Language and Intercultural Communication

P.Y. Tsikata

Language Politics and Policies

Language Policies • Nations enacts laws

recognizing official languages. Examples are French in France or Irish in Ireland (despite more Irish speak English than Irish).

• Canada recognizes both English and French as official

• The United States has no official language, but English remains the de facto

History and Context • Colonialism – Ghana’s official

language is English• Consider Rwanda woke one morning

to govt. order of language change from French to English (history, economics, politics, etc.)

• Policy of assimilation by the French in its colonies

• Others to protect minority languages, e.g., Welsh, Swahili in Kenya and East Africa

• Trust territories and language policies (1916).

Language and Globalization

Globalization • Rapid cross border exchanges

globally – people, products, goods, and ideas.

• The Greeks and Romans daydreamed Latin and Greek as global languages (legal edicts remain in Latin). French replaced Latin as European language.

• English is at the Center of Global Communication currently .

Consequences • English as global lingua

franca.• Latin still retains an elite

status in legal transactions.• The ease of travel and

business for English speakers around the world.

• Facilitate intercultural communication but can exacerbate animosity.

The four touchstones

Culture and Communication • Culture + Communication =

American consumerism around the world.

• How does it disempower people are not fluent in English in intercultural communication? What is neocolonialism?

Power and Context • By 2015 experts predict that

China will have overtaken the US as a predominant power.

• Power differences among language communities within certain countries, e.g., Switzerland, Cameroon, and its implications.

• In an era of globalization, should we be turning to Chinese?

Globalization of English

1,200 different accents of English in London by 2005

You will be competing with people from the commonwealth of English Speakers, not

commonwealth of nations Are you ready for the challenges ahead?