Return-Path: <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id fA31cX004532; Fri, 2 Nov 2001 20:38:33 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2001 20:38:33 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <143.4007452.2914a380@aol.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: KathleenBombach@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-esl@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-ESL:6638] Re: olonialism and ESL X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: AOL 7.0 for Windows US sub 97 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Status: O Content-Length: 3322 Lines: 54 English is well-established as a second or third language in many areas of the world, but as a first language is pretty much limited to Canada, USA, Great Britain, and Australia. English has not become the first language any where else in the world ever, and its dominance in Canada, US, and Australia has more to do with the movement of native English speakers into sparcely settled areas of the world centuries ago. That era is over. Approximately 750 languages, most of them oral only (not existing in written form), are endangered, but not because English has become dominant where they are located (with the exception of the native north American languages). Spanish and Portugese are displacing indigenous languages in Latin America; standard forms of German and French are displacing languages like Calo, Provencal, and Breton in Europe; in Cambodia, Khmer is replacing dozens of languages like Brao, Cham, Chong, Kaco--the list goes on and on, all over the world. Some languages are becoming dominant in every area of the world, but English is not replacing any of those strong languages. Instead, the number of languages seems to be going through a major reduction in favor of regionally dominant languages. Many people have expressed a great deal of concern because there are now so many languages that are becoming extinct as certain other languages become dominant. One can surmise that as languages disappear, cultures do too, but even that seems a more complicated picture. Some cultures do totally disappear, but others are absorbed into and change the dominant language and culture. Good examples exist in Latin America, where there are many forms of Catholicism that are based in indigenous religions and cultures. Our celebrations at Christmas and Easter were based on pagan holidays, and no one has managed to stamp out Halloween yet, thank goodness. In fact, Halloween, a pagan holiday from Celtic England, has now spread into Mexico, where it is combined with celebrations of the Day of the Dead (today), which also dates from pre-European times. English itself has been called Franglish, a layer of French over an old Norse base. In fact, about a quarter of the words we consider to be "English" are actually French in origin, and many more date from the Roman conquest (Latin). Some thing that interests me is how English itself is diverging, as anyone who has visited England can tell you. Our written versions of English remain very similar, with a few differences in vocabulary and idiomatic expressions, but our spoken language is much closer to that of upper class British, not to that of the average working class Londoner. I don't think that by teaching English, you are destroying the viability of Mandarin, Spanish, or Arabic. And the trends that are destroying Cham or Breton are far beyond your influence. So teach English and encourage people to retain their native languages and cultures without fear that you are contributing to the destruction of those languages and cultures. English is a popular second, third, or fourth language, but so are French and Spanish in some parts of the world. NB: I am not unaware of the reasons that certain languages have become popular second, third, or fourth languages. Kathleen Bombach
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