Abstract:

Globalization and standardization have become an integral part of all modern processes. They have penetrated almost every sphere: business in terms of the unification of production and analytical processes, the media in terms of standardization, forms of information flow and the regulations, the social sphere in terms of shaping global characteristics of success, etc. Communication occupies a special place in these processes as a sphere that pervades absolutely all others. Communication opportunities today have conceptually changed the information exchange model. New models of information interaction can make the decision-making process incomparably more dynamic, often occurring in real time despite all the objective aspects that divide participants in the process - distance, presence, being busy, and so on. The “multitasking” phenomenon, which has become an integral part of both processes and an important human competence, is primarily supported by means of communication, which allows us to constantly increase the level of multitasking, thus increasing the efficiency and productivity of modern human-beings. However, even this level of communication does not meet the challenges of Industry 4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution - the mass introduction of cyber-physical systems into production, serving human needs, including life, work and leisure. In this context, the question of the prospects for non-majority languages that belong to the category of regional and other minority categories arises with a clear understanding of the risks of functional degradation. It should be noted that as far as technologies support the unification and standardization of all spheres of human life, they also provide new opportunities for regional languages to develop their functionality in new information spheres - it’s easy to utilize any languages in digital cyberspace today.

However, despite the technological capabilities, the main issue in the period of the era of Industry 4.0 will be the demand for minority languages as a participant in a new type of communication. In our opinion, a request for the level of efficiency of all processes of new systems in the concept of Industry 4.0 will exclude a link to individual language features. Thus, the sphere of business, and hence the sphere of education, will be aimed at mastering those competencies, including communication, that will allow to participate effectively in new industrial processes. This paper investigates the education system as the main tool to maintain the linguistic and cultural diversity in the context of decreasing motivation to learn and use minority languages caused by globalization. The authors focus on the challenges of Industry 4.0 that have to be addressed by educational system and the ways it can support the regional languages in education including the development of ethnic awareness. The results of the study identify the mechanisms that can be utilized to preserve the functional potential of minor languages in education.

Keywords:

Education and Industry 4.0, minor languages, challenge, diversity, globalization.