Respond: Scott L. Montgomery, “Chapter 4: Impacts: A Discussion of Limitations and Issues for a Global Language” from Does Science Need a Global Language: English and the Future of Research

Respond: Scott L. Montgomery, “Chapter 4: Impacts: A Discussion of Limitations and Issues for a Global Language” from Does Science Need a Global Language: English and the Future of Research

RESPOND •

Question 24.11

1. How does this selection challenge you to think about English and its use in the world in new ways? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of any global language, according to Montgomery?

Question 24.12

2. The “Perspective” section of this excerpt does a very good job of summarizing many of the claims made about the dominance of English as the global language of science. (Later in this chapter, before the closing section, “A Final Story, and an Idea,” Montgomery examines these claims in greater detail; this section of the chapter is omitted here.) How does this list of claims form an argument? In other words, how does the strategic ordering of the list of claims become an argument? What sort of argument is it — an argument of fact, an argument of definition, an evaluative argument, a proposal argument? How do you know?

Question 24.13

3. Can parts of the “Perspective” section be analyzed as Toulmin arguments? Which ones? Why? (See Chapter 7 for information on Toulmin’s method of analyzing arguments.)

Question 24.14

4. Montgomery uses personal experience narratives as bookends to this chapter, beginning and ending with a story about something that happened to him. How do these stories influence the way you read and understand the “Perspective” section of the selection, which is based on different kinds of evidence?

Question 24.15

5. An interesting aspect of this selection is the way that Montgomery represents the speech of Roger, the Aboriginal Australian with whom he speaks in the opening section of the text. As is clear, English is not Roger’s first or only language, and the variety of English he would have been exposed to is obviously not American English but some variety found in Australia. Study Roger’s speech carefully. Do you see patterns to the language that differ from those a native speaker might use? Do you see any words you associate with Australian English? It is quite easy to represent the speech of speakers like Roger in ways that are patronizing or mocking. Do you think Montgomery avoided doing so? Do you think he set out to do so? Why or why not?

Question 24.16

6. Write an evaluative argument in which you consider the claims Montgomery makes in the closing section of this essay. Are there perils to being monolingual for individuals? For countries? In other words, are there ways in which monolingualism is limiting for individuals or countries? In contrast, what costs come with the challenges of multilingualism? Taking a clue from Montgomery in responding to this question, don’t fall prey to much of what you might hear about these issues. In other words, focus on the findings of research rather than opinions that may not be backed up by fact. You’ll likely need to do some research if you want your opinions on these topics to be taken seriously. (See Chapter 10 for information on evaluative arguments and the chapters in Part 4 for help with research.)

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