Chapter 3
Exercise 3:
a. Language shift refers to the process by which one language displaces another in the linguistic
repertoire of a community. Language death occurs when a language is no longer spoken
naturally anywhere in the world.
b. Examples of language shift of H and L displacing each other, could be English and
Indonesian. English is used as the H in other foreign countries and the more it is used the
more it displaces the minority languages. Indonesian first started as the language in the
markets of Indonesia, and now is grown to become the national language.
Exercise 4:
When a married couple speak two languages what happens usually is that the majority group
language will displace the other. Their children could use either language, but it depends on their location, their
community, however English is the dominant language of the home.
Exercise 5:
a. People might want to maintain their minority language when they move to another country to
preserve their identity and to maintain their culture’s symbol.
b. Factors to maintain language: Community has ethnic group living in the same area, the value
and pride of their ethnicity and language. Status in the community helps. More domains
where the language could be used more. The frequency of contact to homeland.
Exercise 8:
Kind of information that can study language in the public domain or the linguistic landscape
provide about the vitality of a minority linguistic community
Linguistic Landscape can be a rich source of information about the sociolinguistic complexities
of a community. Vitality can be shown by shop signs, church signs, restaurant signs, and advertisements. Public
signs can be understood in different ways, indicating the information in different languages.
Exercise 12:
A factor that hasn’t been discussed earlier but contributes to language shift is the technological
advancements. Increasing accessibility to the internet, and media.
Exercise 13:
1. Social advantage because it provides access to more people and another language community
2. Being bilingual delays Alzheimer’s disease by 4 years
3. Being bilingual also helps you get a job because you can talk to more customers in their
language
