Language Aspect in Education As an Aspect of Intercultural Rivalry

Abstract

This article considers how the modern phenomena of multilingualism, multiculturalism and media diversity are different from those of previous periods. With the promotion of multiculturalism as a constructive interaction of cultures, the “clash of civilizations” is also actively discussed as is the fact that, despite the expansion of compulsory multilingualism in education, the dominance of only one language is consistently growing, including officially multilingual Europe. In this regard, it is important to consider such sociocultural processes against wider sociopolitical, cultural and philosophical contexts. The mobility of modern people and their communication with each other is much greater than before, but the language barrier is overcome not so much by their multilingualism or a new lingua franca (English), but by the creation of tourist and business infrastructures, whose employees learn several foreign languages, and only in a small necessary amount. In addition, a small number of professional translators are used when and where a highly qualified translation with a very precise semantic understanding is required. In the future this role might well belong to translation machines. With these realities, as well as with some of the rights of the child, the obligatory study of two or more languages, in most cases the English, provides a stark contrast. The main justification for such a policy is that it supposedly increases the chances of employment. Yet this is an ideological construct, the implementation of which is consuming an ever-increasing proportion of budgetary funds and personal time of students and teachers.
 Keywords: education, bilingualism, multilingualism, values, intercultural communication, intercultural rivalry