Introduction
Social factors play a very significant role in determining people’s attitudes towards languages. The prominence of particular languages over others has not been a chance occurrence. Rather, it is a result of attitudes that are attached to different languages that ensures growth and permanence whilst suppressing others. At this point in time, English is the most commonly used language; serving as the official language in many Commonwealth countries and most of the world’s leading organizations like the United Nations (UN), The European Union (EU), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, amongst others.
Nonetheless, even in the study of English as a language, a distinction will still emerge based on dialects, accents, and strength of vocabulary which are as a result of the diverse cultural backgrounds of the users. This in essence brings about a situation of contrast that can be used to gauge ones proficiency in the language.
Socio-economic Development and Linguistic Attitudes
It is my consideration that socio-economic development of a particular group of people would undoubtedly throw the language spoken by such persons into the limelight; where scholars would start to give it a more detailed examination whilst others would want to study that language as a second or subsequent choice in order to get to understand this elitist group. The spread of English, French, and Spanish came as a result of sustained campaigns of territorial expansion and colonialism after periods of enlightenment. This scenario can best be demonstrated in Africa and South America where the subjects adopted of languages and culture of their colonial masters. It is my argument that this had a strong connection with the colonizer’s heights of socio-economic development.
It is almost certain that as a nation grows in statute, the rest of the world is often left in awe and amazement. There are, therefore, periods of admiration that will include an attempt to learn their culture, traditions and beliefs. These are best understood in the context of the native language. Any ancient civilization that history demonstrates were advance in their intellectual development relative to others of their time has often been a source of intrigue to modern-day scholars. The Mayan and Egyptian civilizations are just a few examples. Any ancient form of language associated with these has been vastly studied by many ethnographers, archeologist and linguists.
The Mentalist Theory of Lingual Attitude
In the study of the lingual attitudes, the most represented theory is mentalism. This theory is usually demonstrated three components. These components includes; individual beliefs, knowledge and perceptions (Cognitive); an emotional response to a language (Affective); and the behavioral interests (Conative). A combined examination of all these conditions shows an internal stimulation that would require a response from the persona. In this regard a continued exposure to a language will demand a response from an individual. This in turn makes an attitude that one will develop towards a language an individual disposition.
According to Reagan, the fundamental factors that would determine a language’s status would be; the number of speakers in a particular community, the expansive spread of the language, and whether the language has an established literary heritage. These scenarios unwrap a language’s status as a product of creativity and development of many years. Just like a fine wine, a language that is possessed of such qualities may be exciting to an individual and hence stimulate an emotional response.
The connection between a language’s associative usage and the socio- economic development can be exemplified by the ‘dying’ of certain languages once the stature of the predominant speakers dwindled. In America, some native languages like the Navajo are faced with ‘death’ as the native users opt to study English as their first language in order to be able to compete with the rest of America that is predominantly English speaking. The same phenomenon has been witnessed in other parts of the world where minor native languages are assimilated into the more expansive native languages, backed by larger populations.
An ideal example of socio-economic factors being a private stimulus would be a situation where an English speaking American settles in South East Asia and has to learn the local language in order to successfully trade in a local market. This ideally makes the language useful to the American for his or her own socio-economic advancement while in a foreign land. Dua postulates that a language’s production factors are hinged on its functional status, the diversity it offers and the vitality it possess. He goes further to emphasize the particulars that a dominant language must possess; creative literature, technical and scientific literature, literature in social sciences and an ability to be documented. From Dua’s postulation, therefore, not any one of these situations may result in a status rise nor will it fulfill the needs of speech in a modern setting. The language that will elicit interest must be possessed of technical and scientific literature that will be hardy in developing vocabulary and thinking that is logically sound. The language must also be to demonstrate a tradition of writing based on logical principles.
A language that is possessed of the above quality will no doubt emerge from a people whose socio-economic development is high in respect to the rest. This will provide an ideal basis for emulation or adoption by non-users in order to elevate their standards in equal measure. If such people fall from grace, or a more dominant group emerges, there is a possibility that their language may begin to recede in significance. Greek is one such language whose influence receded significant as more the geographically expansive languages like Spanish, German, French and English emerged. In an ideal situation very few would be lining to pursue a study of Greek as a second language. Contrast the situation now to the 15th to 17th centuries when Greek was an influential language in the scholarly world. A similar phenomenon can be witnessed with Latin which is now very particular in usage.
Education is also one significant socio-economic development that will influence an individual’s attitude towards a language. In many developing nations where some native languages are strong like India; English is still the language for higher learning, more so in scientific and technical fields. The situation in most of the Scandinavian countries is also worrying, as the rate of incorporation of English words goes on apace. This is a clear depiction of domain loss of the common languages in the Scandinavia.
In many developing nations, English has been adopted as a national language in order to spur development and promote economic development. English, being the most widely used language, has been adopted as either the main national language or one of the national languages. This is largely an attestation of the significance of English in promoting socio-economic development. Contrast this situation to that of Japan or China. These nations, alongside others like Germany and Russia; having been able to develop independently and even spearhead some significant advancement in technology may not feel the pressure to take such radical stances.
In the same breath, China’s rise as an economic power in the global context has generated an amount of interest. Many people are beginning to study the Chinese culture, languages and traditions as it positions itself as the next economic power. It is obvious that such interest in Chinese can only be for an anticipated socio-economic gain. The long history of the Chinese empire and the vast extent of the territory provide some of the fundamentals the thriving of a strong language. On the other hand, languages that are restrained in extent and usage attract very little interest. The forest dwellers of the Amazon and the jungles of Africa or the Eskimos are just but a few examples. The importance attached to such a people’s language would only be restricted to those with a very particular interest.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are numerous situations that would lead to the development of social attitude towards a language. Socio-economic considerations are probably the largest determinants on the dominance of a language and hence the attitude it will attract. A language that can stand empirical evaluation has to be possessed of certain characteristics; an expansive geographical recognition, extensive literature in science and technical field, a deep pool of social literature and journalism.it should be able to demonstrate a clear way of conveying communication in both speech and writing. It must also be extensive in vocabulary and be a lingua franca in its area of usage. One of these will not suffice, but rather a combination of most of these.
Works Cited
Combs, Mary Carol. "Everything on it's Head: How Arizona's Structured English Immersion Policy Reinvents Theory and Practise." Ariaz, Beatriz and Christian Faltis. Implementing Educational Language Policy in Arizona: Legal, Historical and Current Practices in SEI. New York: Multilingual Matters, 2012.
Hai-ying, Liang. "The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Foreign Language Teaching and Learning." US-China Foreign Language 9.9 (2011).
