Originally posted by AThousandYoungI'm not sure that's how a lingua franca in a polyglot culture is 'decided'. Or rather that's not how it ought to be decided. For starters, if there are indigenous languages and there are immigrant languages, old and new, I certainly don't think there should necessarily be only ONE official language.
If a nation is to have an official language, it should be indiginous.
Discuss.
Originally posted by avalanchethecatA thought provoking statement. At first it seems like a challenge to my assumption that you can choose the dominant language (and it is), but on reflection it's also a challenge to the English Only school of thought.
Language is notoriously difficult to control. Best to let it do what it wants, as ultimately that's what it'll do anyway.
Originally posted by AThousandYoungSouth Africa has 11 official languages, one is not indigenous (English), another is sort of indigenous (Afrikaans), the others are all indigenous to Africa, but some may be ur-indigenous to parts further north.
If a nation is to have an official language, it should be indiginous.
Discuss.
I think it's best for children to be educated in their mother tongue when young and given the opportunity to access the useful other languages at appropriate stages. For children whose mother tongue is dominant, it's a good idea for them to learn a few of the other ones.
Interesting case: Rwanda recently switched higher education standard language French to English (vast majority of Rwandans speak neither): pure politics.
Originally posted by generalissimoBahasa Indonesia works very well as the main official language across these 17,500 islands. It works as a kind of lingua franca. It is the First Language of only a minority of Indonesians.
I disagree, it should be the language of the majority.
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Originally posted by KazetNagorraFirst ethnicity known to inhabit the land since history began.
How do you measure indiginousness? Most of the languages spoken in Europe originated outside of Europe (the Indo-European languages).
Edit: well, outside of Western, Southern and Northern Europe, anyway.
What languages did Indo-European replace? If none that you know if, then it's indiginous.
For example, did the Celtic language displace some other non Indo-European language in Ireland?
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Originally posted by AThousandYoungWell, I don't think Basque should be the official language of Spain.
There you go. Indo-European language are not indiginous to Basque country and probably most of France and Spain.
Maybe the Basques are the Tuatha de Danaan of Irish folklore!
Yet it as official status within the Basque autonomous region (I think).
Oh, they're so oppressed, the Basques. Especially compared to, say, the Pashtuns.
-- The Danaans were invaders who wiped out the indigenous Firbolg. Much like the Aryans drove out the Dravidic peoples of India. But it's hard to find the really really indigenous people, I mean I think the Picts drove out the Beaker Folk, something like that.
For True Indigenous Language we'd have to travel back to Africa and catch the very first hominids heading Out.
Originally posted by Bosse de NageCorrect. We do the best we can.
Well, I don't think Basque should be the official language of Spain.
Yet it as official status within the Basque autonomous region (I think).
Oh, they're so oppressed, the Basques. Especially compared to, say, the Pashtuns.
-- The Danaans were invaders who wiped out the indigenous Firbolg. Much like the Aryans drove out the Dravidic peoples of ...[text shortened]... s Language we'd have to travel back to Africa and catch the very first hominids heading Out.