globalization – Educational Sociolinguistics

English and globalization: a double-edged sword

Jundong Ma

Just as Lee (2016) described in the paper “Everywhere You Go, You See English!”: Elderly Women’s Perspectives on Globalization and English, as an Asian country, China also faces the same dilemma as Korea. In the 1990s, globalization began to sweep the whole world. Here is a short video that explains the procedure.

Countries started collaborating with one another during the globalization movement in both the technical and commercial spheres. Language also began to expand at the same time. English became a lingua franca since the United States and Great Britain dominated the global economy and English is their native tongue. English has been made a required course in Chinese classrooms in order to keep up with the globalization trend, and those who speak the language fluently may be considered “well-educated” individuals. Although globalization and the English learning boom brought many advantages, they also gave rise to numerous social issues.

On the one hand, Chinese people accept that globalization is necessary and that it can benefit China in many ways (job possibilities, technological advancement, capital inflow, etc.); on the other hand, many underprivileged Chinese people are left behind during the process. Elderly persons, members of the working class with low incomes, and youngsters with limited access to English instruction may find it difficult to keep up with the changes in the world because they are unable to grasp anything written in English. Sometimes they can even question why they are required to study a foreign language in their own nation. When I worked as an intern teacher during my undergraduate program, I saw that some students lacked the drive to learn English, but due to globalization’s quick expansion, they were forced to do so in order to keep up with the times and enrol in a reputable university. Therefore, to some extent, globalization disrupted the social ecology of several developing nations, and the English language started to cause problems for the locals.

In the end, I want to say that this is of great educational significance to us for it reminds us that, as a researcher, you cannot only pay attention to privileged groups, you have to think of those underprivileged people at the same time.

Questions:

What can we do to strike a balance between English learning boom and the safeguarding of local languages in developing nations?

References:

Lee, J. S. (2016). “Everywhere you go, you see English!”: Elderly women’s perspectives on globalization and English. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 13(4), 1–32. https://doi-org.proxy3.library.mcgill.ca/10.1080/15427587.2016.1190654

Explainitychannel. (2013, July 11). Globalization explained (explainity® explainer video) [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ0nFD19eT8

New intelligibility in globalization

Di Niu

Van Herk (2018) accurately defined ‘mutual intelligibility’ in SLA in the conceptual context of sociolinguistics. I am curious if the ‘intelligibility’ stems from so-called globalization. Is this wave bringing new intelligibility? In fact, this term may also refer to the genuine integration of older generations into world Englishes (Lee, 2016). For example, younger generations in China may have been too focused on new globalized technologies rather than observing what is happening between older generations and the context of world Englishes. Their focus is more on the material by-products of globalization. My grandparents’ generation, on the other hand, may regard English as a self-opportunity that can redefine the mutual intelligibility between ‘I’ and the word. Should older generations in China be marginalized simply because they do not speak English?

After some consideration, I realized that this was incorrect. Because language is still inextricably linked to the socioeconomic context. In a society, the coexistence of older generations and word Englishes must be established. The older generations are, in fact, still involved in the globalized context of world Englishes. They are currently generating new possibilities in the context of sociolinguistics. My grandfather, for example, used to be an editor and, despite his retirement, continues to write and try to learn English in his own unique way. This proactive action contributes to China’s constant globalization scenarios. Indeed, this understanding of world Englishes underpins the sense of new intelligibility: In the globalized context, new mutual intelligibility has emerged between the sparking curiosity and creativity of older generations and world Englishes.

In other words, there is an important place for these seemingly marginalized groups because they interpret their intelligibility to English in their own way. As a result, these scenarios in real life are capable of bringing novel comprehension of globalization.

Furthermore, this new intelligibility is directly related to educational sociolinguistics. This shift in perspective would allow us to reconsider the role of learners in SLA. This type of reflection should take into account all societal scenarios. Consequently, using a macro perspective to draw a final conclusion from social phenomena is preferable. Moreover, in terms of world Englishes, the self-centered thinking model may at times ignore other groups in society. Basically, this intelligibility lies in thoroughly comprehending how SLA is linked to the entire society. Again, older generations will always be a part of the globalized world and will not be excluded. Therefore, I believe that the new intelligibility in globalization should be accompanied by a forward-looking vision as well as a humble attitude toward reconsidering older generations in world Englishes.

