ELTWeekly Newsletter Vol. 3 Issue#92 | July 17, 2011
Language is inextricably linked with identity and in order to save identity, we need to attempt to save our language. The spread of English as an international language all across the globe has raised issues that need to be taken into account seriously as they affect all aspects of human activity from language in education to international relations. To most, learning English as an international language for the purpose of fulfilling communicative needs is a big threat to national, cultural and even religious identities as learning an international language causes people to lose their own language which is the carrier of all their cultural values- identity. In this paper different reasons are presented to support the claim that learning EIL not only provides the opportunities for social mobility and modernity but also eliminates the probability of losing the national language – the carrier of identity- by helping people to be identified to the whole world as they are given voices. To survive language loss which is also identity loss, getting involved in international interactions and communications is required. Therefore, to be an active participant in global relations necessitates learning the international language, i.e., English. Learning an international language provides opportunities for people to make contributions to the formation and development of that language which, in turn, lead to scientific and cultural independence.
Key words: Language loss, Identity, and English as an international language
- Introduction
Language is inextricably linked with identity and in order to save identity, we must attempt to save our language. Norton (1997) states that every time language learners speak, they are not only exchanging information with their interlocutors, they are also constantly organizing and reorganizing a sense of who they are and how they relate to the social world. According to different studies one of the sources of language loss which is also identity loss is the dominance of international languages. Now the question is whether learning an international language result in language loss. In this paper I attempt to clarify the main reasons for language loss. Lack of access to power which is also lack of voice and not being able to explore the materialistic and nonmaterialistic potentialities properly are the two main reasons of language loss. Now, learning an international language results in gaining a voice through which people can convey their messages and share any improvement in the world. The second reason is that people need to exploit and explore all the possibilities in order to have something to say to the whole world through their language, in other words, to contribute to the world storehouse of information. In order to explore the potentialities properly, people need to communicate extensively and to be an active international participant, gaining the international language which is the useful tool is required. Therefore acquiring the international language- that is English- leads to language maintenance which is also identity maintenance.
2. Language and identity
Language is not only an instrument for communication but also related to a set of behavioral norms and cultural values of which one’s self-identity is constructed. After learning a new language, one’s perception of his or her competence, communicative style, and value systems many undergo some changes. Tabouret-keller (1997, cited in Kamwangamalu, 2007, p. 263) says that the link between language and identity is so strong that a single feature of language use suffices to identify someone’s membership in a given group. It is explained that linguistic items are not only the characteristics of groups or communities; they are themselves the means by which individuals both identify themselves and identify with others.
Gumperz (1982) believes that language not only creates identity for its speakers but also identifies their social group membership. In the South African context, the apartheid regime used language as one of the yardsticks, besides skin color, to develop its divide-and rule ideology against the black population. Studies of language and identity have traditionally focused on how individuals or groups maintain, construct, project or negotiate their social identities in and through linguistic practices.
Even it is possible for a language to carry multiple identities especially in context where people have social and cultural values they themselves create and at the same time are exposed to those social and cultural values they have no choice to avoid and; consequently become part of their identity. Gumperz (1982) assigns identity to language by distinguishing between we-code, on the one hand, and they-code, on the other. He defines they-code as the language of socioeconomic development, the language used for more formal, less personal out-group relations, and we-code as the language of the home and family relations, the language one uses for informal activities and for interaction with in-group members. Identification theory deals with a deep psychological relationship between the individual and her or his social environment and the internalization of social attitudes. It includes human sentiments, human attitudes and human loyalty from the psychological point of view without marginalizing or denying socio-economic or political factors.
