Language Regimes in Transformation

Globalization has many faces. One of them is the transformation of
language regimes. This book provides an in-depth account of how two
second-tier languages, Japanese and German, are affected by this
process. In the international arena, they no longer compete with
English, but their status in their home countries and as foreign
languages in third countries is in flux. Original empirical and
theoretical contributions are presented in this up-to-date study of
language regime change.

The desirability of a single all-purpose language for all communication
needs is seldom questioned. It is simply taken for granted in many
advanced countries, such as Japan and the German-speaking countries.
However, it is not clear whether German and Japanese can sustain their
full functional potential if their own speakers use these languages in
certain domains with decreasing frequency. The advantages of borderless
communication in a single language, on one hand, and maintaining highly
cultivated all-purpose languages, on the other, are obvious. The
question of whether and how these two principles can be reconciled in
the age of globalization is not. In this book, leading scholars present
their answers: Ulrich Ammon, Tessa Carroll, Nanette Gottlieb, Patrick
Heinrich, Takao Katsuragi, John Maher, Kiyoshi Hara, Elmar Holenstein,
Konrad Ehlich, Fumio Inoue, and Florian Coulmas.