LANGUAGE
MAINTENANCE AND SHIFT
Language shift in different communities:
Migrant Minority
As an example
contained in the book: About someone who use English more increases with
increasing tenure in which he works. Experience as an example of this is the
type of person who uses a minority language in the language of the majority
culture and society. The state of an area where there might be a language
change can occur in different individuals and groups, but as time went on the
language of the wider society can move the minority language is the mother tongue.

Shift of language (language shift) comes to the use of language by a speaker or
group of speakers that can occur as a result of movement from one speech
community to another speech community. If a person or group of people moving to
other places who is speaking a foreign language, and mingled with them, it will
pass this language shift. Immigrants or immigrant group is for the purpose of
communicating like it or not, must conform to the "stripped" of his own
language, then use the local language. In the group of origin, they are able to
use their local language, but to communicate with other, of course they do not
survive to continue using their own language. Little by little they have to
learn to use the language of the local population.
Non-Migrant Community
Language shift
is not always the result of migration. Political, economic and social change
can happen in one community, and this may result in a shift in language as
well. As an example: On the existence of language shift is due to the domination
or occupation by a nation. This is a regulatory and social distance.
One of the factors driving a shift in language is the migration or movement of
people, which can manifest two possibilities. First, small groups migrated to
other regions or countries which of course led to a language they do not work
in new areas. This example occurred in the migration of various ethnic groups
in the United States. Second, a large wave of immigration speakers overwhelm a
small area with low population density, causing the local population split and
shifted its language. It's such a lot happening in the UK as the industry
develops. Displaced by some small languages of English laborers brought by
the industry to where it's small.
Migrant
Majority
Shift in
language often reflects the influence of political factors and economic
factors, such as the need to work. People might move the location and language
for a reason. The last few centuries, the people who speak Irish, Scottish
Gaelic and Welsh, has been switched to English, solely in order to get a job.
They need English to succeed in work and for social welfare, and also to have
many friends. But we found similar results when a group of the majority to make
the transition physically.
When the colonial powers invaded another country, they often become the
dominant language. Multilingualism is also determined and occurs naturally in a
country such as India, Papua New Guinea, and in African countries. It is not
possible for a single alien and foreign languages to move between languages
and eradicate hundreds of local languages. But when multilingualism is
widespread in the area, or where only one language that has been used before
the colonists arrived, the language is often under threat. In this context, the
English language has been described as a 'killer language'. Where one group of
rank into the political power and impose its language with the institutions,
public administration, law courts, education, religion, the possibility that
minority groups will find themselves at increased pressure to adopt the
language of the dominant group.
Sometimes it is
transferred to the community of colonial languages, English, and language of
their own lost and gone. When this language shift occurs, the language is
almost always turned toward the powerful and dominant groups. One of the
dominant group has little incentive to adopt the language of a minority.
Dominant language associated with status, prestige and success of the
community. It is used as an 'attraction' in the context of the wider society,
for official talks on the customs, by the readers of news events on television
and radio, and fans of pop star, model fashions, and disc jockeys. It's rarely
surprised some young minority characterize the speaker must understand the
benefits to abandon their own language.
Language death
and language loss:
When a person dies, then the
language is dead, one person's first
language, but because
people were not able to preserve it, then
the language is extinct. Sometimes this fact is
clearly happening. When languages die
gradually, as opposed to all speakers are
wiped out by massacre or epidemic, the
process is similar to the shift
in language. Function of the language of a
region is to take over other languages. As a
regional power in which speakers
use the language of
depreciation, speakers of the
language is gradually becoming
less proficient in its use.
According to Kloss, 1984, there are three main types of language extinction: (a)
the extinction of a language without a language shift he said disappeared), (b) the
extinction of the language because
the language shift ( said not to be in "said the compact area", or
language surrendered to the "intrinsic contradictions of modern cultural infrastructure
that is based on technology"), and (c) nominal language
extinction through metamorphosis (for example a language dialect
demoted to the
status when he said no longer write in it and started using other languages).
