Bilingualism in Rarotonga

• Autores: Aileen K. Wiglesworth
• Localización: Links & letters, ISSN 1133-7397, Nº 5, 1998 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Englishes), págs. 201-206
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The globalization of English is a mixed blessing for many of the worlds' small linguistic groups: it provides them with a lingua franca to expand their economic and political opportunities, but it also threatens to displace their indigenous languages. Analysis of codeswitching behavior indicates that English is becoming the dominant language among bilingual Rarotongans of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. However, there are also social forces supporting the indigenous language and the bilingualism of Rarotongans appears assured for the time being.