Linguistic Diversity and Digitalization: An Ambivalent Relationship

Abstract

In this position paper, we argue that while digitalization amplifies biases towards only few languages dominating the linguistic landscape, modern language technology can help to mitigate language loss. We first elaborate on how the linguistic landscape in the digital and the non-digital sphere are distributionally different from each other in that the latter is strongly biased towards English, at the same time under-representing thousands of languages and the cultural knowledge that they encode. In a second step, we present results of qualitative interviews on individual linguistic experiences in the digital and the non-digital sphere that we have conducted in Québec, one of the provinces of Canada known for its linguistic diversity. These interviews highlight the potential that modern language technology have for safeguarding linguistic diversity. We conclude that the study of the impact of digitalization on the global linguistic landscape not only requires differential ways of measuring linguistic diversity but also a nuanced operationalization of digitalization.