tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/multilingualism-11297/articlesMultilingualism – The Conversation2024-03-27T16:39:54Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2265572024-03-27T16:39:54Z2024-03-27T16:39:54ZHow can a baby learn two languages at the same time?<p>Language acquisition in children is one of the most fascinating features of the human species, as well as one of the most difficult problems in linguistics and cognitive science. What are the processes that enable a child to <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Understanding-Child-Language-Acquisition/Rowland/p/book/9781444152654">completely master its native language</a> in just a few years, and to a degree of competence that adult learners of a second language can almost never match?</p>
<p>Far from being a matter of consensus, this subject has in fact greatly divided the research communities in these fields: the 20th century was marked by Noam Chomsky’s influential idea that native-language acquisition might stem from a <a href="https://iep.utm.edu/chomsky-philosophy/">universal and innate grammatical faculty in humans</a>, distinguishing them from other animal species.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">What do all languages have in common?</span></figcaption>
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<p>If it’s so impressive that a baby can learn even just one language, then how do we explain that it can go on to learn two, three or even more?</p>
<h2>Half the world’s population is bilingual</h2>
<p>This question presupposes that bilingualism or multilingualism is sporadic in human societies, the exception rather than the rule. However, not only do experts estimate that almost <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674066137">half the world’s population is bilingual</a>, but also that <a href="https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/multilingualism">multilingualism</a> is actually more common than monolingualism. Just look at some of the world’s most populous countries, such as India and China.</p>
<p>It’s thus hardly surprising that a child might have multiple native languages. This is something that should be encouraged, not prevented as if it were an obstacle to the child’s development or cultural and social integration. Numerous researchers have highlighted the many cognitive and social benefits of bilingualism throughout life. These include a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23175648/">better memory</a>, a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32036490/">later onset of neurodegenerative diseases</a>, or a <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-43419-001">better adaptation to different social contexts</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The benefits of a bilingual brain.</span></figcaption>
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<p>The <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674017641">keystone of bilingualism</a> in children seems to lie first in a set of general cognitive skills in human beings of all ages (such as analogy, abstraction and encyclopaedic memory), and secondly in a child’s astonishing cerebral plasticity, particularly between the ages of 0 and 3.</p>
<p>From birth, a child is able to retain and categorise linguistic stimuli that are extremely rich in information about their pronunciation, structure and meaning, as well as the family and social contexts in which they are used. On the basis of this information, a child can very quickly infer that one set of linguistic constructions differs from another in terms of conventions for two different languages (for example, French and English), particularly after the first year.</p>
<p>In this way, they acquire a skill known as “code-switching”, enabling them to switch easily from one language to another, for example depending on who they are speaking to, and sometimes within the same sentence (<em>code-mixing</em>).</p>
<h2>Leave time for the child</h2>
<p>Of course, just because bilingualism is easy for a child does not mean that their linguistic development is identical to that of a monolingual. Whether children are learning two languages simultaneously or a second language before the age of three, mastering two alternative grammars for specialised social contexts represents an additional cognitive load. It is not uncommon for a bilingual child to take slightly longer than a monolingual child to fully learn the language they have in common. This slight discrepancy – which sometimes manifests itself in the form of language “mixtures” – <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35399292/">quickly disappears as the child grows up</a>.</p>
<p>In order to guide children further and facilitate their bilingual acquisition, the <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/studies-in-second-language-acquisition/article/abs/raising-children-bilingually-through-the-one-parentone-language-approach-a-case-study-of-japanese-mothers-in-the-australian-context-takeuchi/F34BF798A2367F3833A5DA82F0FFD9EF">“one person, one language” parental approach</a> is often cited. For example, if one parent speaks more English to the child while the other uses more French, the baby will be able to distinguish between the two linguistic systems more quickly and to summon them up in interactions with specific people, in our example, Anglophones and Francophones.</p>
<p>Moreover, a balance in the frequency of use of the two languages at home will enable the child to successfully entrench them for regular use in later years. So if you’re a couple who speak two languages and you want to pass them on to your child, there are a few habits you can get into, but you don’t have to worry too much: just speak the two languages consistently to your child, and they’ll take care of the rest.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226557/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cameron Morin ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>If you’re lucky enough to be able to teach your child several languages, don’t hesitate!Cameron Morin, Docteur en linguistique, ENS de LyonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2261982024-03-27T10:19:44Z2024-03-27T10:19:44ZEnglish dominates scientific research – here’s how we can fix it, and why it matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582900/original/file-20240308-30-6nsuxr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C10%2C6718%2C5049&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/es/image-illustration/select-language-learning-translate-languages-audio-525271720">Shutterstock / Maxx-Studio</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is often remarked that Spanish should be more widely spoken or understood in the scientific community given its number of speakers around the world, a figure the Instituto Cervantes places at <a href="https://cvc.cervantes.es/lengua/anuario/anuario_23/">almost 600 million</a>. </p>
<p>However, millions of speakers do not necessarily grant a language strength in academia. This has to be cultivated on a scientific, political and cultural level, with sustained efforts from many institutions and specialists.</p>
<h2>The scientific community should communicate in as many languages as possible</h2>
<p>By some estimates, as much as <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0238372">98% of the world’s scientific research is published in English</a>, while only around <a href="https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/ethnologue200/">18% of the world’s population</a> speaks it. This makes it essential to publish in other languages if we are to bring scientific research to society at large.</p>
<p>The value of multilingualism in science has been highlighted by numerous high profile organisations, with public declarations and statements on the matter from the <a href="https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/am509774cee_en_e4.pdf">European Charter for Researchers</a>, the <a href="https://www.helsinki-initiative.org/en">Helsinki Initiative on Multiligualism</a>, the <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379949">Unesco Recommendation on Open Science</a>, the <a href="https://operas-eu.org/special-interest-group-living-book/operas-multilingualism-white-paper-june-2021/">OPERAS Multiligualism White Paper</a>, the <a href="https://www.clacso.org/declaracion-de-principios-del-foro-latinoamericano-de-evaluacion-cientifica-folec/">Latin American Forum on Research Assessment</a>, the <a href="https://coara.eu/agreement/the-agreement-full-text/">COARA Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment</a>, and the <a href="https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/284851/1/Conclusiones%20y%20recomendaciones%20del%20grupo%20de%20trabajo%20sobre%20publicaciones%20cienti%20ficas-%20VF%20ES-1.pdf">Declaration of the 5th Meeting of Minsters and Scientific Authorities of Ibero-American Countries</a>. These organisations all agree on one thing: all languages have value in scientific communication.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/284851/1/Conclusiones%20y%20recomendaciones%20del%20grupo%20de%20trabajo%20sobre%20publicaciones%20cienti%20ficas-%20VF%20ES-1.pdf">the last of these declarations</a> points out, locally, regionally and nationally relevant research is constantly being published in languages other than English. This research has an economic, social and cultural impact on its surrounding environment, as when scientific knowledge is disseminated it filters through to non-academic professionals, thus creating a broader culture of knowledge sharing. </p>