As examples in
the book: On the use of language in the long run it is lost or reduced
because there is no skill its application (language
loss). As other
examples, on the use of language in a society. Are
like for instance the marriage of two different
tribes.
Factors contributing
to language shift:
Economy, social
and Politic factor
The most obvious factor is
that the community view of the important reasons for learning a second language. The reasons are economic,
but they also
could be a political
as in the case of Israel. Economic development is also a driving factor language shift. One
factor is the industrialization
of the economy (which is sometimes joined by
a factor migration). Economic
progress is sometimes raised
the position of a language that has a high
economic value. English for example, be the
interest of many people to master
and if necessary
leave the first language.
Getting a job is
the most economic reasons, a clear and present to learn another
language. In the British-dominated
state, for example, people learn English
in order to get a good job. This is called `billingualism`. Billingualism defined as the use of two languages by a
speaker in her
interaction with others in turn
(Mackey 1962:12, Fishman
1975:73). Billingualism always necessary for a
shift in language, though, because the
people who showed stable diglossic, does
not always result in a shift in
the second important
factor, it seems the community does not see any reason to take active steps to maintain
their regional languages. Without the active language
maintenance, shift is almost inevitable
in some contexts.
Without the deliberate
maintenance of this can and probably will disappear in at least three generations. Rapid shift occurred
when people passion to succeed in a society where knowledge of a second
language is a prerequisite for success.
Demographic factor
Demographic factors are also relevant
in the calculation of the speed of the shift in language.
Language shift durability
tends to be
longer in rural than in urban areas. This
is partly a reflection of the fact that rural
groups tend to be isolated from the
centers of political power, and
they can meet
most of their social needs in regional
or minority languages.
Shift tends to occur
more rapidly in some
groups than others. The size of this group
is sometimes a critical factor. To maintain the
language, you must
have people who can
use them regularly. Language shift usually occurs
in the state, county, or region that gives hope
for social and economic life better, so invite immigrants / migrants to the
country.
Attitudes and Value
As an example in the book is
about language shift
that will grow more
slowly when the first language is highly appreciated by its users. The status of
an international language
can lead to this
positive attitude. Pride in their regional
identity and their language
can be an important factor leading to the maintenance of the language, provided there
is a strong community to support and
encourage this attitude.
If someone has a good
sense of value, or rather to a state,
then the person is said to have a positive attitude.
If on the contrary, is said to have a negative attitude.
According to Anderson (1974:37), language attitudes
is the belief system
or a relatively long-term
cognition, partly on language, the object
language, which gives
to the person's tendency
to react in certain ways a favorite. But keep in
mind because attitudes can be positive (if
judged good or preferred)
and can be negative (if judged to be good
or not like), then the nature of the language
too.
How can a minority language be maintained:
There are some specific social factors that
appear to inhibit the shift in language to a language minority group, at least
for a while. Language is regarded as an important symbol of a minority group
identity, for example, language maintenance may be even longer. If families
from minority groups who live near each other and see each other often, it also
helps them maintain their language. Another factor that may contribute to the maintenance
of language for those who emigrate are the degree and frequency of contact with
ground water. How much love and joy to the homeland, it can also be determined
from the attitude of the individual themselves, their language will definitely
last longer.
Language Revival:
Sometimes people become aware that language is in danger, will disappear
and they will take steps to revitalize or revive it. Language shift will occur
only if, and how far, a group wants to eliminate the socio-cultural identity as an identifiable group
themselves for the sake of identity as part of another group. Very often other
groups it is a larger group that controls the first place group it as a minority.
However, this will not help us in the suspect. Therefore, we must be able to
predict when a group would like to (willing) to change the identity that way.
Forecast (prediction) is probably not possible, at least for now. There are
several groups that maintain their language and regional identity in the
socio-economic conditions are very similar to those affecting other groups to
shift the identity and language. In fact, although we can identify group who are in the
process of change in the concept itself though, we still face the uncertainty
of forecasts, because there is no guarantee that the sense of identity group was not changed.