Globalioji daugiakalbystės perspektyva: anglų kalbos vieta ir vaidmuo Lietuvos miestų erdvėje

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Collection:
Mokslo publikacijos / Scientific publications
Document Type:
Knygos dalis / Part of the book
Language:
Lietuvių kalba / Lithuanian
Title:
Globalioji daugiakalbystės perspektyva: anglų kalbos vieta ir vaidmuo Lietuvos miestų erdvėje
Alternative Title:
Global prospects of multilingualism: the role of English in the Lithuanian urban space
Authors:
Vaicekauskienė, Loreta
In the Book:
Miestai ir kalbos / mokslinė redaktorė Meilutė Ramonienė. Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla, 2010. P. 175-203
Keywords:
LT
Kaunas. Kauno kraštas (Kaunas region); Klaipėda. Klaipėdos kraštas (Klaipeda region); Vilnius. Vilniaus kraštas (Vilnius region); Lietuva (Lithuania); Anglų kalba / English language; Daugiakalbystė / Multilingualism; Miestai ir miesteliai / Cities and towns; Tarmės. Dialektai. Dialektologija / Dialects. Dialectology.
Summary / Abstract:

LTTyrimai parodė, kad moderniojoje Lietuvoje, kaip ir kitur, kalbos vartotojo tapatybė yra įvairialypė ir daugiakalbė, o vartotojai naudojasi laisve ir galimybėmis vartoti tą kalbą, kurią geriausiai moka ir kuri jiems konkrečioje situacijoje dėl konkrečių priežasčių atrodo tinkamiausia. Šiuo atžvilgiu ginamoji vienos kalbos ekologijos ideologija, kuria remiasi kalbos planavimas Lietuvoje, ir ypač draudžiamosios kalbos planavimo priemonės neturi didelės perspektyvos. Tačiau kartu buvo patvirtinta, kad anglų kalba susirenka didžiausią socialinių ir ekonominių investicijų dalį kitų užsienio kalbų sąskaita ir kad tai susiję su globalizacijos procesais už Lietuvos ribų. Kiek tokią padėtį gali paveikti kalbų įvairovės skatinimo politika, siekianti, kad žmonės rinktųsi ir kitas - didžiąsias ar mažesnes, kaimynų ar ateities verslo partnerių - kalbas, sunku pasakyti, tačiau ją reikėtų visaip palaikyti. Ne neigiant anglų kalbą, bet suteikiant laisvo pasirinkimo teisę visiems, kurie nori rinktis. [Iš straipsnio, p. 201]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Daugiakalbystė; Kalbos miestuose; Tarmės miestuose; Sociolingvistika; Multilingualism; Languages in cities; Dialects in cities; Sociolinguistics.

ENThis chapter starts with a brief overview of research on the spread of English in the world, its causes and effects and its impact on postmodern identity. It also discusses the methodology typically used for such research, the main ideologies behind the evaluation of such research and possible directions in language planning based on research results. The main part of the chapter reports on the results of the project "Language Use and Ethnic Identity in Lithuanian Cities" focusing on the use of English in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipeda, including attitudes and beliefs towards English in the three cities. The data obtained through representative city population surveys, quantitative surveys of secondary school students and a number of interviews are compared with the data of other representative surveys performed in Lithuania. The study shows that the English language occupies a very high place in the language hierarchy of Lithuania's cities. It takes second place after Lithuanian as the state language and is the top foreign language. The main function of English is clearly instrumental. It is used for international communication both in the working world and in personal life. It is also used to obtain information through different media. It is evident that English has become part of the social capital, as the respondents with a higher social status (a better paid job and a higher income) have a higher proficiency in English and use it more extensively. Many respondents also express an ambition to seek such capital' as they see a direct link between English and better prospects for themselves or their children. Undoubtedly, in the (near) future, English will be taught and learned in Lithuania more extensively and it is possible that a small part of the educational domain will become bilingual. The high prestige of English is equally recognised by respondents of different age, income and ethnicity.The most positive disposition towards English, however, and the most extensive use of English is reported by respondents aged 15-29. This suggests that in the future English will become an important part of youth identity in Lithuania as a result of their learning and using English from an early age. Also, the results of the study clearly show that the social power associated with English is distributed unevenly among the different social groups and may lead to the formation of a 'partially incapacitated' social group. In Lithuania, the most vulnerable group is low-status, low-income individuals over the age of 40 who usually have no or very limited skills in English and who cannot use the opportunities that English offers today. It is this group that is suffering most severely from the tensions created by the clash of their traditional lifestyle and the new social and cultural opportunities that come together with the English language. On the whole, the English proficiency of city inhabitants in Lithuania is not particularly high (only 38% say that their English skills are good), whereas the need for learning and using English is constantly growing. This discrepancy should also be regarded as a factor that may have a negative influence on one's identity. On the other hand, it would certainly be wrong to suggest that society is becoming globally bilingual and that English is displacing the native languages of the various ethnic groups. The study shows that the Lithuanian language as the state language has the strongest position among the languages used in Lithuania and is regarded by all respondent groups as being the most appropriate, in all respects, and the most indispensible language in Lithuania. Both this study and other studies carried out by EU institutions have shown that Lithuanian inhabitants identify themselves very strongly with the Lithuanian nation and their native country.The figures are not the highest, but they are well above the European average. Therefore, it is incorrect to claim - a claim that is common among conservative Lithuanian language planners - that because of the influence of the English language the Lithuanian language is deteriorating or fading away and its prestige decreasing. Certainly, a modern young person would never seek a homogeneous and monolingual identity as the only possible, but this does not mean that they choose English instead o/thcir mother tongue. Basically, the study has not produced any evidence of multilingual domains in Lithuania. To some extent, the internet and television could be considered multilingual domains, but neither of these, although used by most respondents in English, requires from the users to choose between English and Lithuanian. The reason for using media in English is the availability of more varied information in addition to that available in Lithuanian. As reported by the respondents interviewed, English in the workplace is used in situations when the interlocutors cannot understand each other's languages and therefore in most cases there is no other choice than to use English as the lingua franca. The study shows that in present-day Lithuania, as in other countries, the linguistic identity is heterogeneous and multilingual. Language users have the freedom and opportunity to choose the language in which they feel most comfortable and which they find to be the most appropriate for a particular reason in a particular situation. In this respect, the defensive ideology of one language ecology' which lies at the basis of language planning in Lithuania, particularly the prohibitive approach, has no future. However, the study also confirms that English receives the biggest part of the social and economic investment at the expense of other foreign languages, which is connected to the processes of globalisation outside Lithuania. [...]. [From the publication]

Subject:
Kalbotyra / Linguistics
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Updated:
2022-02-17 17:08:01
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