<p>Greater diversity also enables fluid dialogue among academics who share the same language, or who speak and understand multiple languages. In Ibero-America, for example, Spanish and Portuguese can often be <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/343562">mutually understood</a> by non-native speakers, allowing them to share the scientific stage. The same happens in Spain with the majority of its <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_languages_of_Spain">co-official languages</a>. </p>
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<h2>No hierarchies, no categories</h2>
<p>Too often, scientific research in any language other than English is automatically seen as second tier, with little consideration for the quality of the work itself. </p>
<p>This harmful prejudice ignores the work of those involved, especially in the humanities and social sciences. It also profoundly undermines the global academic community’s ability to share knowledge with society.</p>
<p>By defending and preserving multilingualism, the scientific community brings research closer to those who need it. Failing to pursue this aim means that academia cannot develop or expand its audience. We have to work carefully, systematically and consistently in every language available to us.</p>
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Leer más:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/prestigious-journals-make-it-hard-for-scientists-who-dont-speak-english-to-get-published-and-we-all-lose-out-226225">Prestigious journals make it hard for scientists who don't speak English to get published. And we all lose out</a>
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<h2>The logistics of strengthening linguistic diversity in science</h2>
<p>Making a language stronger in academia is a complex process. It does not happen spontaneously, and requires careful coordination and planning. Efforts have to come from public and private institutions, the media, and other cultural outlets, as well as from politicians, <a href="https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/what-science-diplomacy_en">science diplomacy</a>, and researchers themselves. </p>
<p>Many of these elements have to work in harmony, as demonstrated by the Spanish National Research Council’s work in <a href="https://pti-esciencia.csic.es/">ES CIENCIA</a>, a project which seeks to unite scientific and and political efforts.</p>
<h2>Academic publishing and AI models: a new challenge</h2>
<p>The global academic environment is changing as a result the digital transition and new models of open access. Research into publishers of scientific content in other languages will be essential to understanding this shift. One thing is clear though: making scientific content produced in a particular language visible and searchable online is crucial to ensuring its strength.</p>
<p>In the case of academic books, <a href="https://elpais.com/opinion/2023-06-16/abrir-los-libros.html">the transition to open access has barely begun</a>, especially in the commercial publishing sector, which releases around 80% of scientific books in Spain. As with online publishing, a clear understanding will make it possible to design policies and models that account for the different ways of disseminating scientific research, including those that communicate locally and in other languages. Greater linguistic diversity in book publishing can also allow us to properly recognise the work done by publishers in sharing research among non-English speakers.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/removing-author-fees-can-help-open-access-journals-make-research-available-to-everyone-189675">Removing author fees can help open access journals make research available to everyone</a>
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<p>Making publications, datasets, and other non-linguistic research results easy to find is another vital element, which requires both scientific and technical support. The same applies to expanding the corpus of scientific literature in Spanish and other languages, especially since this feeds into generative artificial intelligence models.</p>
<p>If linguistically diverse scientific content is not incorporated into AI systems, they will spread information that is incomplete, biased or misleading: a recent Spanish government <a href="https://portal.mineco.gob.es/es-es/comunicacion/Paginas/Informe_Corpus_publicaciones.aspx">report on the state of Spanish and co-official languages</a> points out that 90% of the text currently fed into AI is written in English.</p>
<h2>Deep study of terminology is essential</h2>
<p>Research into terminology is of the utmost importance in preventing the use of improvised, imprecise language or unintelligible jargon. It can also bring huge benefits for the quality of both human and machine translations, specialised language teaching, and the indexing and organisation of large volumes of documents. </p>
<p>Terminology work in Spanish is being carried out today thanks to the processing of large language corpuses by AI and researchers in the <a href="https://www.csic.es/es/actualidad-del-csic/el-proyecto-teresia-recuperara-y-fomentara-la-terminologia-en-espanol-aplicando">TeresIA</a> project, a joint effort coordinated by the Spanish National Research Council. However, 15 years of ups and downs were needed to to get such a project off the ground in Spanish. </p>
<p>The Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia, on the other hand, have worked intensively and systematically on their respective languages. They have not only tackled terminology as a public language policy issue, but have also been committed to established terminology projects for a long time.</p>
<h2>Multiligualism is a global issue</h2>
<p>This need for broader diversity also applies to Ibero-America as a whole, where efforts are being coordinated to promote Spanish and Portuguese in academia, notably by the <a href="https://www.segib.org/en/">Ibero-American General Secretariat</a> and the <a href="https://conahcyt.mx/">Mexican National Council of Humanities, Sciences and Technologies</a>. </p>
<p>While this is sorely needed, we cannot promote the region’s two most widely spoken languages and also ignore its diversity of indigenous and co-official languages. These are also involved in the production of knowledge, and are a vehicle for the transfer of scientific information, as demonstrated by efforts in Spain.</p>
<p>Each country has its own unique role to play in promoting greater linguistic diversity in scientific communication. If this can be achieved, the strength of Iberian languages – and all languages, for that matter – in academia will not be at the mercy of well intentioned but sporadic efforts. It will, instead, be the result of the scientific community’s commitment to a culture of knowledge sharing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226198/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elea Giménez Toledo no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.</span></em></p>Around 98% of all research is published in English, posing a serious problem for the global scientific community.Elea Giménez Toledo, Científica titular del Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales (CCHS - CSIC), Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales (CCHS - CSIC)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2238672024-02-22T12:01:17Z2024-02-22T12:01:17ZLearning in two languages: lessons from francophone Africa on what works best<p>Children living in multilingual communities often learn in a language at school that does not match the language they speak at home. This mismatch makes it challenging for them to participate in classroom discussions and learn to read. In turn, this contributes to poor learning outcomes, grade repetition, and dropping out of school.</p>
