Scott L. Montgomery ; with a foreword by David Crystal
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item
xiii, 226 pages :
Other Physical Details
illustrations ;
Dimensions
24 cm
INTERNAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES/INDEXES NOTE
Text of Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-213) and index
CONTENTS NOTE
Text of Note
A new era -- Global English : realities, geopolitics, issues -- English and science : the current landscape -- Impacts : a discussion of limitations and issues for a global language -- Past and future : what do former lingua francas of science tell us? -- Does science need a global language?
0
SUMMARY OR ABSTRACT
Text of Note
"A new era in the scientific community has arrived, and it is an era of multinationalism and cooperative reach. Globalization, the Internet, and digital technology all play a role in making this new era possible, but something more fundamental is also at work. In all scientific endeavors lies an ancient drive for sharing ideas and knowledge. Communication serves as the driving force behind turning brilliant ideas into world-changing realities. Yet, only one language serves as the scientific mother tongue--English. Is this a good thing? In Does Science Need a Global Language?, Scott L. Montgomery seeks to answer this question by investigating the phenomenon of global English in science, how and why it came about, the forms in which it appears, what advantages and disadvantages it brings, and what its future might be. He also examines the consequences of a global tongue, interviewing scientists who have struggled to work in a language not their own and looking at emerging nations, where research is still at a relatively early stage and English is not yet firmly established. Throughout the book, Montgomery includes insights from a broad range of perspectives in linguistics, history, education, geopolitics, and more. Each chapter includes revealing anecdotes from the front-line experiences of today's scientists. Montgomery explores topics such as student mobility, publication trends, world Englishes, language endangerment, and second-language learning, among many others. What he uncovers will challenge readers to rethink their assumptions about the development of contemporary science, as well as its future."--book jacket