In Language and Economy, by Florian Coulmas, the author derives all the different aspects in which the economy is related to and affected by language. There are differences in market structures, employment, government types, and so forth that all have a strong relationship due to language. The author gives man in depth details to each aspect separated by the seven chapters. Chapter two, “Language is an Asset: Language and Money in Development of National Economies”, deals with multilingualism and its relationship to employment and affluence in a country. The lens will be focused on this particular chapter. The book’s introduction conveys the same thought.
This source helps me answer my research question looking at links between languages and economies. The author list seventeen different countries and the number of languages spoken in them as well as their per capita income. These countries include Ethiopia, France, Vietnam, Germany, Philippines, Unites Kingdom, Chad, Denmark, Benin, Iceland, Bolivia, Uruguay, Indonesia, Japan, Sudan, Netherlands, Sweden, and Papua New Guinea. The countries with fewer languages spoken in them and more language homogeneity had higher levels of socioeconomic statuses. The author quotes Jonathan Pool as saying, “linguistically fragmented countries are always poor… It is essentially rule out that high levels of socioeconomic development is compatible with linguistic fragmentation.”(Coulmas 25) It should be noted that there are clear exceptions pointed out by the author, such as homogeneous African countries such as Rwanda and the United States. Although, in the United States similar results will be found if you break down cities in clusters. It should also be noted that the author acknowledges that counting languages in a country is difficult and the criteria of enough people speaking a language to be considered an undeniable presence and considered is subjective.
These results seem pretty startling at first, and the author goes on further to look into why this may be the case. However, there was no mention of the different cultures and histories that these countries partook in. The study may have missed out on the whole picture and narrowed the findings to match a language lens. Multiple languages coming into contact does not appear to be beneficial on the market level. There is an inefficacy created when more than one language is being spoken and the problem is compounded when you reach tens and hundreds of languages such as in Indonesia. Looking back on my personal narrative, “The Bus Driver Uppercut”, it is not hard to see why languages clashes could be detrimental as a whole. English Language as a Barrier to Employment, Education and Training focuses on why English in particular may hurt other language/cultural groups in Britain, but it can offer insight into what is going on here.
This source helps me answer my research question looking at links between languages and economies. The author list seventeen different countries and the number of languages spoken in them as well as their per capita income. These countries include Ethiopia, France, Vietnam, Germany, Philippines, Unites Kingdom, Chad, Denmark, Benin, Iceland, Bolivia, Uruguay, Indonesia, Japan, Sudan, Netherlands, Sweden, and Papua New Guinea. The countries with fewer languages spoken in them and more language homogeneity had higher levels of socioeconomic statuses. The author quotes Jonathan Pool as saying, “linguistically fragmented countries are always poor… It is essentially rule out that high levels of socioeconomic development is compatible with linguistic fragmentation.”(Coulmas 25) It should be noted that there are clear exceptions pointed out by the author, such as homogeneous African countries such as Rwanda and the United States. Although, in the United States similar results will be found if you break down cities in clusters. It should also be noted that the author acknowledges that counting languages in a country is difficult and the criteria of enough people speaking a language to be considered an undeniable presence and considered is subjective.
These results seem pretty startling at first, and the author goes on further to look into why this may be the case. However, there was no mention of the different cultures and histories that these countries partook in. The study may have missed out on the whole picture and narrowed the findings to match a language lens. Multiple languages coming into contact does not appear to be beneficial on the market level. There is an inefficacy created when more than one language is being spoken and the problem is compounded when you reach tens and hundreds of languages such as in Indonesia. Looking back on my personal narrative, “The Bus Driver Uppercut”, it is not hard to see why languages clashes could be detrimental as a whole. English Language as a Barrier to Employment, Education and Training focuses on why English in particular may hurt other language/cultural groups in Britain, but it can offer insight into what is going on here.
Florian Coulmas is a German Japanese studies and author.
Currently Coulmas is a professor of language and culture of modern Japan at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Duisburg . He's is the director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo . Coulmas focuses the topics of writing linguistics , sociology of language and Japanese studies .
Find out more about the author and to see other works by Coulmas.
(Warning-Page is in German, Browser with translator recommended.)
Currently Coulmas is a professor of language and culture of modern Japan at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Duisburg . He's is the director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo . Coulmas focuses the topics of writing linguistics , sociology of language and Japanese studies .
Find out more about the author and to see other works by Coulmas.
(Warning-Page is in German, Browser with translator recommended.)