Languages in the Contemporary World Although languages have common properties, from the point of view of their users, it is the differences that count, i.e. that be considered. Around the world, people speak different languages which are mutually incomprehensible. To solve the problem of how those people can communicate with each other, two possible solutions are used: 1.Speakers of one language(s) learn the other’s language. 2.The second is to employ translator(s).

Attitudes to Languages Native speakers of a language usually regard it as theirs/as their own property and do not resent other people acquiring it. This is simply because They lose nothing in the process and are flattered to share something so highly valued. It remains familiar and intrinsic to them, whereas it remains foreign and something apart. Furthermore, there is a marked difference between people’s general characterization of their language and academic beliefs/linguists views.

Linguists regard all languages as equal and arbitrary systems capable of fulfilling the same functions. This view is far from how they are perceived by language users. Some languages are popularly regarded as being less complex than others, e.g. one reason often given to the spread of international English is that it is easier to learn. On the same vein Latin is widely believed to be more logical, German is more efficient, or French is more romantic than other languages. These are all views which we must consider if we are to mediate between the two perspectives.

Again linguists are in a difficult position when compare their views- on what counts as a separate language and what does not- with that of language users. Although linguistics investigates languages in terms of their history and formal similarities, but neither of these perspectives determines the boundaries them. From popular point of view, such languages spoken and believed to be mutually incomprehensible to their speakers, though both are described as one. e.g. The dialect of Sicily makes little sense in Venice, while they are both described as “Italian”. Anther example

Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese are mutually incomprehensible when spoken and they are both referred to as “Chinese”. On the other hand, there are pairs of languages, which are mutually comprehensible but are regarded as different. For example: Russian can guess at the meaning of Ukrainian; Italian may work for basic transactions in a Spanish-speaking country; readers of Japanese can make some progress with Chinese characters Generally, if people decided that they speak a distinct language, or conversely that what they speak is a dialect of a larger language, then it is difficult to argue with them.

The Languages of Nations: Boundaries and Relationships In addition to academic linguistic and popular approaches, there are other two ways in which languages can be compared, both of which are of particular importance to the contemporary world. These are by numbers of speakers and by geographical distribution. While the world’s largest languages, such as Arabic, English, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, have hundreds of millions of speakers and are frequently used beyond their homelands, the majority of the world’s languages are much smaller, some with only a few hundred speakers.

Smaller languages are limited to restricted areas and specific ethnic groups, and are often vulnerable. Among the world’s estimated 6000 languages, language death now occurs increasingly frequently, and that half of the world’s languages are likely to disappear in the twenty-first century. Languages constantly change depending on historical and political forces. Thus powerful nations have frequently asserted their unity by promoting one single majority language in a standard written form while suppressing /ignoring minority languages.

Unfortunately, the successful promotion of one language and its spread beyond its homeland led to a state of multilingualism rather than monolingualism. A survey of London primary schools in 2000 revealed that a total of 350 home languages are used by London schoolchildren. Meanwhile independence movements, such Scottish one, associate their cause with the promotion of one of the indigenous languages which the state has pushed aside.{Scottish Gaelic, championed by Scottish National Party, is the official language}

Despite the efforts of nation builders, the monolingual state remains a myth, because all nations have substantial linguistic groups within their borders, making cross-linguistic communication an intranational as well international affair. On a personal level many individuals of the world population are bilingual or multilingual. They must change tongue to go to work or school, to speak to elderly relatives, or deal with bureaucracy, making this code-switching a salient and significant part of their daily experience. For example

In Africa it is common to switch between a local language or a dominant regional language, and a former colonial language such as French, English. For immigrants to Europe there is switching between the family language and that of their new home, for example Turkish and German, or Arabic and French. The Growth of English