| Title |
The FTAA:
Opportunities and Risks
Edition Nº 62
May - August 2001 |
ANALYSIS
LANGUAGE ISSUES IN THE INTEGRATION OF THE AMERICAS
Conseil de la Langue Française
The following in an abridged version of the
document "Language Issues in the Integration of the Americas". The full version
is available at SELA's website, www.sela.org , and at the Council for the French
Language's web site, www.clf.gouv.qc.ca
Introduction
The current context is one in which many integration processes are being implemented, most
of which involve major linguistic challenges. In view of this situation, in 1993 and in
1998, the Conseil de la Langue Française organized, with its European partners, two
international seminars on the issue of "management of plurilingualism and national
languages in a context of globalization".
At the second seminar, held in Quebec City in 1998, the language services, delegations and
councils of the states represented agreed to request that contact be made with their
counterparts in other linguistic areas to promote together the idea of an alliance in
favour of plurilingualism at the international level. Similarly, they agreed that measures
must be taken in this regard and to support Québec regarding the steps to be taken.
On the occasion of the Parliamentary Conference of the Americas (COPA), held in 1997, the
Conseil de la Langue Française raised, for the first time, the importance of
language-related issues in the context of the integration of the Americas and proposed
that an inter-American conference be held on these issues.
Since then, the Conseil has continued its research with a view to analysing the
language-related issues connected with the inter-American integration process, and to
evaluating the measures to be taken in that regard. This paper, which is the result of
such research, opens the way to a new inter-American aspect in Québec's language policy.
The issue of the treatment of cultural products in trade liberalization agreements
constitutes a separate matter and is thus not discussed here.
I. Towards Inter-American Language Management
So little notice is generally given to the linguistic aspects of the integration processes
that one would be led to believe that they are non-existent or insignificant. Yet because
of globalization and economic integration arrangements the future of languages is
increasingly being determined on the international scene.
This is particularly true at the continental level, where regional agreements such as
NAFTA and the future Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), raise new issues relating to
language. Indeed, these processes call for a new set of dynamics and for new language
requirements for individuals as well as for organizations. Whether it involves enterprises
that are opening up new markets, workers who have to deal with an increasingly
international scope, or young people who will build their future in integrated economies,
to all of these stakeholders and organizations, the importance of multilingualism1 is growing.
This situation leads us to innovate and to consider international measures dealing with
language. No longer can we consider a national linguistic framework without supranational
measures or interventions.
The opening of borders resulting from the development of ties between states, sometimes
tends to suggest that there is a process of homogenization under way, in which the use of
English as the international language of communication is becoming virtually an inevitable
reality. However, integration can also open the way to new collaborations and to new forms
of solidarity. This is precisely the wager that the Conseil de la Langue Française has
made.
Indeed, the Conseil believes that the current hemisphere-wide integration process provides
a favourable framework in which to place greater value on linguistic diversity, and to
take collective measures in this regard. Whether one considers measures aimed at the
inter-American organizations, or at enterprises, workers or youth, the fields of
intervention are enormous and will require a commitment on the part of many political,
social and economic stakeholders spread out across the hemisphere as a whole.
II. The Americas: A Hemisphere Rich in Languages, and yet...
It is estimated that about 1,000 languages are spoken within the hemisphere, which
represents 15% of the approximately 6,700 living languages on the planet2 . Maya, Yuki, Mura, Katukinan and Yanomam are but a few examples3 of the great variety of languages spoken in the hemisphere, which
has a total population of about 780 million people.
1. Differences in Status
Of course, these languages do not all have the same status. Among the 35 countries of the
hemisphere, only a few languages have official language status throughout a sovereign
state. These languages are distributed as follows:
Official languages
Spanish:
English:
French:
Creole:
Dutch:
Guaraní:
Portuguese:
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18 countries
14 countries
2 countries (Canada, Haiti)
1 country (Haiti)
1 country (Suriname)
1 country (Paraguay)
1 country (Brazil)
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Certain other languages have
acquired official status, but at a regional level, i.e. within delimited regions or
throughout a federated state.
Co-official Regional Languages4
Quechua:
Aymara:
Chamorro:
Hawaiian:
Spanish:
Inuinnaqtun and Inuktitut: |
Peru, Bolivia
Bolivia
United States (Island of Guam)
United States (Hawaii)
United States (Puerto Rico)
Canada (Nunavut) |
7 aboriginal languages
(differentiated legal status): Canada (Northwest Territories)
For the dependent territories of European states, the situation is as follows:
- Four territories use French (Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon);
- seven territories use English (Anguilla, Bermuda, Caiman Islands,
Falkland Islands, Turks and Caicos, British Virgin Islands and Montserrat);
- two territories use Dutch (the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba).
The pool of official languages is even more limited when one lists the languages that have
official status within intergovernmental organizations, at either the regional or
inter-American level. In this case, a maximum of four official languages are found, namely
English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. However, as will be seen further on, an in-depth
analysis leads to the observation that, despite official multilingualism, language
equality is not an established fact in many of these organizations. Thus it is mainly
English and Spanish that constitute the actual working languages; French and Portuguese
are generally used to a lesser degree there.
2. Relative Importance of the Four Major Language Groups
If the population of the hemisphere is divided according to these four language groups,
the following proportions are obtained: nearly 40% of the population speak Spanish, 38%
speak English, 20% speak Portuguese, and barely 2% speak French. There is thus a
tremendous imbalance, and the inequality of the forces present is quite striking.
