Language shift
Language shift, sometimes referred to as
language transfer or
rate of assimilation, is the process whereby a speech community of a
language shifts to speaking another language. The rate of assimilation is the percentage of individuals with a given mother tongue who speak another language more often in the home. The data is used to measure the use of a given language in the lifetime of a person, or most often across generations within a linguistic community.
The process whereby a community of speakers of one language becomes bilingual in another language, and gradually shift allegiance to the second language is called
assimilation. When a linguistic community ceases to use their original language, we speak of
language death.
An example of language shift would be that of formerly
Spanish-speaking families in the
Philippines gradually switching over to
English since the end of
World War II until the former eventually ceased to be a practical everyday language in the country.
Language shift can be detrimental to at least parts of the community associated with the language which is being lost. Sociolinguists such as
Joshua Fishman, Lilly Wong Fillmore and Jon Reyhner report that language shift (when it involves loss of the first language) can lead to cultural disintegration and a variety of social problems including increased alcoholism, dysfunctional families and increased incidence of premature death.
For example, Ohiri-Aniche (1997) observes a tendency among many Nigerians to bring up their children as monolingual speakers of English and reports that this can lead to their children holding their heritage language in disdain and feeling ashamed of being associated with the language of their parents and grandparents. As a result of this some Nigerians are said to feel neither wholly European nor wholly Nigerian.
Joshua Fishman has proposed a method of
reversing language shift which involves assessing the degree to which a particular language is disrupted in order to determine the most effective way of assisting and revitalising the language.
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Second language*
Extinct language*
Endangered language*
Linguicide*
Language revival*
Language Shift in Australia and Canada*
SIL Bibliography: Language shift - Ethnologue.com*
The Rate of Assimilation : Francophone Minorities: Assimilation and Community Vitality - Department of Canadian Heritagefiu-vro:Keelevaihtus
