Running head: PROJECT ONE: LANGUAGE CONFLICT 1

PROJECT ONE: LANGUAGE CONFLICT 7

Language Conflict

Zi Wang

California state university, San Bernardino

Several linguistic problems could potentially result in conflict in the world today. Language conflicts occur regardless of the part of the world one is coming from. This speech was given Reza Hasmath, a professor at Oxford University at the university premises on 26th November 2018. The main aim of the speech was to point out the language conflicts arising from different people from different linguistic backgrounds.

Language conflict is a topic that is dealt with in linguistic literature. Several researchers have made significant contributions to secure a place for language conflict within linguistic research. According to Boroditsky (2009), ” Language conflict is a common topic, particularly in turkey. Despite the linguistic differences in Kurdish and Turkish cultures, there is no difference in the alphabet using during the pronunciation of words when speaking. ” Boroditsky adds that language conflict can emanate from using language in interaction. It is no doubt that language conflict can result in negative outcomes.

Examples of language conflict can be found in the work of (Benesch, 2012) who illustrates how words can be used as weapons in turn leading to language conflict. “Many languages have evolved in human history while the population of humans continues to grow very fast. As a result, language became the major form of identity for different cultures” (Benesch, 2012). She illustrates this particular situation by highlighting a circumstance whereby a speaker uses inciting words when delivering his/her speech. (Orwell, 2001) outlines ways in which English language use results in language conflict.

In a real-life example, the speaker?who? gives an example of a language conflict he encountered during his trip to Turfan in Xinjiang, China. A young graduate from the University of Beijing could not clearly explain the reasons for not finding a job in fluent English or mandarin language. According to the graduate, he was prejudiced because of his inability to speak fluent English or mandarin language. It is possible that this could not be the case. Still, it is worth noting according to Orwell (2001), that the graduate could have better chances of securing a job if he perfected his language skills.

The author outlines four ways in which an author/speaker can avoid language conflict. Orwell urges English authors not to use a metaphor, simile, or any other figure of speech which he/she is used to seeing in print, not to use a long word where a short one can do, to always cut out a word if it is possible to do so, not to use passive where he/she can use active, and finally not to use a foreign phrase(Give an example)scientific word(Give an example)or a jargon word (Give an example)By doing all these, the authors will be able to avoid language conflict.