The Sociolinguistic term ‘language shift’ was coined by the renowned linguist Uriel Weinreich, he defined language shift as ‘the change from the habitual use of one language to that of another’ (Mesthrie, Rajend, Joan Swann, Ana Deumert, and William L. Leap 245). Language shift does not occur abruptly, instead, language shift in itself is a rather complex process accompanied by stages of bilingualism (Kamwangamalu 226). The process of language shift is especially hard in an extremely multilingual and historically rich country such as South Africa. In the early 90s, when Apartheid was officially abolished, a new language policy was instituted that declared that all languages, among them the indigenous ones, were to be treated equally. However, as English, together with Afrikaans, were the initial official languages of South Africa, English remained the dominant language of business, politics and media even after this new language policy was introduced (de Klerk, Bosch 353). Even though English is number four on the list of most common first languages in South Africa, it is growing rapidly and it is being implemented in ever more institutions. This essay analyses how social and economic factors in post-colonial South Africa are impacting and strengthening the language shift from the African languages such as Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu to English.
First and foremost, as touched upon in the introduction, South Africa with its 11 official languages is one of the most
One of the ways the author used logos in his writing was by stating that the English-Only campaign transformed into a movement in 1931 in order to ban all non-English languages in government documents and printed material regarding any federal, state, and local government information. Because of how difficult achieving this was, it was decided to create a law called “Language of Government” that mandates that the official language of the federal government is English. Since this happened, 27 states have passed laws that state English as the “official” language of their territory. Also, with this, the author is trying to make his readers see the severity of this situation by exposing the number of states that have dedicated time and resources into making sure that English is the only language being spoken in their territory. On the other hand, by citing the National Association of Multicultural Education, shows the importance of bilingualism and how it is stated is stated in various official government documents such as the U.S. Declaration of Independence, constitutions of South Africa and the United States, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that was adopted by the United Nations.
Russia also officially known as the Russian Federation is a federal state in Eurasia. And the ninth most populous, with over 146.6 million people at the end of March 2016. The European western part of the country is much more populated and urbanized than the East, about 77% of the population live in European Russia. Russia's capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other major urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara.
an inclusive workplace is the best way to combat stereotyping, if a childcare setting has a mixture of different cultures, races, ages and sexes. Languages from around the world can be displayed around the setting and pictures of children with disabilities, different faiths and ethnic backgrounds. Also the setting could have recipes from around the world based on the ethnic backgrounds of the users of the
The article “From outside, in,” by Barbara Mellix reveals the difficulties among the black ethnicity to differentiate between two diverse but similar languages. One is “black English”, which is comfortable to her while speaking with her family and community and the other is “standard English”, generally used while talking in public with strangers and work. Since childhood Mellix was taught when and where to use either black English or standard English. To illustrate, seeing her aunt and uncle in Pittsburgh, where there was wide range use of both languages, she learned to manage both languages with ease.
Spanglish is the future. It’s a new language being born out of the ashes of two cultures clashing with each other… Words that aren’t English but at the same time are both….Our people are evolving into something new” (Quiñonez 212). As language is a dominant culmination of a culture, to deny a full adoption of the English language is to deny a complete assimilation to Anglo-American culture, and to deny a rejection of
There are many factors that can affect a child’s language and communication. Some of these factors can be positive; however, some can be negative. A cultural factor affecting emergent literacy could be children who have English as an additional language (EAL) this is because they know more of their native language than they do English and can be difficult to grasp another language at such a young age. Also some EAL children may have the knowledge of the English language and can speak the language however; their self-esteem, self-confidence and shyness could play a part in this and therefore may not be willing to use the English language. Also, EAL children may find it difficult to grasp the English alphabet.
In James Baldwin’s essay “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What is?” he elaborates on defining language and how key things like culture, history, and circumstances, all play parts in forming what language is. Language evolves over time in order for us to be able to communicate with one another. Differences in language come from where a person is from, who they may be, and their own experiences. Baldwin explains that when Blacks were brought to America they all were from different tribes and therefore spoke different languages.
Transformation with Words Known as a violent, black civil rights activist Malcolm X revolutionized his unforgiving, street life to independent, educated pioneer. At a time of bigotry and isolation, Malcolm had his first epiphany on life regarding the importance of words; but in the same way as other incredible figures and history makers, everyone has a low point in life. At a young age, he was dependent on drugs and hustling for money with no care in the world but himself. Initially presented as an uneducated kid, who settled on wrong decisions and join with the wrong group, Malcolm's vocabulary definitely started colloquial and narrow. Indirectly he received loathsome propensities, yet he embraced the informal dialect basic to these areas.
Language development is a critical part of a child’s overall development. Language encourages and supports a child’s ability to communicate. Through language, a child is able to understand and define his or her’s feelings and emotions. It also introduces the steps to thinking critically as well as problem-solving, building and maintaining relationships. Learning a language from a social perspective is important because it gives the child the opportunity to interact with others and the environment.
There are millions of foreigners in South Africa, with majority being black foreigners and they have come to be seen as a serious threat to the impending economic health of the country. They are seen to be wiping off public services while persistently deteriorating the economy for their own self-interested survival. There is a certainty that the socioeconomic problem created by the coming in of African migrants is not manageable. With the high
Bilingualism is slowly becoming a popular “trend”. Those who are able to speak a second language at an advanced level and not only, are clearly considered by the society intellectually capable of great things. As a bilingual, the individual must not only know the grammar rules or achieve a high level in communication. He also has to study the cultural background of that specific language. Knowing a second language has a major impact on one’s life.
Language is an important part of our life. Language and communication cannot separate. People use the language as a means of communication to express their ideas and feelings. They communicate either with each other using language in every social interaction; communicate with others directly or indirectly in the spoken and written form. Therefore, language is an important thing of communication in social life.
The development of literacy and language is a continual progress within a person. This development is one that starts from the moment a child is born (Hurst and Joseph, 2000). This development is promoted within the home environment and is extended within the early years’ classroom domain. Literacy and language development is comprised of four strands, which are listening, speaking, reading & writing. These four factors are in constant interaction together and are constantly developing within the person (Saffran, Senghas and Trueswell, 2001).
Today, issues of social class are not straightforward as they once were; increased educational opportunity and economic prosperity means that more and more young people are exposed to standard English than ever before. Nevertheless, linguistic prejudice still exists, particularly amongst employers, some politicians and sections of the general public. as
The Language Culture and Society programme provides us with strong theoretical and interdisciplinary foundation for the study of a range of educational practices across the human lifespan and in a range of theoretical and methodological perspective is brought to bear on studies that explore the nature of literate practices, democracy and civic engagement and participation in social life. The programme focuses on relationships between education school and the dynamics and changing structures of language, culture, and society. It examines connection between broader, social, cultural, linguistic, historical, aesthetic and political factors in education and the local context in which these issues take place. It has long been recognized that language is an essential and important part of a given culture and that the impact of culture upon a given language is something intrinsic and indispensible. Language is a social phenomenon.