<p>Bilingual education programmes that include mother tongue languages have become increasingly popular for improving learning outcomes. Bilingual education is associated with better <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728908003386">language and literacy skills</a>, reduced grade repetition and school dropout rates across the <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/10986/10331">globe</a>. Including mother tongue languages in education also places value on children’s cultural identities, improving confidence, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09500789808666737">self-esteem</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-012-9308-2">learning</a>. </p>
<p>But simply providing bilingual education does not guarantee better learning results. This is the conclusion of a recent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2023.2290482">paper</a> we published in which we reviewed bilingual programmes in six francophone west African countries: Niger, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon. </p>
<p>We found mixed results, across and within countries and programmes.</p>
<p>We identified two sets of factors that constrain or contribute to the quality of bilingual education. These were: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>implementation factors, such as teacher training and classroom resources</p></li>
<li><p>socio-cultural factors, such as perceptions of mother tongue languages in education.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Our findings emphasise the need to consider the local context when applying bilingual education programmes. </p>
<h2>Bilingual education in francophone west Africa</h2>
<p>Our research team conducted research in Côte d’Ivoire from 2016 to 2018. We measured children’s language and reading skills in both their mother tongue and in French, and compared outcomes between children attending French-only or bilingual Projet École Intégrée schools. </p>
<p>Children in French-only schools outperformed their peers from bilingual schools on the language and reading <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000723">assessments</a>. Teachers revealed they had better teaching resources and felt better prepared in French-only schools. </p>
<p>We were interested in whether bilingual education programmes in other francophone countries in the region had had similar experiences. In 2022, we searched academic databases for literature in English and French that discussed programme implementation and measured learning and schooling outcomes within bilingual education programmes. We reviewed nine programmes from six countries: Niger, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon. </p>
<p>These countries are former French colonies or territories. French is the official or working language and often the language of instruction in school. However, these countries are highly multilingual. About 23 living <a href="https://www.ethnologue.com/">languages</a> are spoken in Niger, <a href="https://www.languagesoftheworld.info/geolinguistics/linguistic-diversity-in-africa-and-europe.html">39</a> in Senegal, <a href="https://www.languagesoftheworld.info/geolinguistics/linguistic-diversity-in-africa-and-europe.html">68</a> in Mali, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1280625/number-of-living-languages-in-africa-by-country/">71</a> in Burkina Faso, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1280625/number-of-living-languages-in-africa-by-country/">78</a> in Côte d’Ivoire and <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1280625/number-of-living-languages-in-africa-by-country/">277</a> in Cameroon. </p>
<p>Our review showed that children can benefit from learning in two languages. This is true whether they are two official languages like in Cameroon’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-019-09510-7">Dual Curriculum Bilingual Education</a> (French and English) schools, or in a mother tongue and French, like in Mali’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/447544">Community Schools</a>. Children can also benefit regardless of whether they are gradually introduced to a language throughout primary school or whether both languages are introduced at the same time.</p>
<p>But a lack of resources, and a failure to take into account local conditions, affected the outcomes. The programmes that resulted in positive schooling and learning outcomes recognised and targeted common school-related and community-related challenges.</p>
<h2>Teacher training and resources</h2>
<p>One common school-related challenge was teachers not having teaching materials in all languages of instruction.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000161121">Pédagogie Convergente</a> programme in Mali, for example, ensured teachers had materials in both French and the mother tongue. Children had better French and maths scores. </p>
<p>But some teachers from the same programme did not always have teaching <a href="https://books.google.ca/books/about/Patterns_of_French_literacy_development.html?id=MoNnAAAAMAAJ&hl=en&redir_esc=y">materials</a> in mother tongue languages. And some children struggled with literacy and writing skills. </p>
<p>Another common challenge was teachers not feeling prepared to teach in all languages, as teacher training often occurred in an official language, like French. The <a href="https://www.adeanet.org/clearinghouse/sites/default/files/docs/interieur_11_burkina_fre.pdf">Programme d’éducation bilingue</a> in Burkina Faso, for example, made an effort to train teachers in the mother tongue language so they felt confident following the bilingual curriculum. </p>
<p>Children in bilingual Burkina Faso schools had higher than average <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050802149275">pass rates</a> on the primary certificate exam, <a href="https://www.memoireonline.com/06/22/12997/m_Le-rapport-des-enseignants-aux-langues-nationales-en-tant-que-mdiums-et-matires-den.html">repeated grades less</a>, and stayed in school more than children in traditional French schools. </p>
<p>Both examples are in contrast to the bilingual schools in Côte d’Ivoire, where teachers lacked materials and training in mother tongue languages. In turn, children demonstrated worse language and reading skills compared to their peers in French-only schools.</p>
<h2>Socio-cultural factors</h2>
<p>We identified common community-related challenges, particularly related to community buy-in and perceptions of mother tongue instruction. </p>
<p>For example, families with higher socioeconomic status were worried that Niger’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050208667760">Ecole Experimentale</a> schools would hinder children’s French proficiency and compromise their entry into secondary school. </p>
<p>Programmes such as the <a href="https://ared-edu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/DC-Senegal-Workshop-Findings_04.2019-FINAL-ENG.pdf">Support Program for Quality Education in Mother Tongues for Primary Schools</a> in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2020.1765968">Senegal</a> worked to combat negative perceptions by educating families about the benefits of bilingual education. Children in the Senegalese programme outperformed their peers in traditional French schools in all school subjects.</p>
<p>The same programmes sometimes experienced different outcomes depending on the community. For example, although children in Burkina Faso’s bilingual schooling showed favourable outcomes, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-021-09885-y">parents</a> felt that French programmes were better suited for continuing to secondary school. </p>
<h2>What does this mean for bilingual education?</h2>
<p>Efforts to provide teachers with the resources they needed, and efforts to foster community support, were both consistently linked with positive schooling and learning outcomes in our review. </p>
<p>However, these efforts might work better in some communities compared to others, due to different resource constraints and socio-cultural differences. Studies that found poorer outcomes also found common challenges present. Therefore, bilingual education has the potential to facilitate positive learning outcomes if efforts are made to overcome common challenges based on communities’ needs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/223867/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Bilingual education can improve learning outcomes but it’s important to consider local context.Kaja Jasinska, Assistant Professor, Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of TorontoMary-Claire Ball, PhD student, Developmental Psychology and Education, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2082042023-07-05T13:26:30Z2023-07-05T13:26:30ZAfrica’s linguistic diversity goes largely unnoticed in research on multilingualism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533665/original/file-20230623-19-z0z2nh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The African continent is home to some of the world's most multilingual societies.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roxane 134/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Language is a uniquely human skill. That’s why studying how people learn and use language is crucial to understanding what it means to be human. Given that most people in the world – an estimated 60% – <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/life-bilingual/201011/bilingualisms-best-kept-secret">are multilingual</a>, meaning that they know and use more than one language, a researcher who aims to understand language must also grasp how individuals acquire and use multiple languages. </p>