Finally, world Englishes represent an unprecedented high point in sociolinguistics. The situation varies from ‘place to ‘place’ (Van Herk, 2018). Learners discover the magic of SLA through practice, observation, and reflection. Nonetheless, in the age of globalization, such mutual intelligibility is emphasized. Finally, this new intelligibility arises from spontaneous participation (e.g., older generations) in the globalized context through one’s own interaction with world Englishes.

Questions:

Do you have any thoughts on the new ‘mutual intelligibility in the context of globalization?

Reference

Amin, A. (2020). Attitude Towards Language in Sociolinguistics Settings: A Brief Overview. REiLA: Journal of Research and Innovation in Language, 2(1), 27-30.

Crystal, D. (2003). English as a global language. Cambridge university press.

Li, F., & Shooshtari, N. H. (2003). Brand naming in China: Sociolinguistic implications. Multinational Business Review.

Lucas, C. (Ed.). (2001). The sociolinguistics of sign languages.

Koerner, K. (1991). Toward a history of modern sociolinguistics. American Speech, 66(1), 57-70.

Van Herk, G. (2018). What is sociolinguistics? (Second, Ser. Linguistics in the world). John Wiley & Sons.

Indigenous Language Revitalization and the Internet

By Anonymous (EW)

There was an interesting article by Ravindranath (2015) about language contact that we read this semester. According to this article (which is backed up by research of course), languages in contact don’t always necessarily change each other. Languages also evolve internally over time, and if contact does cause a change in the languages, it may be hard to tell if it is because of the amount of time the languages have been in contact or the similarities between them. The article examined many social and linguistic factors to examine to determine whether a change is due to internal evolution or contact with other languages. It ends with a discussion of how globalization is both creating new multilingualisms and at the same time resulting in massive language extinction which has implications for culture and society at large.

This was a good article to preclude the other reading that was assigned for that week about Facebook as a platform for Mayan language revitalization in Mexico by Cru (2015). Youth are using Facebook as a platform for a grassroots movement for the advocacy, destigmatization, and promotion of their ancestral languages while developing multilingual literacy skills that draw on their full repertoire of linguistic resources. It is a resource that adolescents perceive as cool during a critical period of personal language choice, it has the potential to create an ideological shift by reaching a wide audience via the worldwide web, and it is part of the young people’s process of social identity formation. I found this article fascinating, because I have been interested in Indigenous language revitalization since the start of my master’s program at McGill, and because I love the internet… almost too much. The amount of time I spend on it is a bit alarming, even to myself, and YouTube is my greatest weakness.

Is Montreal Really Embracing Immigrants and Their Cultures?

Monica:

Last week, we talked about language, space and the influence of globalization on languages. And we had discussions and activities in terms of dealing with the immigrant children depressed by French learning in Montreal and their culture loss. I can’t help asking myself this question: Is Montreal really embracing immigrants and their cultures?

When I first came to Montreal last August, I was surprised by its multilingual environments. I can hear people speaking various languages in the street: French, English, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, and others. People of different complexions greet each other at schools and workplaces. I thought that this city is embracing immigrants and welcoming people from all over the world. However, after a year, I felt that I am uncovering its veil gradually and there is a known secret, in which we are all a part of that: Montreal is not as friendly as it’s tagged.

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Globalization and diversity: Wrestling with the issues!

Matthew

The presentation in our last class touched upon the topic of diversity and globalization, and led to some interesting discussion points. Not only did I reflect on my own experiences with diversity, but also I weighed up these experiences in terms of globalization. I can’t help but feel that when we discuss ever-increasing diversity as a by-product of globalization, we end up hitting a wall. We often decry globalization as a sort of cultural imperialism; yet we champion diversity as a marker of open-mindedness and tolerance. If globalization is forcing us to deal with how diverse the world is, as well as how much more diverse our communities of practice are becoming, then I’m all for it. Personally, I grew up in a very ethnically homogenous place and wasn’t confronted with much diversity until I moved to a big city. My exposure to all kinds of diversity since then has been a great learning experience. As a teacher, I now take it for granted that considering my students’ cultural differences is a key part of my job (and rightfully so!)

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