This distribution remains somewhat approximate, in reality, because in certain states, a
large part of the population speak an aboriginal language. This is the case in Paraguay,
where 95% of the population speak Guaraní, amounting to 4.6 million persons, whereas only
55% of the population speak Spanish5 . Similarly, in
Bolivia, 88% of the inhabitants speak Spanish, but 45% also speak an aboriginal language
(Guaraní, Aymara or Quechua). That is why, within the hemisphere, language-related
concerns at the national level are often focused on aboriginal languages.
However, it should be underlined that demographics is not the only factor that determines
the influence of a language or its power of attraction. For example, although French is
spoken by relatively few people in the hemisphere, it continues to exercise a considerable
attraction among people wishing to learn a foreign language. Indeed, French benefits from
a prestige that comes from its history, from its status as an international language and
from the fact that it is the official language of many international organizations.
In addition, according to a study by the British Council, the French language has a strong
economic power, ranking third worldwide. This assessment is based on the principle that
the matter of choosing a language only comes into play where contacts occur between
members of different linguistic areas. Thus, it can be used to calculate the value of the
products and services traded by the users of different languages on international markets
(i.e. the sum of exports and imports attributed to the countries of each linguistic area).
According to these calculations, French ranks on an equal level with Chinese, coming after
English and German6.
3. Recent Development of Languages Within the Americas
A brief analysis of the recent development of the principal language groups indicates that
these languages are at very different stages of development.
As it is generally known, English is going through a phase of hegemonic expansion because
of its status as a lingua franca, which makes it the principal language of international
communications and the language of the new technologies. It is even the official language
or the language used by organizations of which none of the member countries is
English-speaking, such as ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and the
European Central Bank (Great Britain is not a member of the European Monetary Union).
Within the hemisphere, the situation is also favourable for the expansion of the English
language, since in the area of foreign language education, English is broadly given
preference.
Spanish, for its part, is in a period of "euphoric" growth at the international
level, and is becoming the official language of an increasing number of international
organizations. Indeed, it appears that Spanish is currently the language that is
undergoing the greatest growth on the global scene7 .
Spanish is also growing strongly within the hemisphere, both as a mother tongue and as a
foreign language. Indeed, Spanish is attracting an increasing number of speakers in
countries where it does not have official language status. In particular, this language is
developing at a tremendous pace in the United States, to the point that Spanish speakers
now represent the largest minority there. As will be shown, Brazil is also opening up
increasingly to the Spanish-speaking world and to the Spanish language.
As far as Portuguese is concerned, it seems clear that within the hemisphere, this
language is beginning its expansion phase, mainly among the Mercosur member countries.
However, this trend is not yet reflected very much within the inter-American
organizations, as Portuguese still holds a rather marginal position there. Nevertheless,
the economic development of Brazil is beginning to attract people outside the Southern
Cone region to Portuguese.
With regard to the French language, it is currently going through a period of stagnation
within the hemisphere. "For decades, the teaching of French was taken for
granted" [in Latin America], even if it was often reserved for the elite. Access to
the famed French culture was part of the necessary learning for any cultivated individual.
[However], cultural capital became the handicap of non-modernity8 ."
Accordingly, "while the French language still has its say, it must express this in
terms of utility, as the image of a language today is greatly dependent on the economic,
academic and media-related environment9."
French nevertheless remains a language -or indeed a culture- of reference on the
inter-American scene. It remains one of the official languages of all the inter-American
organizations, and continues to be one of the most frequently taught languages - although
less so that English. Moreover, the influence of the French culture is still felt in many
fields of interest, ranging from literature to law10 .
With respect to aboriginal languages, although many of them appear to be threatened, some
of them are entering into a period of recognition that is essential for their survival.
The demographic weight of a number of aboriginal communities often has a favourable
influence on this recognition at the national level. This is reflected either by access to
official-language status in a country - Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru each include an
aboriginal language as one of their official languages - or through accession to the
status of a language of education, as is the case in Mexico.
1.
Throughout this document, the term "multilingualism" refers to the use of more
than one language within organizations and enterprises, and "plurilingualism"
refers to the knowledge of more than one language in the case of individuals.
2. SUMMER INSTITUTE OF LINGUISTICS INC.
Geographic Distribution of Living Languages, [On line], 1996.
[www.sil.org/ethnologue/distribution.html]
3. For additional information on the
aboriginal languages spoken in the hemisphere, consult:
[www.sil.org/ethnologue/families/].
4. LECLERC, Jacques. "Index
alphabétique de tous les États", [En ligne], Centre international de recherche en
aménagement linguistique (CIRAL), Université Laval, Québec.
[http://www.ciral.ulaval.ca/alx/amlxmonde/mondeindalp.htm]
5. Francisco MORENO FERNANDEZ and Jaime OTERO.
"Demografía de la lengua española", [En línea], Centro virtual Cervantes,
Madrid.
[http://cvc.cervantes.es/obref/anuario/parte1/cap2/moreno_cuadros.htm]
6. Réjean ROY and Pierre GEORGEAULT.
L'inforoute en français: un portrait québécois, Conseil de la langue française,
Québec, Juin 1998, p. 6.
7. Daniel MOORE. "Presencia
internacional y papel del idioma español", [En línea], Comunica, 25/11/99.
[www.comunica.es/lengua/opinion/opinion_ant/1999/noviembre99/opinion251199_02.htm]
8. Annie MONNERIE-GOARIN (conference by).
L'enseignement des langues étrangères dans des contextes régionaux, [En ligne], Feria
del Libro de Buenos Aires, 23 avril 1999. (translation)
[www.frances.int.ar/communications.htm]
9. Ibid.
10. For example, several Latin American
republican regimes have been inspired by the values of the French Revolution.
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