Is English language part of the reason for the disappearance / extinction of minor languages/dialects? T or F?

Question

Is the English language part of the reason for the disappearance / extinction of minor foreign languages/dialects around the world? True or False? =P

Answer 1

No, it's globalization and the general extinction of cultures.

English is a common language and a lot of people speak it, but they wouldn't if they hadn't had their ancient traditions destroyed by increased trade, contact with foreign cultures, and encroachment on their traditional land.

But you can't pin that all on English. It's much bigger than just learning a new language.

Answer 2

In college I took an advanced graduate class in language and the origin of communication. The disappearance of minor dialects does not have to do with the English Language per se but rather with telecommunication. TV, Radio and other media gradually homogenize speech. In addition, governments impose official languages and when children go to school, they learn the official language(s) of their country. As more children go to school and as the older generation dies out, old dialects become extinct. Accents also flatten out. Languages are constantly evolving. I would suggest the works of Steven Pinker if you are interested in pursuing this subject. See some links below: My favorite is the NY Times article about Spanish taking over the native language in Chile.

Answer 3

The English language is not the reason, the need for a language in which all people around the world can come together and communicate as one is the reason.

English just so happened to be language that most people can understand and that most people have found is the most effective in communicating with others. that's all. It's not a conspiracy to cause other languages to disappear.

Answer 4

False. By nature, languages are in a constant state of change. I can only assume that you mean in America since you said 'foreign.' In that case, the speakers of other languages that come to America simply speak the language of their most encountered audience. That, by no means, implies that the language itself has become extinct. Most countries around the world only speak English as one of many national languages. That said, the cause of extinction in a language is one of two things or a combination of a) a language changes so much from its parent language that it becomes its own b) and the first language is not passed down and when the last speakers of a language die, the language dies with them. There are endless variations of a language, especially a language subject to the influence of so many other established languages as English in America. The bottom line is that the answer to your question is found in the study of languages and how they change and is far too complex to attribute one languages demise to the existance of another. Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Part of the reason, but there are also other reasons. In some countries where they speak lots of dialects, the central government tries to get everyone to speak the major dialect, for purposes of business, communications, or whatever. Like in the Philippines, the govt wants everybody to speak Tagalog, the main dialect, and suppresses teaching of other dialects in the provinces.

Answer 6

No. It could be the reason why certain languages are dying out (like Arapaho, Apache, Chippewa, in the US, Manx and Welsh in the UK, aboriginal in Australia, Maori in New Zealand, etc.)

For example, in Indonesia, many of its hundreds of languages are dying out, because people are learning Bahasa Indonesia (the official language there), not English.

Each country enforces an official languages, and in doing so, many minority languages are getting stamped out.

As for English, I can think of the Dutch, who speak English fluently and happily.....but they're in no danger of stopping speaking Dutch at home. Even their literature is alive and vibrant.

Answer 7

False...in my opinion.
You have these people who have spoken a language all their lives, and they're just going to make it disappear because of English?
English would be considered "global". That's why more people are DETERMINED to learn it.

Answer 8

True, english nowadays is needed for everything, its either do waht the americans do or get left out, literally.

Answer 9

Sure, with such well-known English phrases as "Charge!" and "Kill 'em All" and "Let 'em wipe each other out while we reap the profits"

Answer 10

I don't think so.