<p>The ubiquity of multilingualism also has practical consequences. For example, in the early schooling years, children <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-africa-prove-the-incredible-value-of-mother-tongue-learning-73307">learn more effectively</a> when they are taught in their mother tongue rather than a second or third language. Research also shows that <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661316301218">people make different decisions</a> depending on whether they are thinking in their first or second language.</p>
<p>The problem is that much of the published research about multilingualism is not conducted in the world’s most multilingual societies. For example, the African continent is home to some of the most multilingual countries in the world. <a href="https://www.ethnologue.com/country/CM/">Cameroon</a> has a population of around 27 million people; over 250 different languages are spoken as first languages, often alongside English and French or both. </p>
<p>Studies of African multilingual contexts are almost non-existent in high-impact scientific journals, however. This matters because it is research published in these journals that receives the most attention globally and is therefore most likely to shape people’s understanding of multilingualism.</p>
<p><a href="https://academic.oup.com/applij/advance-article/doi/10.1093/applin/amad022/7179911">Our recent study</a> provides new empirical evidence of the geographic bias in multilingualism research published in high-impact scientific journals. We show that the regions most commonly studied are not particularly multilingual. The reverse is also true: the most multilingual regions are massively understudied in research on multilingualism.</p>
<h2>A glaring mismatch</h2>
<p>The mismatch that emerged in our research is neatly illustrated in this map.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533660/original/file-20230623-29-xdyrbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533660/original/file-20230623-29-xdyrbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533660/original/file-20230623-29-xdyrbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533660/original/file-20230623-29-xdyrbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533660/original/file-20230623-29-xdyrbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533660/original/file-20230623-29-xdyrbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533660/original/file-20230623-29-xdyrbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533660/original/file-20230623-29-xdyrbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=408&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Two maps showing the disconnect between where multilingual researchers conduct their work (top) and where the world’s most multilingual societies are located.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors supplied</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The top panel presents a world map of the most common sites of multilingualism research; regions that are more commonly studied appear in darker colours. The map shows that North America and Western Europe are the primary locations of research on multilingualism. China and Australia are also fairly well represented. </p>
<p>This is a stark contrast to the bottom panel, which represents the extent of societal multilingualism in different countries. In this map, the shading represents a country’s score on the Linguistic Diversity Index – a measure of the likelihood that two randomly selected individuals from a country will have different first languages. The index ranges from 0 to 1, with largely monolingual societies receiving low scores and largely multilingual societies receiving high scores. </p>
<p>The top and bottom panels are near mirror images of each other: for example, the African continent is almost entirely blank in the top panel and intensely shaded in the bottom panel.</p>
<p>Other highly linguistically diverse regions such as the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia are also underrepresented in the sample as sites of multilingualism research.</p>
<h2>Geographic bias is detrimental</h2>
<p>This geographic bias is not unique to multilingualism research. It <a href="https://theconversation.com/global-south-scholars-are-missing-from-european-and-us-journals-what-can-be-done-about-it-99570">echoes concerns</a> raised in many other scientific fields about the lack of representation of scholars and research locations in the <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2021/09/28/what-or-where-is-the-global-south-a-social-science-perspective/">so-called</a> “global south” (Africa, Latin America, and most countries in Asia and Oceania). </p>
<p>In this case, however, the underrepresentation is particularly detrimental. It is precisely in the global south that multilingualism is most common. The predominance of global north research locations, then, means that much of the knowledge of multilingualism stems from regions that are comparatively monolingual.</p>
<p>This is not to say that no research is being carried out in highly multilingual regions. We ourselves are currently conducting <a href="https://www.psytoolkit.org/c/3.4.4/survey?s=YMxJQ">a large-scale study on multilingualism in South Africa</a>, and we know of several (South) African scientific journals that regularly <a href="https://www.multimargins.ac.za/index.php/mm">publish</a> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rlms20">studies</a> <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rall20/current">conducted</a> in African countries and other linguistically diverse areas. However, studies published in smaller journals may be less likely to shape the field of multilingualism research. </p>
<p>The reduced visibility of research conducted in the global south has a complex web of causes. These include the unequal distribution of resources (like research infrastructure and research funding), as well as bias in the academic publishing system, which is <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2119373119">dominated</a> by global north institutions and publishing houses. </p>
<p>As a consequence of this imbalance, the global north is often seen as the “default” site for research, while global south settings are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-023-01999-w">perceived</a> as specific and a source of knowledge that is not generalisable to other contexts. This is simply untrue.</p>
<h2>Tackling the problem</h2>
<p>To address the geographic bias that we have identified, the systemic inequalities in academia will need to be targeted. In the meantime, we are pleased to see the smaller steps that are already being taken.</p>
<p>One is increasing the visibility of the research that is being conducted in the global south. An example of an attempt to do this is the 2023 edition of the International Symposium on Bilingualism, which has as its theme “<a href="https://www.isb14.com/">Diversity Now</a>”. Furthermore, several high-impact journals have issued <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/annual-review-of-applied-linguistics/article/sampling-bias-and-the-problem-of-generalizability-in-applied-linguistics/5218D7603611D668EFF7B9FC1581E7DC">calls for studies</a> conducted outside of the typical North American and western European settings. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00150-2">Big team science</a>, in which many scientists spread across institutions and locations work together, and collaboration between north and south will also help. With these and similar efforts, the field ought to diversify in the years to come and thus increase the validity of our knowledge of the human capacity for language.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208204/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Studies of African multilingual contexts are almost non-existent in high-impact scientific journals.Robyn Berghoff, Lecturer in General Linguistics, Stellenbosch UniversityEmanuel Bylund, Professor of General Linguistics, Stellenbosch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1962662023-01-08T13:26:21Z2023-01-08T13:26:21ZSupporting minority languages requires more than token gestures<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503327/original/file-20230105-12-dlbbtf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C77%2C7315%2C4825&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Language policy in Canada suggests misunderstanding among government officials and the general public about language use, international language rights and their implications.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In August 2022, Statistics Canada released the latest census data on languages in Canada. According to the data, <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220817/dq220817a-eng.htm">over nine million people — or one in four Canadians</a> — has a mother tongue other than English or French (a record high since the 1901 census). </p>
