
The languages of the world can be seen & heard in cities & towns forests & isolated settlements as well as on the internet & in international organizations like the UN or the EU How did the world acquire so many languages? Why can&t we all speak one language like English or Esperanto? & what makes a person bilingual? Multilingualism language diversity in society is a perfect expression of human plurality About 6500-7000 languages are spoken written & signed throughout the linguistic landscape of the world by people who communicate in more than one language (at work or in the family or community) Many origin myths like Babel called it a &punishment& but multilingualism makes us who we are & plays a large part of our sense of belonging Languages are instruments for interacting with the cultural environment & their ecology is complex They can die (Tasmanian) or decline then revive (Manx & Hawaiian) reconstitute from older forms (modern Hebrew) gain new status (Catalan & Maori) or become autonomous national languages (Croatian) Languages can even play a supportive & symbolic role as some territories pursue autonomy or nationhood such as in the cases of Catalonia & Scotland In this Very Short Introduction John C Maher shows how multilingualism offers cultural diversity complex identities & alternative ways of doing & knowing to hybrid identities Increasing multilingualism is drastically changing our view of the value of language & our notion of the part language plays in national & cultural identities At the same time multilingualism can lead to social & political conflict unequal power relations issues of multiculturalism & discussions over &national& or &official& languages with struggles over language rights of local & indigenous communities Considering multilingualism in the context of globalization Maher also looks at the fate of many endangered languages as they disappear from the world ABOUT THE SERIES The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable