Globalization as a multidimensional phenomenon: Cultural dimension and language

Although its origin as a process goes back centuries, globalization corresponds to the concentration of transnational relations in the world after the Cold War. Although it evokes an economic and political connotation in minds, globalization is essentially a multidimensional phenomenon that includes culture. Research on the cultural dimension of globalization has mostly been based on similarities and differences. The cultural dimension of globalization is handled around the paradigms of cultural difference/polarization, cultural homogenization/conflict, and cultural hybridization. The level of influence of globalization on languages that can be directly associated with a culture has also been questioned in linguistics and sociology literature around similarities and differences. In this study, which aims to question how globalization affects languages as a multidimensional phenomenon, primarily the concept of globalization and the relationship between globalization and culture are included. The relationship between globalization and language has been discussed with various arguments from linguistic and sociological perspectives. In the study, it was concluded that English, which stands out in the relationship between globalization and language and is discussed as a neutral language, does not directly cause language deaths, language deaths are mostly based on national policies. On the other hand, languages with economic and political power, especially English, still maintain their massiveness in the world. The dominance of these languages, especially in technological/online environments, further reinforces their privileged position. Although languages with economic and political characteristics, such as English, are characterized as dominant languages, lingua francas, trade languages or diplomacy languages, the language policies of nation states have built a barrier against these languages. There are multiple factors affecting the relationship between globalization and language. These factors may vary depending on the country/region or time. For this reason, it is possible to say that the relationship between globalization and language, which has different characteristics in various parts of the world, is contextual and the processes that establish this relationship are dialectical. In this respect, it is necessary to adopt multi-language approaches beyond the concepts of homogenization and heterogeneity in the analysis of the relationship between globalization and language.