<p><a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-627-m/11-627-m2022051-eng.htm">Twelve per cent of Canadians</a> speak a language other than English or French at home. Statistics Canada observes that the country’s linguistic diversity will likely continue to grow into the future.</p>
<p>Yet, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bill-96-explained-1.6460764">recent developments</a> in language policy and practices in Canada reveal that there is confusion and misunderstanding among government officials and the general public about language use, international language rights and their implications.</p>
<p>In Canada, there must be greater understanding of the cultural and linguistic rights of minorities. According to universally accepted human rights, persons belonging to majorities and minorities should have equal rights. Minorities are entitled to equal conditions and services to enable them to maintain their identity, culture and language.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503328/original/file-20230105-2013-1d6fbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A white street sign in the English and Inuit languages that reads: Mittimatalil." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503328/original/file-20230105-2013-1d6fbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503328/original/file-20230105-2013-1d6fbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503328/original/file-20230105-2013-1d6fbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503328/original/file-20230105-2013-1d6fbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503328/original/file-20230105-2013-1d6fbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503328/original/file-20230105-2013-1d6fbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503328/original/file-20230105-2013-1d6fbf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A street sign in the English and Inuit languages at Pond Inlet on Baffin Island, Nvt.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The 1966 <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights">International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights</a>, a human rights treaty to which Canada is a party, provides that “In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.”</p>
<p>The 1992 <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/declaration-rights-persons-belonging-national-or-ethnic">UN Declaration on Minorities</a> clarifies and expands on this treaty provision. It stipulates that UN member states should enact legislative and other measures to protect minority identities.</p>
<h2>Confusing words</h2>
<p>Two words <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-003-1024-0">are often confused</a> in Canada: integration and assimilation. When speaking about immigrants and refugees, <a href="https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-2.5/page-1.html#h-274085">Canadian law’s stated objective is integration</a>. And the default framework for integration is the majority culture and language. </p>
<p>Non-anglophone and non-francophone immigrants are expected to adapt and conform to the Canadian way of doing things, learn Canadian history, celebrate Canadian holidays and speak in one or both of Canada’s official languages.</p>
<p>But these languages reflect the cultures of Canada’s two historically dominant groups. For many Indigenous people and immigrants, histories, holidays and languages differ from the majority of Canadians.</p>
<p>Involuntary assimilation is <a href="https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G05/133/85/PDF/G0513385.pdf?OpenElement">prohibited under international law</a>. This is a colonialist and imperialist practice which ultimately forces people to alter or surrender their identity, culture and dissolve into the majority. </p>
<p>Canada’s notorious <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/residential-schools">residential schools</a> were one of the harshest examples of such assimilationist policies. Other essentially assimilationist practices continue to this day. For example, the law states that provinces must provide education to English or French-speaking minorities <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/check/art23.html">in their own language</a>. But there is no similar legislation for Indigenous languages, nor for those spoken by people who immigrate from all around the world. These policies will increasingly conflict with growing diversity as <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63643912">Canada seeks to welcome 1.5 million immigrants</a> over the next three years.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/language-learning-in-canada-needs-to-change-to-reflect-superdiverse-communities-144037">Language learning in Canada needs to change to reflect 'superdiverse' communities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In contrast, <a href="https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/0/9/96883.pdf">integration</a> is based on recognition of diversity. Integration is a two-way process through which minorities and majorities learn about and engage with each other’s cultures and languages. </p>
<p>While maintaining their own distinctiveness, majority and minority groups contribute to shared foundations and institutions of the society out of common interest and for mutual benefit. This is important for the many individuals who possess multiple or overlapping identities.</p>
<p>In 2012, the <a href="https://www.osce.org/">Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe</a>, of which Canada is a participating state, released <a href="https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/0/9/96883.pdf">Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies</a>, in which it explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Integration is a process that requires that all members of a given society accept common public institutions and have a shared sense of belonging to a common State and an inclusive society. This does not exclude the possibility of distinct identities, which are constantly evolving, multiple and contextual. Mechanisms aiming at mutual accommodation are essential to negotiate the legitimate claims put forward by different groups or communities.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Integration requires accommodation of diversity. It also means that governments should invest proportionally in the promotion of majority and minority cultures and languages with a view to facilitating full lives in dignity and equal rights for everyone. This requires more than token support for cultural activities such as traditional food and dance.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503326/original/file-20230105-22-y6z2o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="People at a protest carry signs featuring the number 96 with a red line across it." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503326/original/file-20230105-22-y6z2o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/503326/original/file-20230105-22-y6z2o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503326/original/file-20230105-22-y6z2o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503326/original/file-20230105-22-y6z2o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503326/original/file-20230105-22-y6z2o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503326/original/file-20230105-22-y6z2o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/503326/original/file-20230105-22-y6z2o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People take part in a protest against Bill 96 in Montréal. Québec’s language law reform, known as Bill 96, forbids provincial government agencies and municipalities from using languages other than French.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is also confusion around the issue of minority language status. In Canada there is a common belief that the only minority language(s) entitled to protection are the ones with official or other recognized status. But according to international human rights principles, all minority cultures and languages should be protected <a href="https://ap.ohchr.org/documents/E/GA/report/A_74_160.pdf">regardless of whether they hold “official” status</a>. </p>
