Language attitudes refer to the prejudices, opinions, and ideas that people hold towards a language. In many cases, learners of a new language are often told to maintain a positive attitude towards the language they wish to learn, to make the process easier. Attitudes towards a dialect cannot be directly observed, but they are expressed through behavior. For example, people want to associate with those who speak a language that is held in high regard, while they may avoid those that speak a language that they consider to have a low status (Galloway 57).
English is a universally-spoken language, and to many people, it is the language of the modern world. A general assumption is that people from other countries must know or speak English for them to effectively communicate when they visit places with cultures different from theirs (Gabryś-Barker, Gałajda and Wojtaszek 132). The language is most commonly used in learning institutions to pass instructions to the students. In the cases of international students who wish to study in international schools, they have to undertake an English course before they can be enrolled in the disciplines of their choice. It is the language of computers, tourism, science, and aviation among others (Balič 232). In workplaces, staff members are expected to communicate in English, probably indicating the importance and high regard that is attached to the language. There is a general belief that people who speak in English are at an advantage to travel across the world and not experience a lot of language barrier, as it is easier to find English interpreters than it is to find translators for any other language (Galloway 132). Despite the many different accents that people have formed around the language, it is simple and easy to learn.
However, despite it being a universal language, some people are opposed to its popularity and the way in which it is held in high regard. Some feel that Spanish, Latin, and French should also be given the publicity that English continues to enjoy, and that one of them should even overtake English as being the most acceptable language universally. Some people feel that it should not be held in high regard above other languages because it is a mixture of different dialects (Evans 314). Some of the oldest languages in the world like Basque, Sanskrit, Hebrew, and Sumerian seem to have no place in the current world, making some people harbor a negative attitude towards English (Gabryś-Barker, Gałajda and Wojtaszek 176). Sometimes when people are speaking in English, it is easy to hear the sounds they make, but hardly can you make out what they are saying (Balič 101). The British and American accents, which are entirely different, account for the differences in attitudes towards the language.
English is perceived in different ways in different contexts. According to an article by Balic (104), about 25% of the world's population can competently speak English, with about 75 countries having it as the official language. This means that the people who do not speak it, and the nations that have not ascribed English a special status, harbor an attitude that English is not a prestigious language after all. The reasons behind this could be that this part of the population holds their language in higher regard than other languages, or they are yet to embrace other cultures by learning new languages (Galloway 141).
Language attitudes are influenced by factors like culture, and socioeconomic class, level of education, mental capabilities, and historical factors. Culture might dictate that members of a particular community do not acquire the kind of exposure that gives them an opportunity to learn a new language. Additionally, societies that were colonized by English speaking countries may have a negative attitude towards the language and people who speak it (Pütz 77). The socioeconomic class of the English language attracts a positive attitude because people feel that it is superior to other languages of the world. People level of education enable them to reason at different capacities, and those who realize the power there is in any given language are more likely to have a positive attitude towards it. Mental capabilities, alongside education levels, also determine the beliefs that people have towards the English language. Here are people who are not able to formulate opinions because they are mentally incapacitated to make judgments. Historical factors shape attitudes that people harbor towards a language. For example, if a person receives help from a person who speaks a particular language, they might be inspired to learn that language as a way of identifying with their helper. On the contrary, people from the Middle East citing history that the west colonized Africans may not want to associate with the language (Gabryś-Barker, Gałajda and Wojtaszek 143).
While writing this paper, it occurs to me that attitudes towards languages may be founded on prejudice, bias, or a general disliking for a particular language-speaking group of people, which is a basis for discrimination. For example, some people consider English to be a language for prestigious people, which creates a divide between people of different social classes. People can wrongly judge people and generalize about their behavior based on the language they speak. While it is inevitable to form language attitudes, it is possible to be objective, optimistic, and non-judgmental.
Works Cited
Balič, Tina. "Attitudes towards Euro-English in a European Union institution." Time at the end of times (2016): 131-152. document.
Evans, David. Language and identity : discourse in the world. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015. print.
Gabryś-Barker, Danuta, et al. Multiculturalism, multilingualism and the self : studies in linguistics and language learning. Cham: Springer, 2017. document.
Galloway, Nicola. Global Englishes and change in English language teaching : attitudes and impact. New York: Routledge, 2017. print.
Pütz, Martin. Cognitive sociolinguistics : social and cultural variation in cognition and language use. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2014. document.
