Language Regimes in Transformation: Future Prospects for German and Japanese in Science, Economy, and Politics (Contributions to the Sociology of Language 93) PDF
Preview Language Regimes in Transformation: Future Prospects for German and Japanese in Science, Economy, and Politics (Contributions to the Sociology of Language 93)
Language Regimes in Transformation ≥ Contributions to the Sociology of Language 93 Editor Joshua A. Fishman Mouton de Gruyter Berlin · New York Language Regimes in Transformation Future Prospects for German and Japanese in Science, Economy, and Politics edited by Florian Coulmas Mouton de Gruyter Berlin · New York Mouton de Gruyter (formerly Mouton, The Hague) is a Division of Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin. 앪앝 Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI to ensure permanence and durability. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Language regimes in transformation : future prospects for German and Japanese in science, economy, and politics / edited by Florian Coulmas. p. cm. ⫺ (Contributions to the sociology of language ; 93) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-3-11-019158-5 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 3-11-019158-X (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Multilingualism. 2. Language policy. 3. Globalization. I. Coulmas, Florian. P115.L363 2007 4041.2⫺dc22 2006037137 ISBN 978-3-11-019158-5 ISSN 1861-0676 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. ” Copyright 2007 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in Germany. This book is dedicated to ࡀ ࠙ࠬవ↢, George, JiĜí V. Neustupný, a pioneer of language planning research, who should have been there. Preface Over the past half-century international relations have intensified. Eco- nomic relations, commercial exchange, scientific cooperation, university partnerships, student exchange programmes have increased steadily. At the same time, however, the interest in foreign languages has been stagnant if not dwindling for some time, being eclipsed by the overwhelming impor- tance of English. A significant driving force of globalization, English has been instrumental in the commercialisation and marketisation of the world’s languages. As a result, English is becoming the only foreign lan- guage learnt and taught. This is an issue concerning not only the shaping of international rela- tions but the future of a number of fully developed languages such as Ger- man and Japanese. At this time, both languages belong to the select group of the world’s languages that are suitable for scientific communication and, more generally, can be used in all communication domains. However, it is not clear that German and Japanese can sustain their full functional poten- tial if their own speakers are using them in certain domains with lesser fre- quency. The diverging prerogatives of borderless communication in a sin- gle language, on one hand, and maintaining highly cultivated all-purpose languages, on the other, are obvious. Whether there are any feasible an- swers to the question of how to reconcile them is not. This volume docu- ments in a precise, cross-disciplinary and international way the impact, particularly in science and technology, of the massive expansion of English medium delivery of higher education, and the increasing conceptualisation and organisation of the science and economy domains of public life accord- ing to categories and systems derived from English. Since these issues con- cern not just sociologists of language who study changing functional do- main allocations of languages, the present volume brings together experts from a variety of fields, sociolinguistics, pedagogy, philosophy und politi- cal science. This breadth of perspective helped to reveal the multifaceted nature of the ongoing adjustment of language regimes to today’s demand for international communication, the permeability of national borders, the fate of minorities, immigration and the consequent pluralisation of the so- cial fabric. It is not as clear as it would seem whether English as the international lingua franca of science and economic transactions should or shouldn’t be viii Preface welcomed. This book is meant as a contribution to the ongoing debate scru- tinizing and carefully weighing arguments from both points of view. Acknowledgements First drafts of the chapters of this book were presented at a symposium on “Language Regimes in Transformation” convened in late summer of 2005 on the beautiful campus of Gakushuin University in Tokyo. We owe a debt of gratitude to the Faculty of Law of Gakushuin University for acting as our hosts. One of its members, Takao Katsuragi, was involved in the planning of the symposium from the beginning. Thanks are also due to the discuss- ants who provided inspiring and insightful comments on our work after the presentations which contributed substantially to the finished product. They were Andrew Horvat, Goro Kimura and Daniel Long. That Joshua Fishman accepted this volume for inclusion in his prestigious “CSL” series is a mat- ter of great satisfaction to which three reviewers have contributed their share. The symposium was supported with a generous grant by the Japan Foundation which is gratefully acknowledged. Special thanks go to Peter Backhaus who provided logistic support during the conference. Florian Coulmas Tokyo, 5 June 2006 vi Contents Preface vii Notes on the contributors xi On language policy in the age of globalization with good governance 1 Takao Katsuragi Thrifty monolingualism and luxuriating plurilingualism? 19 Konrad Ehlich Challenges for language policy in today’s Japan 33 Nanette Gottlieb Is the promotion of languages such as German and Japanese 53 abroad still appropriate today? Ulrich Ammon Japanese and German language education in the UK: 71 problems, parallels, and prospects Tessa Carroll Changing economic values of German and Japanese 95 Fumio Inoue The debate on English as an official language in Japan 115 Patrick Heinrich x Contents Remains of the day: language orphans and the decline of German as a medical lingua franca in Japan 141 John Maher The case for choice – language preferences in Japanese 155 academic publishing Florian Coulmas Tokio or Tokyo? Dschudo or Judo? On writing foreign names 173 Elmar Holenstein Effects of globalization on minority languages in Europe – 191 focusing on Celtic languages Kiyoshi Hara Index 207 2
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