Norton (1997) states that every time language learners speak, they are not only exchanging information with their interlocutors, they are also constantly shaping and reshaping a sense of who they are and how they relate to the social world. They are, in other words, engaged in identity construction theoretically, identity is defined as reference to how people understand their relationship to the world, how that relationship is constructed across time and space, and how people understand their possibilities for the future. Bourdieu (1977) focuses on the relationship between identity and symbolic power, and argues that the value ascribed to speech cannot be understood from the person who speaks and the person who speaks can not be understood apart from larger networks of social relationships-many of which may be unequally structured. Most authors point out that identity constructs and is constructed by language use and notions of ethnicity and social identity are inextricably linked. Inseparability of language and culture is conceived as language encompasses in and of itself acts of identity. Most authors not that identity construction must be understood with respect to larger social processes, marked by relation of power that can be either coercive or collaborative. Joseph (2004) states that language and identity are actually inseparable, so a change in identity is inherent in any change to bilingualism. Widdowson (1998) states that a particular language gets differently actualized over a period by communities adapting it to their changing needs. If these communities want to assert their own independent identity, they will gradually create their own norms dissociated from previous coding conventions. They will be oriented inwards rather than outwards, and their actual language ceases to be exonormative as a dialect and becomes endonormative as a separate language. And once a community invests its separate social identity in its language in this way, conditions are naturally created for it to become different as a virtual resource.
Language is a central feature of human identity. When we hear someone speak, we immediately make guesses about his or her gender, education level, age, profession, and place of origin. Beyond this individual matter, a language is a powerful symbol of national and ethnic identity (Spolsky 1999, cited in Block, 2007). The way one speaks is often more important than what one says. Language expresses the way individuals place themselves in relationship to others, the way they group themselves, the powers they claim for themselves and the powers they assign to others. Speakers who embrace the identity of a particular community will engage in positive identity practices, while others who reject the identity will use negative identity practices to distance themselves from it (Bucholtz, 1999, cited in Fuller, 2007, p. 10). However, Spolsky believes that language is not only a means for us to present our own notion of “who we are” but it is also a way for others to reveal their own suppositions of the way “we must be”. Neither identity nor language use is a fixed notion; both are dynamic, depending upon time and place (Norton, 1995). How we perceive ourselves changes with our community of practice, allowing us multiple identities over the years or even within a day.
Kramsch (2006, cited in Fuller, 2009) clarifies the relationship between language and culture using three verbs expresses, embodies, symbolizes, that is, languages express, embody, and symbolize cultural realities. I think it became obvious that a language carries the cultural values and realities of a nation which in turn they construct the identity or even multiple identities of that nation. And also it was mentioned that identity is a dynamic process that is shaped and reshaped across time and space. As language is the carrier of identity people strive to maintain it in an effort to maintain their identity.
3. Language loss: identity loss
Language is like a river, that is- each language undergoes remarkable changes for different reasons. It is common that it happens for the native speakers of a given language not to be able to read or write the same language after nearly 50 years of age that is due to big changes. Linguists estimate that of the approximately 6, 500 languages worldwide, about half are endangered or on the brink of extinction. According to some linguists, the estimated rate of language extinction is one language lost in the world every two weeks. When a language is lost, a world perspective is lost too. As a language is the carrier of different aspects of a culture, cultural diversity which is a cause of mobility among societies is endangered. Different languages have helped human being discover the world more precisely because different people having different cultures experience the world differently-for example there are fifty different words that mean snow in one Canadian language.
It is believed that languages become endangered when they are not passed on to children or when a metropolitan language dominates over others. Languages are much like living creatures that become endangered when numbers dwindle. Local natural disasters, war, and famine are some of the reasons languages pass by virtually unnoticed in history. These three reasons of language extinction have been set forth in different sources as the main reasons and, therefore, attempts are made to preserve the language. Preservation can occur in two ways. First, linguists can study moribund language and seek to preserve the components of the language; the sounds, the vocabulary, the grammar, and the tradition. The second way is to teach children the language and have linguists plan for language maintenance. As we lose languages, we lose opportunity to understand human history and the human mind. When the world loses cultural diversity and perspectives, it becomes less robust with less cultural resources. Alternatively, having one language may provide for better communication, less misunderstanding and perhaps greater ability to overcome the challenges faced by the world. If we lose language then people will lose some of their cultural identity, maybe breaking the social bonds and networks having a negative effect on their social well-being and possibly mental and physical health too. Activities such as preservation of heritage sites, conscious efforts to revive languages and promote bilingualism may slow the decline in cultural diversity. However, to stop the avalanche of change may be almost impossible. Loss of a mother tongue is frequently perceived as a cultural loss as well.. Evidence suggests that the dominant languages are squeezing out the local tongues of various regions in the world.
