Reason: 67
Knowledge in non-European languages will become an important economic and political asset. We need to be plurilingual and have English as only one of the languages
Reference:
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2002) Why should linguistic diversity be maintained and supported in Europe? Some arguments (Strasbourg: Council of Europe)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Economic, social and political dimension, Global English, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Multilingualism
Reason: 77
Of the 6,000 or so languages in the world, it seems probable that about half of these will disappear in the course of the present century - an average of one language dying out every fortnight
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2003) 'Taking account of the linguistic revolution' in Head, D., Jones, E., Kelly, M., Tinsley, T. (eds) Setting the Agenda for Languages in Higher Education (London: CILT), pp. 9-23
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Sustainability
Reason: 78
The impact of dominant languages on minority languages is a matter of universal concern, and the role of English is especially implicated
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2003) 'Taking account of the linguistic revolution' in Head, D., Jones, E., Kelly, M., Tinsley, T. (eds) Setting the Agenda for Languages in Higher Education (London: CILT), pp. 9-23
Related Keywords:
Global English, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Values
Reason: 145
If you speak one of the less commonly learnt languages - you could have a rarity value in the job market
Reference:
King, A., Thomas, G. (1999) The Guide to Languages and Careers (London: CILT)
Related Keywords:
Employability, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages
Reason: 182
As each language dies, a precious source of data for philosophers, scientists, anthropologists, folklorists, historians, psychologists, linguists, writers is lost
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Knowledge, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Related subjects, Sustainability
Reason: 184
The more languages we study, the fuller our picture of the human linguistic options will be. Languages which are off the beaten track are especially important, as their isolation means they may have developed features which are not found in other languages
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Knowledge, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Linguistics, Uniqueness
Reason: 185
Differences in the way languages use grammar are always illuminating, especially those which help to quash the myth of primitiveness in indigenous languages. There are many languages which provide ways of expressing an area of experience that actually offer more points of contrastivity than are available in languages like English or French
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Linguistics, Uniqueness
Reason: 186
Several of the grammatical features found in indigenous languages present us with ways of talking about the world that have no counterpart in the well-known Western languages
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Knowledge, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Linguistics, Uniqueness
Reason: 189
Faced with the likelihood of losing half of the world’s languages within the next century, and of the distinct possibility of a world with only one language in it a few hundred years hence, it is this generation which needs to make the decisions
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Sustainability, Values
Reason: 279
The security services, which have a nationality requirement, are finding it increasingly difficult to attract candidates with training in Middle Eastern languages
Reference:
Ehteshami, A. (2002) BRISMES: Report - Middle Eastern Studies in the United Kingdom: A Challenge for Government, Industry and the Academic Community (www.dur.ac.uk/brismes/report)
Related Keywords:
Employability, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, National security, UK
Reason: 280
Some Middle Eastern languages are not being taught at all in the UK. The absence of these is potentially a huge threat to national security
Reference:
Ehteshami, A. (2002) BRISMES: Report - Middle Eastern Studies in the United Kingdom: A Challenge for Government, Industry and the Academic Community (www.dur.ac.uk/brismes/report)
Related Keywords:
Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, National security, UK
Reason: 282
For British executives, a working knowledge of Middle Eastern and North African languages (for social interaction, or dealing with customs or road-blocks etc.) gives a real advantage
Reference:
Ehteshami, A. (2002) BRISMES: Report - Middle Eastern Studies in the United Kingdom: A Challenge for Government, Industry and the Academic Community (www.dur.ac.uk/brismes/report)
Related Keywords:
Business, Communication, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Mobility
Reason: 291
The Auld Report which deals with the criminal courts, makes practical recommendations with regard to the use of legal interpreters and draws attention to difficulties arising from the need for rarely used languages
Reference:
Connell, T. (2002) Languages and Employability: A Question of Careers (www.cilt.org.uk/careers/pdf/reports/employability.pdf)
Related Keywords:
Employability, Language for specific purposes, Law, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Translating
Reason: 296
Non-traditional languages have an increasing commercial value given the size of Britain's overseas trade outside Europe and the USA and the potential size of the market in areas where specific languages are widespread
Reference:
Connell, T. (2002) Languages and Employability: A Question of Careers (www.cilt.org.uk/careers/pdf/reports/employability.pdf)
Related Keywords:
Business, Employability, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, UK
Reason: 297
There is strong anecdotal evidence that commercial employers are recruiting abroad. This would appear to be the case where multilingual staff in particular are needed. It is also indicated where employers need a language other than the standard ones available within the UK education system
Reference:
Connell, T. (2002) Languages and Employability: A Question of Careers (www.cilt.org.uk/careers/pdf/reports/employability.pdf)
Related Keywords:
Business, Employability, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Multilingualism, UK
Reason: 301
Perhaps a global language will hasten the disappearance of minority languages, or - the ultimate threat - make all other languages unnecessary... Linked with this is the unpalatable face of linguistic triumphalism - the danger that some people will celebrate one language's success at the expense of others
Reference:
Crystal, D. (1997) English as a Global Language (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Global English, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Values
Reason: 308
It is inevitable that, in a post-colonial era, there should be a strong reaction against continuing to use the language of the former colonial power, and in favour of promoting the indigenous languages
