Language Regimes in Transformation: Future Prospects for German and Japanese in Science, Economy, and Politics

by Florian Coulmas (Editor)

Overview

Globalization has many faces. One of them is the transformation of language regimes. This book provides an in-depth account of how two second-tier languages, Japanese and German, are affected by this process. In the international arena, they no longer compete with English, but their status in their home countries and as foreign languages in third countries is in flux. Original empirical and theoretical contributions are presented in this up-to-date study of language regime change.

The desirability of a single all-purpose language for all communication needs is seldom questioned. It is simply taken for granted in many advanced countries, such as Japan and the German-speaking countries. However, it is not clear whether German and Japanese can sustain their full functional potential if their own speakers use these languages in certain domains with decreasing frequency. The advantages of borderless communication in a single language, on one hand, and maintaining highly cultivated all-purpose languages, on the other, are obvious. The question of whether and how these two principles can be reconciled in the age of globalization is not. In this book, leading scholars present their answers: Ulrich Ammon, Tessa Carroll, Nanette Gottlieb, Patrick Heinrich, Takao Katsuragi, John Maher, Kiyoshi Hara, Elmar Holenstein, Konrad Ehlich, Fumio Inoue, and Florian Coulmas.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783110191585
Publisher:	De Gruyter
Publication date:	02/19/2007
Series:	Contributions to the Sociology of Language [CSL] , #93
Pages:	226
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.06(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Florian Coulmas, German Institute for Japanese Studies Tokyo, Japan and University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.