<p>This means that the languages of Indigenous Peoples as well as of other people living in Canada should be acknowledged and facilitated. This is essential for their well-being and for genuine equality in rights.</p>
<h2>Not a zero-sum game</h2>
<p>Genuine integration should respect and promote diversity in the languages used in various contexts of public life. This does not necessarily require changing the number and status of official languages; it’s not a zero-sum game. But it does require adjusting language policies to reconcile with existing realities in reasonable and meaningful ways. The aim is real and effective equality. </p>
<p>Technological innovations (such as easily accessible <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2020/02/05/translation-tech-solutions-language-barriers-google-translate-interpreter/4596091002/">real-time translation</a>) make this more possible and cost-effective than ever.</p>
<p>In order to live together peacefully and embrace diversity, Canadians need to understand that languages are not just a means of technical communication, but are often at the core of people’s identity and culture. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/residential-day-school-survivors-who-lost-language-and-culture-seek-redress-1.3032862">Taking away a person’s language</a> often amounts to taking away their sense of self, dignity and community belonging. It also suppresses the remarkable linguistic assets that Canada possesses.</p>
<p>Building a Canadian nation through assimilation of minorities in the face of increasing diversity only generates social tensions and conflicts. It is not democracy, it is majoritarianism. It is contrary to fundamental human rights and signals social regression rather than progress. </p>
<p>Instead, Canada should foster a forward-looking, human-centred and dynamic society that embraces diversity, multiculturalism and multilingualism. This is to our advantage. Canada’s rich linguistic diversity is an asset that should be valued. We must cast off the old colonialist thinking and seize the rich possibilities that are at hand.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196266/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Veaceslav Balan is a member of the University of Ottawa Human Rights Research and Education Centre.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frederick John Packer receives funding from SSHRC. He is affiliated with a number of human rights NGOs including Human Rights Watch (Canada Committee) and the International Commission of Jurists (Canada Section). </span></em></p>Canada’s population is more diverse than ever, with many different languages represented. Government policy must reflect that diversity and offer meaningful support to minority languages.Veaceslav Balan, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Law, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaFrederick John Packer, Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1961772022-12-22T06:56:13Z2022-12-22T06:56:13ZFoster children can easily lose their first language – but giving it a place in daily life can make a big difference<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501884/original/file-20221219-18-gu2pjc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C0%2C4787%2C3554&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/brunette-hispanic-girl-looking-stressed-nervous-1158435247">Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine a ten-year-old girl who has been through things no child should ever have to endure. She is told that there is a nice couple who will take care of her, but she’s heard that before, and has learned not to trust it. </p>
<p>She arrives at her new home, clutching her beloved skateboard like a security blanket. The chap who opens the door smiles and says, “I skate a bit, too.” (In case you missed it, this is a scene from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z0jfP2gCIs">this year’s much-discussed John Lewis Christmas ad</a>.)</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1z0jfP2gCIs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The 2022 John Lewis Christmas advert.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Now imagine that English isn’t the mother tongue of the child in this scenario. She may have been going to school in the UK since she was four and speak English fluently. But she has another language, too, the one her parents spoke and that she said her first words in. </p>
<p>This language likely serves a similar function for that child as the skateboard in the John Lewis ad. It is both her security blanket and her superpower. </p>
<p>It is part of her identity, <a href="https://foreignish.net/the-shame-of-forgetting-my-mother-tongue/">representing who she is and where she comes from</a>. But it is also the particular gift that may have allowed her to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/chso.12485">facilitate daily life for her birth parents</a> by acting as their translator – at the bank, at the doctor, with the teacher. </p>
<p>However, her new foster parents speak only English.</p>
<p>Children in this situation will almost certainly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/21/welsh-language-part-me-slipping-away">lose their first language</a>. This loss may not occur not slowly and imperceptibly, a few words at a time, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/34745/chapter-abstract/296584500?redirectedFrom=fulltext">but with frightening speed and finality</a>. </p>
<h2>Language loss</h2>
<p>Within a couple of months, they may struggle to <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bilingualism-language-and-cognition/article/abs/deserted-island-or-a-childs-first-language-forgetting/20ABECB1BB396C4E30F02FFB92BB0DF3">recall basic words</a>. Shortly after that, they are likely to need an interpreter to talk to family members. This fundamentally changes the already difficult child-parent relationship, threatening any sense of closeness and familiarity with birth parents or grandparents. </p>
<p>We frequently see such developments in our <a href="https://languageattrition.org/multilingual-children-in-the-british-foster-care-system/">ongoing research project</a> at the University of York, in which we investigate the language experience of <a href="https://york.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4IXpo3LNPhVajiu">current</a> and <a href="https://york.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eeteEcRGCr5DcvY">former foster children</a> from homes where a language other than English was spoken, their caregivers, and their birth parents. Those involved with multilingual children in foster care often speak about how helpless they feel in the face of this deterioration, such <a href="https://l1attrition.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/cojocaruc-ma-thesis.pdf">an interpreter</a> who was brought in to facilitate communication between a mother and her young son:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was quite heartbreaking watching this child … going from a very loving little boy with his mom, to the point where he just kept saying, I don’t understand you. … The mother couldn’t understand the child, the child couldn’t understand the mother. And after a while … I think that child then became really, really confused. It was a very sort of artificial conversation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Research demonstrates the vulnerability of birth language knowledge. Ten-year-old children may be proficient and fluent speakers of their home language, but <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-child-language/article/abs/losing-a-language-in-childhood-a-longitudinal-case-study-on-language-attrition/A4FD969ACE6E955DF5C1CDB924A9E872">they forget it within months</a> if they don’t use it daily. </p>
