Language in the Twenty-First Century: Selected Papers of the Millenial Conferences of the Center for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems, Held at the University of Hartford and Yale University (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Language in the twenty-first century: Selected papers of the millennial conferences of the Center for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems, held at the University of Hartford and Yale University ed. by Humphrey Tonkin and Timothy Reagan Janne Skaffari Language in the twenty-first century: Selected papers of the millennial conferences of the Center for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems, held at the University of Hartford and Yale University. Ed. by Humphrey Tonkin and Timothy Reagan. (Studies in world language problems 1.) Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2003. Pp. 209. ISBN 1588113841. $59.95. Approximately half of the languages of the world are endangered, while the role of one language is growing more and more dominant. This volume highlights questions of linguistic diversity, English as a world language, foreign language teaching, and the linguistic consequences of globalization. Between the editors’ introduction and the conclusion by Kurt E. Müller, the book contains eleven papers (eight to twenty pages each), regrouped below. The shared bibliography has about four hundred entries. Several contributors acknowledge the possible roles of linguists in maintaining linguistic diversity, from the merely scholarly to the political (see the Ken Hale-Peter Ladefoged debate, Language 68, 1992). The description/advocacy dilemma is prominent in ‘The “business” of language endangerment: Saving languages or helping people keep them alive?’ by Luisa Maffi, who proposes an active but ethical role for researchers. Another recurring concern is the role of English in the world. In ‘Global English and the non-native speaker: Overcoming disadvantage’ Ulrich Ammon discusses the problems of nonnative speakers of English and suggests developing a nonlocalized, multinational variety of English to improve their status. In ‘Contexts and trends for English as a global language’, Paul Bruthiaux examines the possible future competitors of English, noting that Chinese especially may have considerable potential. Some of the papers explore language issues in selected geographical contexts: ‘Development of national languages and management of English in East and Southeast Asia’ by Björn H. Jernudd, ‘Equality, maintenance, globalization: Lessons from Canada’ by Jacques Maurais, and ‘Maintaining linguodiversity: Africa in the twenty-first century’ by Alamin M. Mazrui. In ‘Language and the future: Choices and constraints’, John Edwards reminds us that state languages are not always much safer than stateless ones. Mark Fettes calls for more global perspectives on language issues in ‘Interlingualism: A world-centric approach to language policy and planning’. Such an approach could be promoted in several ways, ranging from technological innovation to Esperantism. The last three papers focus on education. Teresa Pica’s ‘Language education in the twenty-first century: A newly informed perspective’ deals with new, classroom-based approaches to language teaching. In ‘Language and language education in the United States in the twenty-first century’, Timothy Reagan presents two scenarios for American language teaching: a strict English-only option vs. genuine multilingualism. Finally, the answer to Humphrey Tonkin’s title question ‘Why learn foreign languages? Thoughts for a new millennium’ includes such justifications as self-understanding, the acquisition of social skills, and freedom. This is an engaging and accessible book by language experts who are not exclusively linguists. As is typical in such collections, the papers vary in both approach and quality. While some present language-political speculations, others read more like research reports. The volume as a whole is thought-provoking and its concerns are relevant for anyone working with languages. Janne Skaffari University of Turku Copyright © 2006 Linguistic Society of America