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Language and development: theories and sobering realities
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Paulin G. Djité
Published/Copyright:
December 3, 2013
Abstract
This article examines the concepts of “linguistic capital” and “language capital” in the light of existing sociolinguistic and economic situations, and in the wider context of the link between language and development. Are these new concepts more operational than the previous paradigm that equated monolingualism with economic development? Is “linguistic capital” or “language capital” an objective determinant of economic growth? The article concludes that, besides other more complex historical and economic factors, there is no objective evidence of a connection between these concepts (i.e. “linguistic capital” and “language capital”) and the purported economic relevance of any given language.
Published Online: 2013-12-3
Published in Print: 2014-1-1
©[2014] by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Introduction
- Indigenous language capital and development
- Language capital and development: the case of African language publishing for children in South Africa
- Considering heteroglossia in language and development in Sub-Saharan Africa
- The role of language policy in poverty alleviation in West Africa
- “Critical diglossia” and “lifestyle diglossia”: development and the interaction between multilingualism, cultural diversityand English
- African languages, and information communication technologies and development
- >English in African politics of education: capital or capital illusion?
- Language and development: theories and sobering realities
- A new and sharper look at languages and globalization