Reference:
Crystal, D. (1997) English as a Global Language (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Global English, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Values
Reason: 309
People have a natural wish to use their own mother-tongue, to see it survive and grow, and they do not take kindly when the language of another culture is imposed on them. Despite the acknowledged values which the language of that culture can bring, the fact remains that English has an unhappy colonial resonance in the minds of many, and a history where local languages could easily be treated with contempt
Reference:
Crystal, D. (1997) English as a Global Language (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Equality (equal opportunities), Global English, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Values
Reason: 312
Local languages are seen to be valuable because they promote community cohesion and vitality, foster pride in a culture and give a community (and thus a workforce) self-confidence
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Social cohesion, UK Community Languages, Values
Reason: 313
Arguments which support the need for biological diversity also apply to language... The whole concept of the ecosystem is based on the insight that living entities exist through a network of interrelationships. Diversity has a central place in evolutionary thought... In the language of ecology, the strongest ecosystems are those which are the most diverse... The point has often been made that our success in colonizing the planet has been due to our ability to develop diverse cultures which suit all kinds of environments. The need to maintain linguistic diversity stands squarely on the shoulders of such arguments. If diversity is a prerequisite for successful humanity, then the preservation of linguistic diversity is essential, for language lies at the heart of what it means to be human. If the development of multiple cultures is so important, then the role of languages becomes critical, for cultures are chiefly transmitted through spoken and written languages. Accordingly, when language transmission breaks down, through language death, there is a serious loss of inherited knowledge
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Culture, Diversity, Knowledge, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Networking, Sustainability, Values
Reason: 315
The loss of languages is tragic precisely because they are not interchangeable, precisely because they represent the distillation of the thoughts and communication of a people over their entire history
Reference:
Mithun (1998: 189) cited in Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Communication, Diversity, Historical dimension, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Uniqueness
Reason: 318
The desire to know about our ancestry is a universal inclination - but it takes a language to satisfy it. And, once a language is lost, the links with our past are gone - we are, in effect, alone
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Historical dimension, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages
Reason: 327
One way of increasing our stock of human wisdom is to learn more languages and to learn more about languages. And one way of ensuring that this sum of human wisdom is made available - if not for ourselves, then for the benefit of future generations - is to do as much as we can to preserve them now, at a time when they seem to be in most danger
Reference:
Crystal, D. (2000) Language Death (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Knowledge, Learning, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages
Reason: 329
The Secretary of State for Education has asked HEFCE to consider the following as courses of national strategic importance. Arabic and Turkish language studies..this is mainly for strategic security and intercultural awareness reasons
Reference:
DfES Press Notice 'Charles Clarke seeks protection for courses of national strategic importance', December 1, 2004 (www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2004_0209)
Related Keywords:
HE (Higher Education sector), Intercultural competence, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, National security
Reason: 337
Our relationship with Europe needs more than English. Europe is emerging not only as a single market but also as a social and political forum in which English serves as a second language. There is a danger that European monolinguals will find themselves marginalised - unable to take a full part in the new institutions and opportunities in the economic, cultural and educational fields. For English monolinguals there is no single other language which will suffice: we need to explore the means of creating diversity of provision and language expertise in both the major and minor European languages
Reference:
The Nuffield Languages Inquiry (2000) Languages: the next generation (London: The Nuffield Foundation)
Related Keywords:
Culture, Diversity, Economic, social and political dimension, Education Studies, Equality (equal opportunities), European Union (EU), Global English, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Multilingualism, UK
Reason: 347
A wider range of languages is called for - The present range of languages spoken by the UK workforce and taught in the education system does not accurately reflect the current pattern of UK trade, nor the patterns that are predicted to emerge in the next generation
Reference:
The Nuffield Languages Inquiry (2000) Languages: the next generation (London: The Nuffield Foundation)
Related Keywords:
Business, Diversity, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, UK
Reason: 398
Teaching a modern language then fits into a broader framework of 'languages and learning' at school. It has a central role to play in helping all students connect the notion of linguistic and cultural diversity here with the notion of linguistic and cultural diversity in the wider Europe where many millions of people speak a language (whether an indigenous language such as Breton, Catalan, Basque, Frisian, Friulian, Ladino, Sorbian or an indigenised language such as Turkish in Germany or Portuguese in Luxembourg) that is not the majority language of the country in which they live
Reference:
Scottish Executive, Ministerial Action Group on Languages (2000) Citizens of a Multilingual World: Key Issues (www.scotland.gov.uk-library3-education-mwki-07.asp)
Related Keywords:
Diversity, Equality (equal opportunities), Intercultural competence, Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, Secondary sector, UK Community Languages
Reason: 570
The Secretary of State for Education has asked HEFCE to consider the following as courses of national strategic importance. Japanese, Chinese, Mandarin and other far eastern languages/dialects ..for business and trade purposes
Reference:
DfES Press Notice 'Charles Clarke seeks protection for courses of national strategic importance', December 1, 2004 (www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/DisplayPN.cgi?pn_id=2004_0209)
Related Keywords:
Business, HE (Higher Education sector), Less Widely Used and Lesser Taught (LWULT) Languages, UK

700 Reasons to study languages...