Exploring the Possibilities for the Emergence of a Single and Global Native Language

Exploring the Possibilities for the Emergence of a Single and Global Native Language
Author: Fritz Dufour, Linguist, MBA, DESS
Publisher: Fritz Dufour
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2017-11-09
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

This book is a look into the possibilities for the emergence of a single and universal native language by taking into consideration the common denominator that characterizes all spoken languages: sounds. This book describes the acquisition of language in terms of speech, its use, and its development or evolution. The hypothesis of a monolingual world is supported by strong arguments, facts, and theories. This is both a descriptive and a prescriptive approach in the sens that not only Mr. Dufour portrays the current linguistic status quo as it is, but also, he prescribes a way to go about making our planet monolingual through a detailed awareness campaign plan and practical views likely to help us achieve that goal if followed properly. His approach is a novel one and is commendable. This is a reference book, definitely one to read, whether you're a linguist or not.

The Realities of Reality - Part I: It All Starts from Within

The Realities of Reality - Part I: It All Starts from Within
Author: Fritz Dufour, MBA, DESS
Publisher: Fritz Dufour, MBA, DESS
Total Pages: 146
Release: 2018-03-16
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN:

This book is the first of a series that considers the many aspects of reality. I call it ‘It all starts from within’ because reality starts with each of us individually and independently. It starts from our inner self before evolving into what I would call the collective reality, meaning a generally agreed upon state in which groups of people, entire nations, or the whole world believe. That reality includes beliefs, cultures, ideologies, etc. As we change and adapt to our environment, our reality changes as well. New realities emerge… Chapter one is about perception and our senses. It demonstrates how perception is impossible without our senses. Whatever angle of reality that’s being analyzed, one or more of our senses plays a momentous role in its understanding… Chapter two considers the role of the brain in the making of reality. It delves into how the brain can make the mind behave a certain way under certain circumstances… Chapter three looks at the mind, which I call the ultimate maker of reality. This chapter describes the mind as that intangible component of the brain and where reality or all realities stem from after, of course, being picked up by the senses and the brain… Chapter four attempts to define reality itself after it’s perceived by our senses, analyzed by our brain, and processed by our mind…I consider five questions in my attempt to answer the question: what is reality? They are: what are things and why do they look different from one another? What is life and its origins? What is death? What is superstition? What is space and are we alone in the universe?

The South China Sea: A Look into China’s Modern Times Maritime Silk Road and Its Geopolitical Implications

The South China Sea: A Look into China’s Modern Times Maritime Silk Road and Its Geopolitical Implications
Author: Fritz Dufour, Linguist, MBA, DESS
Publisher: Fritz Dufour
Total Pages: 12
Release: 2017-07-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

Westward expansion has always been more important to China than eastward expansion because except for the Korean peninsula and Japan, China is looking at the vast Pacific Ocean. The west has always been and continues to be China’s lifeline. China has come a long way. Civilizations rise and fall. They come and go. But the Chinese civilization is one of the oldest and most stable. The Chinese engaged in world trade way before America was even discovered. They did that thanks to the Silk Road, which was an ancient caravan route linking Xi'an in central China with the eastern Mediterranean. It was established during the period of Roman rule in Europe, and took its name from the silk which was brought to the west from China . Although trading with the West was quintessential, China has always sought to retain their own economic model. When the four leading powers of the West – England, France, Spain, and Portugal - decided to build their politico-economic empires on triangular trade or face failure, China was thriving, as it had been for millennia. But World War II dealt a serious blow to China’s economy as the United states emerged as the only superpower on both the political and economic levels and put shortly after a policy of containment towards China. That, along with past failures, exacerbated if not China’s resentment at least its mistrust towards the West and, especially towards the United States.

English as a Global Language

English as a Global Language
Author: David Crystal
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2012-03-29
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1107611806

Written in a detailed and fascinating manner, this book is ideal for general readers interested in the English language.

A World of Indigenous Languages

A World of Indigenous Languages
Author: Teresa L. McCarty
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2019-03-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1788923081

Spanning Indigenous settings in Africa, the Americas, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia, Central Asia and the Nordic countries, this book examines the multifaceted language reclamation work underway by Indigenous peoples throughout the world. Exploring political, historical, ideological, and pedagogical issues, the book foregrounds the decolonizing aims of contemporary Indigenous language movements inside and outside of schools. Many authors explore language reclamation in their own communities. Together, the authors call for expanded discourses on language planning and policy that embrace Indigenous ways of knowing and forefront grassroots language reclamation efforts as a force for Indigenous sovereignty, social justice, and self-determination. This volume will be of interest to scholars, educators and students in applied linguistics, Ethnic/Indigenous Studies, education, second language acquisition, and comparative-international education, and to a broader audience of language educators, revitalizers and policymakers.