The factors contributing to language change or eventually language loss have been discussed by different authors and linguists. One of the main sources of language loss is the dominance of a global language. Robert Phillipson (1992) argues against the possibility of neutrality in his Linguistic Imperialism (1992).He believes that learners who wish to use purportedly correct English are in fact faced with the dual standard of American English and British English, and other less known standard Englishes (namely Australian and Canadian).
In this papers the relationship between acquiring an international language-that is, English and language loss which is also identity loss is debated.
4. Language loss and International language
An international language is required as, on the one hand, people all over the world face common and international, issues such as global diseases, global financial crisis, and the other world- wide problems and, on the other hand, they will develop and have developed common goals to achieve. As people become closer they need to share their scientific, technological, and even sociopolitical outcomes. So they need to speak the same language to solve the above-mentioned problems collectively and to be able to achieve their goals more successfully. Therefore, there is no doubt that in a global village the need for a common language is unavoidable. An international language is the most acceptable reaction to the chaos created by world’s heavy load of information produced and communications established by the peoples all over the world.
It is the process of globalization that necessitates the acquisition of a global language for the purpose of handling world common problems and desires more thoroughly. The world has become smaller. The recent communication revolution has changed the world forever. The development of the internet and telecommunication networks has brought us all closer together in ways that we could not even imagine 50 years ago. The result of this event would be losing world languages. If globalization leads to a decrease in cultural diversity it is possible that the old way of looking at cultural identity may change. In generations to come, geographical borders may become less significant in a person’s identity, but maybe their interests may define themselves – instead of being an Iranian or Japanese, people may identify themselves as a “Trainspotter” or a “Hippie” or Jazz lover”. Crystal (1997) also points out that the use of a global language opens up to humanity new prospects for a practically unlimited information exchange. Now, the question arising from attempting to acquire an international language is the concern people develop over losing their language which is the carrier of their cultural values -identity.
Lanmbert (1975 cited in Yihong 2005, p.39) proposed two different types of bilingualism-subtractive and additive with subtractive bilingualism, the native language and nation cultural identity are replaced by the target language and target cultural identity.
With additive bilingualism, the learners’ native language and native cultural identity are maintained which the target language and target cultural identity are acquired in addition. Language is closely linked to an individuals or group’s social identity. The transformation- that is adopting a new identity can, on the one hand, be expressed in the gradual loss of unique cultural traits and imitation of a foreign culture, or, on the other hand, in the formation of an intercultural personality with different levels of cultural, linguistic, and communicative competence. In the modern world it is practically impossible to confine oneself within the borders of one culture, and at the same time complete assimilation into a nonnative culture is hardly achievable.
Klyukanov (1999, cited in Leontovich 2005) claims that the world should be viewed as a suprasystem made up of interacting and interdependent cultures. Therefore, any culture destroying other cultures is simultaneously destroying itself as it deprives itself of input of new information. Leontovich (2005) believes that the optimal interlingual contacts are those in which languages counterbalance each other, filling the gaps and enhancing the worldviews of their speakers. The aim of such cooperation is interactivity, which develops alongside the preservation of linguistic diversity.
Norton (2000) asserts that students’ investment in English is also an investment in their own identity, as their proficiency in English allows them to redefine themselves. Canagarajah (1999) demonstrates that Srilankans have been able to appropriate English for their own purposes taking into account local cultural and political factors.
