Gobally, language is an important political & social issue in any multicultural society. Why?

Answer 1

Because people have to talk with one another.

Answer 2

I have funny feelings about this issue, myself.

I think that people learn another language, when for their own survival, it is necessary that they know and speak that language.

Now,
for instance, you need to speak your own language (English for most of us) because you won't get around too well in the USA in general, without it

but, some folks need to learn an additional language to get good jobs or to work with Cingular, or whatever they need to do (I'm speaking from the viewpoint of somebody who might need to learn English, or French) because their own language alone is apparently not enough for them to know, in order to survive. And I think that's not fair.

But whoever wins the wars gets to imperialize I suppose.

You could view it as a power thing.

Or,
you could say, one has the opportunity to learn about a different culture IF THEY WANT to, or find something nice and interesting about the different culture, if they haaave to learn it. Then, you could say you are trying to be open-minded and beat the system. The way most societies are organized today, you could live your whole life in comfort, order everything from the internet, be rich doing an office job, and never have to leave even your city, nor speak another language. I can't say if that's good or bad, but that's the way things are. If people wanna do that, they have a right.

So depending on what spin you put on it, there's many ways you can look at learning languages.

Answer 3

Because language communicates abstract ideas and beliefs, and many cultures - even those micro-cultures withing a larger society - have different ideas and beliefs.

To quote the article below about business travel:

"What does it mean when somebody pats you on the back?" [the Japanese student] asked.

"It means you've done a good job," Martin, who co-wrote "Global Business Etiquette: A Guide to International Communication and Customs," answered. At that point he and the other students seemed relieved. She asked what the gesture meant in Japan.

"It means you're doing a bad job," one of them answered.

Answer 4

How could it not be? Language barriers basically prevent the flow of information. Common languages facilitate communication and therefore belief systems.