Resumen de Comprehension and language attitudes in relation to language choice for literature and education in pre‐literate societies
In multilingual and multidialectal societies, the degree of comprehension of a message by the hearer should be the primary consideration in choosing which language or dialect to use for adequate communication in literature and education. Functional participation in society requires adequate comprehension of abstract concepts. That requires near native speaker proficiency: at least Level 4 as measured on the U.S. Foreign Service Institute scale. If a significant number of speakers in a language group are not at that level in a second language, communication needs to be channeled through their first language.
Attitudes toward one's own or a second language in some cases are negative to the point of hindering acceptance of literature or the concepts it presents. Such a hindering attitude toward a second language, even if it is adequately understood, indicates the need for literature in the first language. A hindering attitude toward the first language when the second language is not adequately understood, on the other hand, indicates the need for promotion of the first language as an acceptable vehicle for literature and education.
