Words of the World: The Global Language System

Preface. 1. Introduction: The Global Language System. 1.1 The Global Language System: a Galaxy of Languages. 1.2 A Historical Atlas of the World as a Language System. 1.3 Supercentral Constellations in the Present Language System. 1.4 Scope and Approach of the Book. 1.5 Plan of the Book. 2. The Political Economy of Language Constellations. 2.1 Languages as 'Hypercollective Goods'. 2.2 The Communication Potential of a Language: the Q-value. 3. Language, Culture and the Unequal Exchange of Texts. 3.1 Texts as Commodities in International Exchange. 3.2 Protectionism and Free Trade in Cultural Exchange. 3.3 Monoglossia, Polyglossia and Heteroglossia. 3.4 Discussion. 4. India: The Rivalry between Hindi and English.…