to address the security challenges of the 21st century. With an ever-increasing number of NATO-led peace-support operations as well as the Alliance's enlargement and Partnership activities, NATO should do even more in addition to its recent language training initiatives to improve soldiers' language skills in Partner countries, allied nations, and new member countries in order to reduce casualties and increase its effectiveness.