Measuring Diversity in Multilingual Communication
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Measuring Diversity in Multilingual Communication Michele Gazzola1,2 · Torsten Templin2 · Lisa J. McEntee‑Atalianis3 Accepted: 13 July 2019 © The Author(s) 2019
Abstract This article develops new indices to measure linguistic diversity. It is new in two respects: firstly, existing indices to measure the probability that in a given multilingual context com‑ munication among people speaking different languages can successfully occur are based on the assumption that communication is possible only if at least one single language is shared. This study develops new indices that describe the probability that people with dif‑ ferent linguistic repertoires can effectively communicate not only through one common language, but also by relying on their receptive competence in multiple languages, or a mix between the two communication strategies. Secondly, it develops indices to measure the degree of diversity of language policies aimed at providing multilingual communica‑ tion (through translation and interpretation). The focus, therefore, is on the organisation as collective actors rather than individuals. The indices may be relevant to the study of the political and economic implications of linguistic diversity in multilingual countries, and in the management of diversity in multilingual organisations. Keywords Linguistic diversity · Indicators · Language policy · Multilingual communication · Probability theory · Public administration
* Michele Gazzola [email protected] Torsten Templin [email protected]‑berlin.de Lisa J. McEntee‑Atalianis l.mcentee‑[email protected] 1
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences, Ulster University, Jordanstown, UK
2
Research Group “Economics and Language” (REAL), Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
3
Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
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M. Gazzola et al.
1 Introduction This article develops new indices to measure linguistic diversity. A first set of indices describe the probability that people with different linguistic repertoires can effectively communicate not only through one common language, as is often assumed in the literature, but also by relying on their receptive competence in multiple languages, or a mix between the two communication models. In addition, it develops new indices to measure the degree of diversity of language policies aimed at providing multilingual communication through translation and interpretation in linguistically diverse organisations. This article, therefore, responds to recent calls (see Sect. 4 below) by multilingual countries and organisations to better describe multilingual contexts and to improve the set of indicators available in lan‑ guage policy design and evaluation. The measurement of diversity is a branch of probability theory that has been applied to many fields, including inter alia ecology, linguistics, physics, economics, technology and
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