This bold and accessible study of human languages and communication explores issues which are at the forefront of today's globalized society. The human species is divided into more than five thousand language groups that do not understand each other. And yet these groups constitute one coherent world language system, connected by multilingual speakers in a surprisingly powerful way. The chances of a language thriving depend on its position in the system. There are thousands of small, peripheral languages, each connected to one of a hundred central languages. The entire system is held together by one global language: English. A language is a hypercollective' good: the more speakers it has, the higher its communication value for each one of them. Thus, when people think that a language is gaining new speakers, that in itself is a reason for them to want to learn it too. That is why, in an age of globalization, only a few languages remain for transnational communication and these often prevail even in national societies. This important book discusses a number of specific constellations in detail: India, Indonesia, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa and the European Union. De Swaan concludes by providing a sober but illuminating view of language policy in multilingual societies. This book will be essential reading for those studying sociology, communication studies and linguistics.

This bold and accessible study of human languages and communicationexplores issues which are at the forefront of today's globalizedsociety.The human species is divided into more than five thousandlanguage groups that do not understand each other. And yet thesegroups constitute one coherent world language system, connected bymultilingual speakers in a surprisingly powerful way. The chancesof a language thriving depend on its position in the system. Thereare thousands of small, peripheral languages, each connected to oneof a hundred central languages. The entire system is held togetherby one global language: English. A language is a'hypercollective' good: the more speakers it has, the higherits communication value for each one of them. Thus, when peoplethink that a language is gaining new speakers, that in itself is areason for them to want to learn it too. That is why, in an age ofglobalization, only a few languages remain for transnationalcommunication and these often prevail even in nationalsocieties.This important book discusses a number of specificconstellations in detail: India, Indonesia, Sub-Saharan AfricaSouth Africa and the European Union. De Swaan concludes byproviding a sober but illuminating view of language policy inmultilingual societies. This book will be essential reading forthose studying sociology, communication studies andlinguistics.

Preface ix1 Introduction: the global language system 11.1 The global language system: a galaxy of languages 41.2 A historical atlas of the world as a language system 61.3 Supercentral constellations in the present language system111.4 Scope and approach of this book 171.5 Plan of the book 202 The political economy of language constellations 252.1 Languages as 'hypercollective goods' 272.2 The communication potential of a language: the Q-value333 Language, culture and the unequal exchange of texts413.1 Texts as commodities in international exchange 423.2 Protectionism and free trade in cultural exchange 473.3 Monoglossia, polyglossia and heteroglossia 533.4 Discussion 574 India: the rivalry between Hindi and English 604.1 Characterization of the Indian constellation 614.2 State formation, nation-building and language unification634.3 The vicissitudes of language policy in India 694.4 Discussion 735 The triumph of bahasa Indonesia 815.1 Gandhi's dream 815.2 The rise of Malay 835.3 The demise of Dutch 865.4 The rejection of Javanese 905.5 Discussion 936 Africa: the persistence of the colonial languages966.1 A two-by-three comparison 996.2 Three francophone constellations south of the Sahara 1026.3 Three English-centred constellations south of the Sahara1167 South Africa: the survival of the old language regime1277.1 The language regime under Apartheid 1287.2 Language policy after Apartheid 1327.3 The dynamics of the constellation 1367.4 Discussion 1408 The European Union: the more languages, the more English1448.1 Civil Europe (1): language unification in nationalconstellations 1468.2 Civil Europe (2): Q-values in the European Union 1518.3 Institutional Europe (1): the public level 1668.4 Institutional Europe (2): the bureaucracy 1718.5 Discussion 1739 Conclusions and considerations 1769.1 Conclusions 1779.2 Considerations 187Notes 194References 225Index 244