Gender, Digitalization, and Resilience in International Development

Gender, Digitalization, and Resilience in International Development
Author: Julia Bello-Bravo
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2023-09-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1000921743

This book explores the intersection of gender, digitalization, and resilience in international development. Building resilience is increasingly seen as crucial when planning and implementing development programmes, enabling communities to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth. Gender plays a crucial role in the resilience of development systems, as the exclusion of women from participation can make communities more vulnerable to economic shocks, perpetuating and even worsening current levels of poverty, instability, and insecurity. Drawing on meta-data from across the world, as well as specific case studies from Ghana, Kenya, Burkina Faso, and Mozambique, this book reflects on these intersections and the potential of digitalization as a democratizing tool for improving the access of women and other marginalized groups to information vital for their participation in the process of development. By outlining the importance of digitalization for addressing gender imbalances, this book draws the evidentiary lines between the role of digitalization for women and resilience as a whole. This book will be of interest to development practitioners and policy makers, as well as researchers with specialisms in gender inclusion, resilience, digitalization, and international development.

A New Imperial History of Northern Eurasia, 600-1700

A New Imperial History of Northern Eurasia, 600-1700
Author: Marina B. Mogilner
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2023-10-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1350196827

A New Imperial History of Northern Eurasia, 600-1700 proposes a new language for studying and conceptualizing the spaces, societies, and institutions that existed on the territory of today's Northern Eurasia. This is not the story of a certain present-day state or people evolving through consecutive historical stages. Rather, the book is a modern analytical approach to the problem of human diversity as a fundamental social condition. Through cooperation and confrontation, various attempts to manage diversity fostered processes of societal self-organization, as new ideas, practices, and institutions were developed virtually from scratch or radically altered. Essentially, this is the story of individuals and societies creatively responding to their natural and social environments in unique historical circumstances. This volume explores how the mutual interactions of several local socio-political arrangements, and attempts to integrate with one of the universal cultures of the time, caused a string of unintended consequences. As a result, the enormous landmass from the Carpathian Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east, from the Polar Circle in the north to the steppe belt in the south was divided among several regional powers. Ultimately unable to overtake each other by military force, they were locked in a zero-sum game until the uneven development of modern state institutions tilted the balance in favor of one of them – Russia.

Handbook on Postconservative Theological Interpretation

Handbook on Postconservative Theological Interpretation
Author: Ronald T. Michener
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 702
Release: 2024-10-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666744077

Postconservative theology may be said to parallel with “postliberal theology” at its best. Orthodox, biblical, but open to new insights about how to interpret Scripture. But the new insights must be faithful as well as fresh. Postconservative theology is not the same as "progressive theology,” which tends to lean toward indeterminant faith expressions, whereas “postconservative” allows for particular faith commitments and expressions but understands that the constructive task of theology is never finished. Authors emphasize various interpretive theological lenses used for doing theology among various postconservative theologians, rather than emphasizing the philosophical background to hermeneutical theory present in other works, such as past influential thinkers (including Gadamer, Grondin, Ricoeur, Heidegger, etc.). This resource could also function as a companion to Evangelical Theological Method: Five Views (2018). This emphasis of the chapters will not be on the nuts and bolts of “how to” interpret, but rather on the theological impulses that govern various lenses (Bible, cultural context, etc.) for doing theology and the way Scripture functions with respect to the practice of interpretation.

Citizenship Education around the World

Citizenship Education around the World
Author: John Petrovic
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2014-04-24
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1317952235

Though certainly not a new idea, citizenship education manifests in unique and often unpredictable ways in our contemporary neoliberal era. The question of what it means to be a productive and recognized citizen must now be understood simultaneously along both global and local lines. This edited volume offers an international perspective on citizenship education enacted in specific socio-political contexts. Each chapter includes a pointed conceptualization of citizenship education—a philosophical framework—that is then applied to specific national cases across Europe, Asia, Canada and more. Chapters emphasize how such frameworks are implemented within local contexts, encouraging particular pedagogical/curricular practices even as they constrain others. Chapters conclude with suggestions for productive change and how educators might usefully engage contemporary contexts through citizenship education.