<p>Some studies have found that if they try to re-learn it later, they have virtually <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2390909/">no advantage</a> over adults who have no experience with that language, and who are learning it from scratch. This loss <a href="https://nautil.us/the-strange-persistence-of-first-languages-235672/">can have deep psychological consequences</a> and cause a lasting sense of non-belonging, dislocation and shame. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Sad girl looking out of window" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501882/original/file-20221219-22-1srmrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501882/original/file-20221219-22-1srmrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501882/original/file-20221219-22-1srmrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501882/original/file-20221219-22-1srmrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501882/original/file-20221219-22-1srmrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501882/original/file-20221219-22-1srmrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/501882/original/file-20221219-22-1srmrc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Losing a language can be very psychologically difficult.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/6-years-old-asian-girl-sad-1161468844">Mama Belle and the kids/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Given the scarcity of resources, it is understandable that the British foster care system cannot easily accommodate the linguistic needs of the nearly <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/bulletins/languageenglandandwales/census2021#language-england-and-wales-data">10% of the population</a> using one of more than 100 languages other than English as a main language. Protecting children from immediate physical or psychological harm by placing them in care understandably takes priority. </p>
<p>While local authorities may have guidance for foster carers looking after a child whose first language is not English, there is currently <a href="https://l1attrition.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/cojocaruc-ma-thesis.pdf">no national policy</a> outlining if or what kind of support should be given to children who speak a minority home language.</p>
<h2>Making a difference</h2>
<p>When the language background of the child is taken into account and <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiXx9HJwIX8AhUwSUEAHdq7Cw4QFnoECAoQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fl1attrition.files.wordpress.com%2F2017%2F11%2Fmy-languages-matter-the-multilingual-outlook-for-children-in-care.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2UDf5JdAu5UF2Sso5kaQaU">some sort of provision</a> is made in the fostering environment, this may have enormous benefits for the relation between carer and child. It can also help the continued relationship between the child and their birth family. </p>
<p>Even carers who are themselves not familiar with the language can do small things that mean a lot: reading books or watching films together, or giving the language a small place in daily life. Adopting some words for everyday household or food items, for instance, could serve to keep the door to the language open, and later facilitate re-learning.</p>
<p>In terms of a “long-term commitment to the future of children in care”, as the John Lewis ad puts it, this is an effort that is <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19313152.2014.911052">very much worthwhile</a>. A simple thing such as saying the first words to the child in their own language as they arrives at the carer’s house can show that the foster parents understand its double role as their security blanket and superpower.</p>
<p>Plus, learning words in a new language is much less physically dangerous than taking up skateboarding.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196177/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monika Schmid receives funding from ESRC and AHRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Beverley Costa is affiliated with The Pásalo Project <a href="https://www.pasaloproject.org/about.html">https://www.pasaloproject.org/about.html</a>.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claudia Cojocaru does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Children may struggle to recall basic words in their first language within a couple of months of stopping using it.Monika Schmid, Professor of Linguistics, University of YorkBeverley Costa, Senior Practitioner Fellow in the Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication, Birkbeck, University of LondonClaudia Cojocaru, Postgraduate Researcher in Psycholinguistics, University of YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1956782022-12-05T13:44:17Z2022-12-05T13:44:17Z2021 census shows English decreasing as main language but masks England and Wales’ true diversity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498532/original/file-20221201-18-ucc1x0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=118%2C0%2C4802%2C3253&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Multicultural Tooting High Street, London. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/london-tooting-high-street-south-west-729198901">William Barton/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/ethnicgroupnationalidentitylanguageandreligioncensus2021inenglandandwales">latest release of data</a> from the 2021 census has given us new information about the languages people speak across England and Wales. There is <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/bulletins/languageenglandandwales/census2021">growing linguistic diversity</a>: over 90 different languages were reported as the main language of people living in England and Wales. </p>
<p>However, the ways in which the census asked people about their language use and language proficiency call into question the accuracy and relevance of the data. Many more people may speak additional languages than recorded in the census.</p>
<p>The 2021 census revealed that the proportion of residents who speak English (or English or Welsh in Wales) as their main language has <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/bulletins/languageenglandandwales/census2021#main-languages-in-england-and-wales">decreased since the last census</a>, falling from 92.3% to 91.1%. This means that 8.9% of residents of England and Wales – over 5 million people – speak another language other than English or Welsh as their main language. </p>
<p>The top ten other languages spoken by residents were Polish, Romanian, Panjabi, Urdu, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Bengali, Gujarati and Italian. </p>
<p><strong>Percentage of people who reported English (English or Welsh in Wales) as a main language in the 2021 census, by local authority:</strong></p>
<iframe height="570px" width="100%" src="https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps/choropleth/identity/main-language-detailed/main-language-detailed-23a/english-english-or-welsh-if-in-wales?embed=true&embedInteractive=true&embedAreaSearch=true&embedCategorySelection=false&embedView=geography"></iframe>
<p>However, these figures mask wide variation in language use. The <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/censustransformationprogramme/questiondevelopment/census2021paperquestionnaires">2021 census asked people</a>, “What is your main language?” with the options given as “English” (“English or Welsh” in Wales) or “other”. If they answered “other”, respondents were asked to give their main language, and also asked, “How well can you speak English?”</p>
<p>People who reported English as their main language were not able to list any additional languages that they spoke. People who answered “other” were also only able to list one language, and then were asked their English language proficiency, with categories ranging from “Can speak English very well” to “Cannot speak English”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1367526620635033606"}"></div></p>
<p>The census language question required bilingual and multilingual people – who may have grown up speaking one or more languages at home and others at school or with their friends – to choose between their languages. </p>
<p><a href="http://ceemr.uw.edu.pl/sites/default/files/CEEMR_Vol_5_No_1_Moskal_Sime_Polish_Migrant_Childrens_Transcultural_Lives.pdf">Research</a> has shown that multilingual people may already experience conflict around language use and identity in their daily lives. They have to negotiate the requirement to use English at work or school alongside desires to maintain community languages and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2021.2003302">connections to their families and heritage</a>. </p>
<p>For some people, their “main language” could be the language they spend most of their time speaking. For others, it may be the language they feel best <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14649360120073860">represents their identity</a>.</p>
<p>A person who speaks five different languages would only be able to report English or Welsh and one other language, or just English if they consider English their main language. This means that the number of speakers of languages other than English or Welsh could be dramatically underestimated in the 2021 census.</p>
<h2>A different picture</h2>
<p>This is clear in the differences between the language data from the census and that reported by schools. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/complete-the-school-census/census-dates">All schools in England</a> are required to complete a termly census recording demographic information about their pupils and staff. </p>
