Language Development: what place for local languages in a globalised world? (Ian Cheffy, SIL)

SoE Research Seminar Series, December 4th, 5-630pm
In a world which is increasingly interconnected, and where English is commonly seen as the global language of communication, there would appear to be a strong argument in favour of the homogenisation of communication, promoting peace and development in a unified world through a common language. But is there then no value in the 5,000 less dominant languages of the world, spoken typically by small communities in developing countries?
This presentation will explore the language development work which is conducted by SIL International among speakers of oral languages, and which includes linguistic research, the development of writing systems, and the integration of these languages in formal and non-formal education. It will be argued that language development of this kind contributes significantly to individual and community development, and that the way forward for intercultural communication lies through multilingualism rather than monolingualism.
Ian Cheffy has been a member of SIL for over 25 years, of which he spent 10 years in Cameroon working in local language literacy programmes. He is now a literacy and language development consultant. His PhD research (University of Lancaster, 2008) explored the conceptions of literacy held by people in a local language area of northern Cameroon.

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