Is linguistic diversity a good thing in and of itself?

**Tooting Carmen** · 05-05-2019, 01:27 PM

Originally Posted by Ford

Yes. The death of linguistic diversity is the death of ethnic identity.

Yes, and it is a tad ironic how many people on this forum don't get it.

**Nazarene** · 05-05-2019, 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by arkas

What were the ethno-lingustic demographics like where you lived in New Zealand?

English, East Asian languages and Arabic. Arabic being most spoken after English, by 6.7% of the population as of 2013.

The suburb is apparently around 10% ethnically Middle Eastern, mainly compromised of Maslawi Assyrians like myself who are Arabized linguistically.

**Tooting Carmen** · 05-05-2019, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by Nazarene

English, East Asian languages and Arabic. Arabic being most spoken after English, by 6.7% of the population as of 2013.

The suburb is apparently around 10% ethnically Middle Eastern, mainly compromised of Maslawi Assyrians like myself who are Arabized linguistically.

Do you speak Assyrian or Arabic yourself?

**Nazarene** · 05-05-2019, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by Tooting Carmen

Do you speak Assyrian or Arabic yourself?

Arabic. No ancestors we recall can speak Assyrian, neither can any other families from Mosul. For this reason, most of them identify as Arab. Myself included, until recently.

**Magnolia** · 05-05-2019, 02:11 PM

I am not sure if this should be said by. a native English speaker :-).
My experience says that native English speakers are not only quite lazy as it goesfor studying of foreign languages but everywhere they go they except people will be able to speak English....

We live in 2019 the world is more and more globalised, to be a native speaker of a minor language is a disadvantage, fact :-).

**The Blade** · 05-05-2019, 03:47 PM

Originally Posted by Tooting Carmen

What do you mean?

It's pretty clear what I mean.
One official language even if 30% of the population belongs to ethnic minority(ies) - Estonia case, for instance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Estonia

**Tooting Carmen** · 05-05-2019, 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by The Blade

It's pretty clear what I mean.
One official language even if 30% of the population belongs to ethnic minority(ies) - Estonia case, for instance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Estonia

So you're saying that a large ethnolinguistic minority like the Russians in Estonia don't have the right to be educated and publicly use their own language?

**The Blade** · 05-05-2019, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by Tooting Carmen

So you're saying that a large ethnolinguistic minority like the Russians in Estonia don't have the right to be educated and publicly use their own language?

Yes. I stand for this position not only in this exact case but in general.
Unless a country has been created the way Switzerland or Belgium has, there should only be one official language - by the law, used by the media, in education, etc.

**billErobreren** · 05-05-2019, 04:14 PM

Within a one nation state? God, no!

**Tooting Carmen** · 05-05-2019, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by The Blade

Yes. I stand for this position not only in this exact case but in general.
Unless a country has been created the way Switzerland or Belgium has, there should only be one official language - by the law, used by the media, in education, etc.

What about the usage of foreign languages (particularly but not exclusively English) for tourism and business though?