proper exposure to the language they desire to learn

proper exposure to the language they desire to learn

With so many languages in the world, it makes it hard to communicate with people who do not speak a similar language. It thus becomes necessary to find a common language. Research has shown that before a person decides to choose a language, there must be some motivation factors causing the person to select a language. Motivation by a person to choose a language heavily depends on the value added to the person. Learning other languages is widely affected by the social, political, and economic environment. People seeking to be a multilingual need to have proper exposure to the language they desire to learn

BACKGROUND

In the bible, it is written that all people in the world used to speak in the same language, but God decided to give people different languages when people decided to make a towel to reach heaven. This was the first recording of the first incident of multi-language occurrence in the world. Ever since then, people speaking in different languages have always been forced to choose a common language to communicate.

Literature review

Most of the population in the world are bilingual; this becomes a challenge when people are trying to communicate. Other researches have shown that economic, social, and political factors are the most significant factors that affect language choice. Socio-linguistic studies show that to communicate successfully, and a person needs to not only learn grammar, vocabulary, and phonology but also to learn how to speak it appropriately in different setups according to standards acceptable to the natives of the language.

Factors affecting language choice.

1. Colonization has had a massive influence on the choice of language, especially in a continent such as Africa, which was colonized by several countries e.g., Germain, France, England, and Belgium.
2. International trade- this is trade between two or more countries, trade between countries speaking two different languages may force or cause people from these nations to learn the other country’s language to conduct business efficiently.
3. Religion- most religions in the world are taught in different styles e.g., Islam is written in Arabic, so if a person changed their faith to Islam, they would be forced to learn the Arabic language.
4. Migration to a new Geo-location is an enormous challenge, especially when there is a divide in language. This will force those migrating to these new areas to learn the language of the natives.
5. Carrier- when choosing a career as a linguist in a particular word, select the style suited to their profession.
6. Marriage- inter-marriage between people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds may force these couples to choose a language that will help them communicate.
7. Preservation of culture and ethnic identity to maintain heritage e.g., English, is used as the formal language in Kenya. Still, to preserve Kenya’s heritage, Swahili is used in Kenya as the National language.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The focus of this research work is to determine the factors that affect the choice of language in a multilingual world.

Research shows that there are more than a thousand languages in the world. In such a multilingual society, research has shown that there are a lot of factors that can cause people to choose the most appropriate word to use when communicating.

Research questions

1. Factors affecting the choice in language.
2. Problems encountered while trying to learn new languages.
3. Impact of factors affecting language choice.

Limitations affecting language choice.

1. Lack of documentation of a language, most native languages are not documented; this makes it completely difficult to learn native languages.
2. Lack of structure in the native language; this causes people speaking the same language to pronounce or use different words to mean the same thing or the same word may contain different meanings to different people.
3. Some terms in other languages may not have native words for these terms.

Conclusion

This research paper aims at trying to figure out the various factors that may affect language selection in multilingual societies. Multi-language societies led to a need for language selection for people speaking different languages to communicate. The research aims at discussion factors that influence language choice, including Geo-reallocation, marriages, and trade. This research also covers the problem faced when choosing a language. This research on the factors that influence language choice shows that living in a multilingual world can be very challenging; therefore, it is important to choose carefully on a language that favors the need of a person.