Regardless of your views on multiculturalism, I would like to pose a couple of questions to you. The questions are in relation to multiculturalism and it's impact, if any, on minority languages within a multicultural society. Personally I am more of the persuasion that immigrants should assimilate into the nation they immigrate too, but that is irrelevant. Alright, so here goes...

Let's say you live in a multicultural society and there are millions of people from different cultures and ethnic groups living together. Many of these cultures have their own languages and in a multicultural society, they can keep those languages in theory. However, society cannot realistically operate with several different languages, so a lingua franca must be found, so that different ethnic groups can communicate with one another. Of course, many people will continue to keep their language alive and often times even speak it in private with other speakers [of their language]. However, as time and generations go by, there will be fewer and fewer native speakers of said language. In a society that values assimilation or the melting pot theory, such as the United States, this isn't a problem, as the native language will live on indefinitely in their home country. The problem becomes incredibly apparent if large portions, or even the entire, planet subscribe to multiculturalism.

Now a 'solution' to this hypothetical problem comes to mind almost instantly [for me anyway], and that is that each country will have it's own language and that language will be used as the lingua franca in that country. For instance, everyone in Vietnam will speak Vietnamese in public, regardless of their native language or culture; whereas everyone in France will speak French, regardless of their native language or culture. There are several problems with this, however, as the idea of forcing immigrants to learn the language of the country they immigrate to, goes against everything multiculturalism stands for. Another problem is that we live in a global age, an age where (in this case) the English language is the lingua franca of the planet. Today virtually everyone speaks English, meaning that it would almost certainly become the lingua franca for multicultural societies, as everyone speaks it, including the native population.

Due to a single [or very few] languages coming into common societal usage and the inability of education facilities to teach every single language in existence, many of these native languages will fall into disuse. This disuse could very well result in languages very seldom being used in private [with other speakers of the language] and eventually it may no longer be passed down from generation to generation anymore. As a result of this, many languages may become endangered and possibly even extinct.

Do you believe this could prove to be a potential problem with multiculturalism? If so, how do you propose we avoid it, other than the obvious answer of abandoning multiculturalism?

this might seem like an unusual question, but is a language/culture/wayofliving really significant/important and worth preserving?

This post was edited by duffman316 on Jun 10 2013 03:06pm

One primary language would be ideal. The extinction of other languages doesn't bother me at all.

While I recognize that I am arguing from a purely emotional and non-utilitarian standpoint, I do believe that preserving the languages and cultures of our ancestors is important. I can't really explain why...

The more unique and ubiquitous a culture the less easily assimilated that cultures knowledge will be. It's natural for people to segregate themselves on the basis of language or culture, and it's also natural for those borders to dissolve over time as one community proves to be more attractive than another.

It takes a skillset to speak a language or to behave properly within a particular culture. Understanding a language essentially precipitates understanding a culture.

Basically, teach the younger generations to accept more 'abnormal' behavior and teach them that the behavior serves a purpose within the context of the culture. An end to extreme national or cultural prejudice would be a good start. Placing more emphasis on higher education within the context of internationalism. Opening more than ones pocketbook in respect to the bizarre behavior of cultural people.

Translation of historic documents, for one thing.

i like to think of it as a consequence of the natural evolution of language

This post was edited by duffman316 on Jun 10 2013 03:24pm

I don't really think there is a "problem." Eventually there will be only one common language used on almost all parts of Earth, and the only people who will study other languages are those interested in reading old texts, history, linguists, etc. Dialects of this one language will become a lot more prominent and differ greatly though.

It may seem weird, but language is just really a tool. We use it to express ourselves and communicate. Same thing with changes to language - it is dynamic and never static. New words, like 'bling', etc., will enter the lexicon and be added to the dictionary. If it popular enough and sticks around enough, your kids or grandkids might have 'bling' on their 4th grade spelling tests. Different generations have used different words to mean different things forever. Words come, words go too. That's why the Oxford English Dictionary is great, and another reason that reading anything put out in, say, Elizabethan England, is very foreign. You may have read Shakespeare, but I guarantee you that you didn't understand Shakespeare. You may have understood a modern interpretation with maybe some of the words explained, but believe me - there's so much more.

If the boundaries of a culture are not respected then yes, the diversity of (language, culture, ethnicity, etc.) will be destroyed.

Multiculturalism is the necessitation of monoculturalism and the destruction of domestic diversity, mind you, that is what borders are supposed to preserve.

Don't like diversity? Support irresponsible immigration policies, you do not need to look any further than what is left of some of the Eastern European states, they are in their final days before Eurabia is realized.

I need to start learning Arabic I guess.

Examples of Eastern European states discussed please?