What Is Linguistic Diversity?

     What is language diversity? Language diversity, or linguistic diversity, is a broad term used to describe the differences between different languages and the ways that people communicate with each other. Language is one of the features of humanity that sets the species apart from others on Earth, as far as scientists are aware. Languages are necessarily systematic, meaning that they are bound by rules. This mechanism has been instrumental in allowing humans to communicate with each other and form complex cultures and civilizations. Understanding what linguistic diversity is, how it applies on a worldwide scale, and how it applies in education can help create a more thorough and lasting understanding of the study of culture in general and the place of language in human life. [...] Examples of Linguistic Diversity

        In terms of variety of languages, there are many examples of linguistic diversity around the world. Linguistic diversity is sometimes measured using a language diversity index, of which there are several. These tools examine the likelihood of two given people in a country or region speaking the same native language. If virtually everyone in a country speaks the same language, the diversity index will approach 0. If there is a very high degree of native language diversity, the index will approach 1. Countries with a low diversity index include Britain, Brazil, Australia, and Japan, all of which have an index score of 0.2 or less. Diversity is also quite low in the U.S., hovering somewhere between 0.2 and 0.4. Countries with a very high diversity index include South Africa (which has 11 official languages), India, and Papua New Guinea. All of these countries have an index score of 0.8 or higher.

        High levels of linguistic diversity often indicate that a country has one or more of the following:

• A very large population

• Many ethnic groups

• Many historical and current trade routes

• A history of being colonized

• Many mountains and other isolating geographical features

     Countries deal with high levels of linguistic diversity in different ways. In some places, a single language emerges as the lingua franca or common language. In other places, languages are combined to form pidgins and creoles, usually in places where people had to learn to communicate very quickly.

      One small island called South Goulburn, located off the coast of Australia, has an unusual way of dealing with and maintaining linguistic diversity. On that island, the population of around 500 people keep nine languages alive and thriving. Many of those are indigenous Australian languages with very few speakers. On South Goulburn, it is considered somewhat taboo to speak a second language, as languages are closely bound up with personal and cultural identity. Everyone on the island understands some or all 12 of the nine languages, but speak only their own, expecting others to respond in their own languages. This is a phenomenon called receptive multilingualism.

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