Learning the IL helps people construct new voices, expand identities, and alternative subject positions. Ricento (2005) states that English initially was a more or less irrelevant or external language for instrumental purposes (getting good grades, entering into a good school, getting a good job, climbing the socioeconomic ladder) but now it is an intimate language for self-expression and enrichment, for exploration of new horizons and new knowledge and understanding of different people and the world. We need to understand that the identities of L2 learners are deeply connected to their status as members of distinct, but interrelated, communities, in which bilingualism or even multilingualism is the norm. It needs to e emphasized that it is in a globalized community that seeking identity and striving to be distinct would become more important than living in an isolated community. Learners can appropriate English as a weapon for self-empowerment in the world.
Canagarajah (1999), pennycook (2001) and Kramsch (2001) actually challenge and disrupt linguistic imperialism and the postcolonial dichotomy of self and other. However, they do not reject English. Instead, they support the use of English for one’s own benefit and equality, and at the same time urge English users to work together to eliminate the discourses of colonialism active in current imperial forms. These views suggest a new and more sophisticated notion of appropriation, which consists of resistance and reconstitution.
Indeed, the use of English plays an important part in both one’s desire to communicate with the world and ones will to preserve ones identity. Put differently, English contributes to identity formation, which constitutes both dynamics and the sense of belonging. This notion of appropriation would somehow facilitate English to serve global citizens and at the same time would not take their sense of belonging away.
I attempt to clarify the point that it is not the acquisition of IL that results in losing language but lack of possessing a voice through which we can express our needs and also share our outcomes with people all over the world. No studies have directly purported the main causes of language loss and all the factors presented in those studies are the offshoots of the main causes which are first lack of access to power in a society in a small scale and the whole world in a larger scale. Therefore, acquiring an IL gives us, a lot of opportunities to identify ourselves with the others and gain an international identify. So many language have been lost and if we scrutinize the reasons, we come up with the same result that the speakers of those languages suffered from lack of access to power and it was inequality in power distribution that has brought about such a tragic happening .The second main reason for language loss can be the effect of the previous cause or independent of that is incomplete exploration of all individual and collective potentialities including personal, materialistic, and even spiritual potentialities and possibilities to serve oneself , one’s nation and the whole world. The more people of a nation make efforts to invent, discover, create, and add to human knowledge, the more they would be successful in saving their language as it creates more interactive opportunities for them and have more to say to the whole world. It is worth mentioning that lack of communication and interactions has always resulted in many forms of inequality, poverty, discrimination, and the other social, economic, and political problems in almost all countries, therefore, if people all over the world acquire the IL, it would be a voice by which they can suppress most of their formidable problems in their communities and even in the world.
5. Conclusion
Le Ha (2007) claims that in African countries English language is used for more prestigious functions and local language for less prestigious ones. This is true about all countries in which people of a specific race or religion suffer from, inequality in having access to power. But regarding the international language, that is, English I should state that by passage of time it will lose its allegiance to a specific culture if all people throughout the world are provided with opportunities to present their cultural social, scientific outcomes through it and try to share them with all people all over the world. And it would become the world’s language rather than the language of certain countries. People try to satisfy their both materialistic and spiritual needs in an effort to lead a better life. So, if one language can not help people of a community satisfy their needs as it does not possess even in terms of pronunciation the properties people want it to have to achieve their goals, that language will lose its function and disappear gradually. But as it was mentioned before, such a destiny for a language is due to one of the above reasons or both.
It is worth mentioning that learning an international language by itself does not result in gaining international identity but to what extent a nation is successful in providing its people with opportunities to materialize their materialistic and non materialistic possibilities and utilize the outcomes in changing the world for a better one for themselves and for the others.
I have been frequently asked why we need to save our mother tongue and how we can do it. I believe that saving mother tongue is crucial for three main reasons; first language is one of the man’s greatest cultural achievements; second, to save cultural, social, and the other scientific outcomes a carrier, that is language is needed; third, to be distinguishable from the other nations with a different language and this difference brings first essence to life and second creates a competitive situation to make maximum use of the potentialities.
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