Bridging Linguistics and Economics Edited by Cécile B
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-47933-2 — Bridging Linguistics and Economics Edited by Cécile B. Vigouroux , Salikoko S. Mufwene Frontmatter More Information Bridging Linguistics and Economics Linguistics has had a significant and evident impact on economics, and vice versa. However, this mutually beneficial relationship has so far remained under-exploited. This rich volume brings together an international range of scholars, to bridge the gap between these two distinct but increasingly inter- related disciplines. It covers areas such as the role of economic factors in the maintenance or loss of languages, the relationship between speakers’ language choices and economic practices, the relevance of economic devel- opment to the spread of modern communication technology, and the role of language in economic development. It represents a critical call to arms for researchers and students in both fields to engage in better-informed ways with the work of the other. By sharing both linguistic and economic ideas, the editors and the other contributors foster a clear dialogue between the two disciplines, which will inform the rapidly emerging field of “language economics”. Cécile B. Vigouroux is Associate Professor of French Sociolinguistics at Simon Fraser University, Canada. She has co-edited with Salikoko S. Mufwene Globalization and Language Vitality: Perspectives from Africa (2008) and Colonisation, Globalisation, Vitalité du Français (2014). Salikoko S. Mufwene is the Frank J. McLoraine Distinguished Service Professor of Linguistics and the College at the University of Chicago. He holds a Médaillle du Collège de France and was inducted as a fellow of the Linguistic Society of America for his distinguished contribution to linguistics in 2018. He is the founding editor of Cambridge Approaches to Language Contact. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-47933-2 — Bridging Linguistics and Economics Edited by Cécile B. Vigouroux , Salikoko S. Mufwene Frontmatter More Information © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-47933-2 — Bridging Linguistics and Economics Edited by Cécile B. Vigouroux , Salikoko S. Mufwene Frontmatter More Information Bridging Linguistics and Economics Edited by Cécile B. Vigouroux Simon Fraser University Salikoko S. Mufwene University of Chicago © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-47933-2 — Bridging Linguistics and Economics Edited by Cécile B. Vigouroux , Salikoko S. Mufwene Frontmatter More Information University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia 314–321, 3rd Floor, Plot 3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre, New Delhi – 110025, India 79 Anson Road, #06-04/06, Singapore 079906 Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108479332 DOI: 10.1017/9781108783101 © Cambridge University Press 2020 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2020 Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ International Ltd, Padstow Cornwall A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Vigouroux, Cécile B., editor. | Mufwene, Salikoko S., editor. Title: Bridging linguistics and economics / edited by Cécile B. Vigouroux, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Salikoko S. Mufwene, University of Chicago. Description: New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2020. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019058876 | ISBN 9781108479332 (hardback) | ISBN 9781108749602 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Economics--Sociological aspects. | Linguistics. | Multilingualism. Classification: LCC HM548 .B75 2020 | DDC 306.3--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019058876 ISBN 978-1-108-47933-2 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-47933-2 — Bridging Linguistics and Economics Edited by Cécile B. Vigouroux , Salikoko S. Mufwene Frontmatter More Information Contents List of Figures page vi List of Tables vii List of Contributors ix Preface xv 1 Do Linguists Need Economics and Economists Linguistics? 1 Cécile B. Vigouroux and Salikoko S. Mufwene 2 Economists Do Need Linguists 56 Victor Ginsburgh and Shlomo Weber 3 The Invisibility of Linguistic Diversity Online: Reflections on the Political Economy of Digital Communication 81 Ana Deumert 4 Evaluating Language Policy and Planning: An Introduction to the Economic Approach 109 Michele Gazzola, François Grin, and François Vaillancourt 5 The Economics of Language Diversity and Language Resilience in the Balkans 140 Adam D. Clark-Joseph and Brian D. Joseph 6 Determinants of Bilingualism among Children: An Economic Analysis 158 Barry R. Chiswick and Marina Gindelsky 7 Economy and Language in Africa 182 Paulin G. Djité 8 The Unequal Exchange of Texts in the World Language System 203 Abram de Swaan 9 Language Economics and Language Rights 224 John Edwards Author Index 245 Subject Index 247 v © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-47933-2 — Bridging Linguistics and Economics Edited by Cécile B. Vigouroux , Salikoko S. Mufwene Frontmatter More Information Figures 3.1 Smartphone and mobile phone ownership in seven African countries, compared with that in the United States (in percentages; Pew Research Center 2015a) page 88 3.2 Top 100 websites in 2012 (in percentages; Jin 2013: 155–7) 90 3.3 The entry for “television” on the isiXhosa Wikipedia (article created in 2014, by user V from Chicago, USA) 98 5.1 Bilingual Albanian–Greek road signs (September 2011) 142 5.2 Bilingual sign for Kamara Square in Divri (March 2012) 149 5.3 Bus schedule in Himara (June 2014); items 3 and 4 indicate buses from Himara to Athens, Greece (twice a day) 150 5.4 Bus schedule in Himara (June 2018), indicating daily buses from Himara to Athens, Patras, and Ioannina, in Greece 151 5.5 A trash can along the Himara beachfront, funded by the Greek government (June 2014) 152 5.6 A close-up of the trash can from Figure 5.5, showing its provenience (financing by the Service of International Developmental Cooperation, Ministry of the Exterior of the Hellenic Republic, and execution by the Ministry of the Interior, Public Administration, and Decentralization of the Hellenic Republic) 153 5.7 An unlabeled trash can along the Himara beachfront (June 2018) 154 5.8 A grill in Tirana with Greek signage that reads, in Greek letters, i kaliteri pita, Greek for “the best pitta” (June 2014) 155 8.1 World system of standard and non-standard Englishes (from Mair 2013: 264). (“AAVE” is African American Vernacular English; “ELF” is English as a lingua franca.) 214 8.2 Preferential links of translation, 1997–2001 (from Barré 2010: 21) 216 vi © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-47933-2 — Bridging Linguistics and Economics Edited by Cécile B. Vigouroux , Salikoko S. Mufwene Frontmatter More Information Tables 2.1 Disenfranchisement in European languages: all respondents (in percentage) page 74 3.1 Linguistic diversity and access to digital media (ITU statistics retrieved in September 2018; Simons & Fennig 2018) 89 3.2 Facebook penetration rates (2017/2018 estimates) 95 3.3 Wikipedia statistics (September 2018): geographical regions, number of language editions per region, and average number of editors per million speakers 97 3.4 Access to digital media, in millions (ITU data for 2017) 101 4.1 Gross and net yearly earnings differences, in percentage: Québec, men, 1970 and 2005, seven sets of language skills 111 4.2 Gross and net impact of English language skills on monthly earnings, in percentage: Switzerland, men 113 4.3 Rank-ordering of second/foreign language learning channels: Switzerland, men and women, 1995 116 4.4 Determinants of the use of English at work: French- and German-speaking Switzerland, 1994–95, odds ratios 117 4.5 Preference for being served in French: Francophone consumers, Québec, 1979, gross differences and net impacts (probit), N = 786 118 4.6 Summary of results on the annual costs and benefits of the Official Languages Act, Canada, 2006, in million dollars (m$), dollars ($), and percentages (%) 124 4.7 Summary of the costs and benefits of four minority language European language policies, 1997 125 4.8 Comparative analysis of the overall costs for patenting at the European Patent Office (in euros) 128 4.9 Average global cost of access to the Patent Cooperation Treaty system for a Korean-speaking applicant (in euros) 129 4.10 Dropout and repetition rates 132 vii ©