Linguistic Distance: A Quantitative Measure of the Distance between English and Other Languages

Autor/inn/en	Chiswick, Barry R.; Miller, Paul W.
Titel	Linguistic Distance: A Quantitative Measure of the Distance between English and Other Languages
Quelle	In: Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 26 (2005) 1, S.1-11 (11 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0143-4632
Schlagwörter	Contrastive Linguistics; Language Minorities; Second Languages; Foreign Countries; Immigrants; Language Proficiency; English; Second Language Learning; Difficulty Level; Adults; English (Second Language); North Americans; Canada + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Linguistics; Kontrastive Linguistik; Sprachminderheit; Second language; Zweitsprache; Ausland; Immigrant; Immigrantin; Immigranten; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; English language; Englisch; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Schwierigkeitsgrad; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Kanada
Abstract	This paper develops a scalar or quantitative measure of the "distance" between English and a myriad of other (non-native American) languages. This measure is based on the difficulty Americans have learning other languages. The linguistic distance measure is then used in an analysis of the determinants of English language proficiency among adult immigrants in the USA and Canada. It is shown that, when other determinants of English language proficiency are the same, the greater the measure of linguistic distance, the poorer is the respondent's English language proficiency. This measure can be used in research, evaluation and practitioner analyses, and for diagnostic purposes regarding linguistic minorities in English-speaking countries. The methodology can also be applied to develop linguistic distance measures for other languages. (Contains 3 tables and 9 notes.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10