Why Languages and Language Research Matter

摘要

At a time when the world is reeling from the threats posed by war, terrorism, climate change and adaptation, the disenfranchising of many poorer countries and nation states, and a global financial crisis, it is imperative that we in tertiary education foster those experiences that make available to new generations access to the world views of others, the languages that embody the cultures of others, and the ability to develop empathic communication (empathy). The learning of a language other than one’s first language and the development of intercultural competence, as well as the view of the learner as a ‘cultural researcher’ and ‘ethnographer’, are keys to responding to many of these current global challenges. Currently we have too many colliding worlds and monumental culture clashes, and little enough of collaborating worlds. For the sheer survival of our own and other species, we must collaborate as world citizens. Understanding the cultural imperatives of our collaborators which comes through the agency of language in its cultural context will become an essential ingredient in the success of that collaboration.