Most of us feel that our own
language is an essential part of our national identity, yet at the same time we
realize that we need a world language, a sort of lingua franca.
Over the centuries, Greek. Latin, Spanish, French, Malay, Swahili and other
languages have been used as international instruments for trade, diplomacy or
religion. Many of them are still used in that capacity. But three new
elements have complicated the situation. The first is the rise of English to the
position of world language. This makes life easier for many
people, but it irritates others. Many speakers of less widespread
languages feeI threatened by English. It is like sleeping
next to an elephant: regardless of its
intentions, the size of the animal makes it dangerous.
Speakers of minority languages quite rightly fear of the disappearance of
their cultural identity. According to Michael Kniuss of" the Alaska Native
Language Centre", nine out of ten of the 6,000 languages in ihe world will die
out within the century.This is the second new element in the situation. The
third, more dangerous novelty, is the modern reluctance to accept
multilingualism. Why shouldn't a Corsican use Corsican in some cases and
French in others? Indeed, why should a
Frenchman feel dishonored using English to sell Camera to a
Japanese?
Nowadays, linguistic rivalry is the third most
common cause of conflict, after race and religion, and
is often mixed with the other two. It need not be so. Everyone is right in
trying to preserve his or her vernacular tongue. Bin this should not exclude
other languages. Speakers of minor languages will also have to learn a major
language to profit from the expanding world economy.