Introduction to Multilingualism in Media
In her narrative Situaciones Incómodas, Wendy Rodriguez exposes the benefits and the cost of striving for bilingualism (Rodriguez). Although all four authors in my bibliography agreed with Rodriguez in that multilingualism is the new trend and a new standard of intelligence, these authors also mentioned within their works the voices that opposed the usage of multilingualism. These voices believed that multilingualism conflicted with nationalistic ideals; that is, striving for multilingualism goes against the culture’s norm because it is not patriotic, natural or an “unsystematic behavior” (Piller 569). With the rise of globalization, these nationalist views have slowly lost popularity and support, and multilingualism seems to be a new standard, a new goal for each individual to achieve. To prove this direct correlation between globalization and positive perception of multilingualism, I focused my research on the media in different nations, and their portrayal, use and discussion of multilingualism. I found the media to be the best lens to explore the trend because the media, both consciously and unconsciously, is influenced by current trends and expectations of society while also shaping the future trends by affecting the way individuals think.
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