The Fall of Language in the Age of English
Minae Mizumura
Abstract
This book lays bare the struggle to retain the brilliance of the English language in a period of English-language dominance. The book acknowledges the value of a universal language in the pursuit of knowledge, yet also embraces the different ways of understanding offered by multiple tongues. It warns against losing this precious diversity. Universal languages have always played a pivotal role in advancing human societies, but in the globalized world of the Internet, English is fast becoming the sole common language of humanity. The process is unstoppable, and striving for total language equali ... More
This book lays bare the struggle to retain the brilliance of the English language in a period of English-language dominance. The book acknowledges the value of a universal language in the pursuit of knowledge, yet also embraces the different ways of understanding offered by multiple tongues. It warns against losing this precious diversity. Universal languages have always played a pivotal role in advancing human societies, but in the globalized world of the Internet, English is fast becoming the sole common language of humanity. The process is unstoppable, and striving for total language equality is delusional—and yet, particular kinds of knowledge can be gained only through writings in specific languages. The book calls these writings “texts” and their ultimate form “literature.” Only through literature, and more fundamentally through the diverse languages that give birth to a variety of literatures, can we nurture and enrich humanity. The book offers an intimate look at the phenomena of individual and national expression.
Keywords:
English-language dominance,
universal language,
multiple tongues,
diversity,
language equality
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2015 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780231163026 |
| Published to Columbia Scholarship Online: November 2015 |
DOI:10.7312/columbia/9780231163026.001.0001 |
