Lesson 21

What did they say? Cultural diversity

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"Because of their similarities, even i c
understood by all men, and, thus elevated to a universal plane"

Leopoldo Zea

A.Prereading activities

- Do you know what cultural diversity means?

Read this definition on cultural diversity

There are many different definitions for Cultural Diversity but they basically all mean the same thing -
being different:

- Cultural diversity is the makeup of various social structures, belief systems and strategies that
other cultures use to adapt to life situations in all parts of the world.

-The multiculturalism of a group or organization or region. (Parvis, 2005).

- The ethnic, gender, racial, and socioeconomic variety in a situation, institution, or group; the
coexistence of different ethnic, gender, racial, and socioeconomic groups within one social unit.

Retrieved from: http://www.studymode.com

The languages of the world are about 7000 ...

-Do you think learning a foreign language implies accepting or denying language diversity?

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B. Let s apply

Linguistic Diversity

The spread of multilingualism and the spread of English

Multilingualism can be the result of different factors. Some of them are the following:

Historical or political movements such as imperialism or colonialism. In the case of the spread of some
languages, such as Spanish to Latin America, it results in the coexistence of different languages.

Economic movements in the case of migration. The weak economics of some areas and countries results in
movement of the population to other countries and to the development of multilingual and multicultural
communities in the host countries.

Increasing communications among different parts of the world and the need to be competent in
languages of wider communication. This is the case with the development of new technologies and also
with science. English is the main language of wider communication but it is used by millions of people
who use other languages as well.

Social and cultural identity and the interest for maintenance and revival of minority languages. This interest
creates situations in which two or more languages co-exist and are necessary in everyday communication.

Education. Second and foreign languages are part of the curriculum in many countries.

Unit 7:What did they say? 161

 Religion movements that result in people moving to a new country.

English is the most important language of wider communication in the world as the result of British
colonial power in the nineteenth century and the first decades of the twentieth century and the leadership
of the USA in the twentieth century.

English is also the main language of science and technology in the world and its spread is advancing
in many countries and regions where English has not been traditionally spoken. English is also the main
language of popular culture and globalization as can be seen in advertising. Nowadays multilingualism
usually implies English and other languages. English has also been considered a threat for linguistic
diversity (Philipson, 1992).

The spread of English has been visualized in terms of three circles representing the historical and
sociolinguistic profile of English in different parts of the world (Kachru,1985). The inner circle includes the
countries that are traditionally considered the bases of English, where English is the first language for the
majority of the populations: UK, USA, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia. Nevertheless, English is not
the only language spoken in these countries because it is in contact with heritage languages or languages
that are spoken as the result of immigration.

The outer circle includes those countries where English is not the first language of the majority
of the population but English is a second language that is used at the institutional level as the result of
colonization. The expanding circle includes those countries where English has no official status and is
taught as a foreign language.

The contact between English and other languages

in the three circles and the spread of English in the outer
and expanding circles has important sociolinguistic and
psycholinguistic implications. At the sociolinguistic level,
the spread of English has important implications regarding
the ownership of English and the varieties of English. The
spread of English as a lingua franca threatens the traditional
ownership of English as a property of native speakers. At
the same time, new non-native varieties of English (Indian
English, Nigerian English, etc) have been developed as the
result of the contact between English and other languages
in different parts of the world. Furthermore, the contact
between English and other languages and the spread of
English also has implications at the psycholinguistic level.
English is being learned by many individuals not only as
a second language but also as a third or fourth language
and in many cases English is one of the languages in the
multilingual s linguistic repertoire.

Retrieved from http://www.susdiv.org/upload le/RT1.2_

Durk.pdf
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C. General questions

Answer the following questions about the content of the reading.

1- Are multilingualism and language diversity considered as synonyms? Explain.

2- Is learning English a necessity in todays world? Explain.
3- Should we view English as a language that belongs to a specific country or culture?
4- Is learning English considered a threat for native languages around the world?

D. Reference

Read the text again and write what the underlined words refer to.

1. Them in line 1: .
2. It in line 4: .
3. This in line 11: .
4. It in line 13: .

E. Grammar

o Fill out the chart below with vocabulary from the reading in part B above. Use your dictionary if
necessary.

Verbs Nouns Adjectives Adverbs Prepositions Pronouns Other

F. Filling in

Reread the parts suggested and say what is being done: comparing and contrasting, classifying, defining
or argumenting.

1. Multilingualism can be the result result in people moving to a new country.

.
2. English is the most important language considered a threat for linguistic diversity.
.
3. The spread of English has been visualized English has no okcial status and is taught as a
foreign language. .

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 G. Identifying ?ags

Write the name of the country that corresponds to the Pag.

Country: Country:

Country: Country:

Country: Country:

H. Translation

Translate the following extracts from the text.

1. At the sociolinguistic level, the spread of English has important implications regarding the ownership of
English and the varieties of English.

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164
2.English is also the main language of scienc echnology in the w ld and its spr ancing in
many countries and regions where English has not been traditionally spoken.

I. Synonyms and antonyms

Match the synonyms and write the antonyms for them.

1- Different leading
2- Population renewal
3- Create people
4- Revival diverse
5- Main disseminate
6- Spread generate

1- .
2- .
3- .
4- .
5- .
6- .

J. Finding out

Mention some other countries diferent from the ones mentioned in the text where

1. English is the first language.

2. English is a second language.

3. English is taught as a foreign language.

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