<p>In 2020-21, <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics">19.5% of pupils in schools in England</a> were recorded as having a first language other than English. There is a significant discrepancy between this figure and the <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/bulletins/languageenglandandwales/census2021#main-languages-in-england-and-wales">9.2% of residents in England</a> who are recorded as speaking a language other than English as their main language in the 2021 census. </p>
<p>It is unlikely that there is a significantly higher proportion of speakers of other languages in school-aged pupils than across the general population. This is because children are likely to live with family members who also speak the same additional language or languages. </p>
<p>My <a href="https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/mgsdtp/studentprofiles/ellenbishop/">own research</a> with pupils in diverse schools has shown that many multilingual young people communicate in several languages in different environments and with different people. Pupils spend so many of their waking hours at school communicating in English that they may consider it their “main language”. But the national census may not fully capture the additional languages they may speak at home, with friends, in their places of worship, or in phone calls with relatives overseas.</p>
<p>The UK census data is used by <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011census/2011censusbenefits/howothersusecensusdata">many different people and industries</a>, including government departments, public sector organisations, local authorities, charities, community groups, businesses and researchers. Census data informs important decision making at local, regional, and national levels around <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011census/whywehaveacensus">public services</a>, such as education, healthcare, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-skewed-journey-to-work-census-data-heres-how-city-planners-can-make-the-best-of-it-189071">transport</a>. It is imperative that census data is accurate to inform decisions and policies. </p>
<p>Regarding language specifically, organisations need a reliable picture of the languages spoken in the UK population and their language needs. This information helps them to plan and provide appropriate translation services, educational support for speakers of other languages, and <a href="https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/london-underground-stations-bilingual-signs-23438741">translated signage</a> and documentation. </p>
<p>Linguistic inclusivity is also important to make speakers of other languages feel valued and part of <a href="https://www.bell-foundation.org.uk/app/uploads/2020/06/Churchill-Report-2020-FV-web.pdf">multicultural British society</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195678/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ellen Bishop received funding from the ESRC MGS for her PhD studies, and her current postdoc is funded by the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account. </span></em></p>The way questions on language were posed call the results into question.Ellen Bishop, Postdoctoral Innovation Associate (Human Geography), University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1946832022-11-30T16:35:31Z2022-11-30T16:35:31ZCould the Netherlands crack the secret of language learning using this approach?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497700/original/file-20221128-20-kjjanz.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C627&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">file okebk</span> </figcaption></figure><p>From the UK government’s latest <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/reforms-to-encourage-more-students-to-take-up-language-gcses">post-Brexit language-learning reforms</a> to France’s eternal debates over the <a href="https://www.slate.fr/story/179265/reforme-enseignement-langues-vivantes-etrangeres-lycee">supposed linguistic inadequacy of its youth</a>, governments regularly scratch their heads over how to improve how languages are taught.</p>
<p>While the Netherlands carried out a <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/eujal-2020-0020/html">major reform</a> to its modern foreign language education as early as 1968, the current courses are seen by many as no longer preparing students well enough for the modern world. The baccalaureate exams do not test students’ actual skills and knowledge so much as their ability to strategically answer multiple-choice questions.</p>
<p>This is particularly true for modern languages, where the final exam – a reading-comprehension exercise – receives hundreds of complaints from students who find it either <a href="https://nos.nl/artikel/2236117-opnieuw-ophef-over-niveau-vwo-examen-frans-verdrietig-de-zaal-uit">too difficult or too ambiguous</a>.</p>
<p>In the Netherlands, French is compulsory for students from age 11 to 15, yet a declining number continue to study it beyond that age. In such a context, educators in the Netherlands are asking how other methods might better meet the needs of students. Supported by many teacher trainers in the
country and the <a href="http://etc-languagelearning.web.rug.nl/">language learning team</a> at the University of Groningen, a <a href="https://prezi.com/view/DvEQLkR9O8wZP4Ev4qPY/">usage-based approach</a> to French has gained ground.</p>
<h2>The Dutch and French</h2>
<p>As in many European countries, Dutch students are frequently exposed to English, but that’s not the case with French. The language is spoken by 70 million people in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Monaco, Franco-Dutch firms do <a href="https://platformfrans.nl/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Het-economisch-belang-van-het-Frans-2022.pdf">40 million euros in business annually</a>, and organisations such as the <a href="https://institutfrancais.nl/">French Institute</a> and <a href="https://www.cfci.nl/la-chambre/roles-et-missions.html">CCI France Netherlands</a> provide support, yet for students there are few situations outside the classroom that <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/eujal-2020-0020/html">afford the opportunity to practice</a> the language informally.</p>
<p>Researcher Marjolijn Voogel indicates the perceived <a href="https://lt-tijdschriften.nl/ojs/index.php/ltm/article/view/1550">importance of speaking French</a> in the Netherlands is declining. Despite studying French for six years at school, the students’ overall level is not proportional to the work they put in, according to <a href="https://projectfrans.nl/storage/Informatie/Publicaties/Hoe_Frans_terrein_kan_terugwinnen.pdf">Wim Gombert</a>, a researcher in applied linguistics.</p>
<p>These results are similar to those found in France, which also suffers from an environment with limited opportunities for regular use of foreign languages and teaching methods based on <a href="https://lt-tijdschriften.nl/ojs/index.php/ltt/article/view/1631">grammar and translation</a>. And this despite the fact that teachers regularly look to modernise their courses, organise trips and use digital technologies, as Lynne West and Marjolijn Verspoor note.</p>
<p>In response to this situation, one of the initiatives has been the development and implementation of several usage-based inspired methodologies such as the <a href="https://www.aimlanguagelearning.com/">Accelerative Integrated Method (AIM)</a> invented by Wendy Maxwell in Canada. They’re found most often in primary and secondary schools (about 100) but also in <a href="https://projectfrans.nl/aim-voor-de-bovenbouw">secondary schools</a> (about four schools) and finally at the <a href="https://taalwijs.nu/2022/10/24/hoe-kan-taalonderwijs-leerlingen-en-studenten-helpen-om-zelfstandig-te-worden/">University of Groningen</a>.</p>
<h2>Access to the language outside the classroom</h2>
<p>AIM methods are inspired by research on <a href="https://benjamins.com/catalog/lllt.29">dynamic usage theory</a>, which considers languages to be a collection of words shaped first and foremost by socialisation. Language learning happens through repeated exposure via creative activities and real-life tasks, rather than grammar rules and vocabulary lists.</p>
<p>Stories (in primary and middle school), creative and non-fiction texts, or videos (in high school) and films (in university) are central to the approach. In addition, high school and university students use learning software such as <a href="https://www.fluentu.com/">Fluent U</a> or <a href="https://www.slimstampen.nl/">SlimStampen</a>. </p>
<p>Students take quizzes several times a week and the software remembers words that are not acquired. They’re then reintroduced into the following work sessions until they’re firmly embedded. The idea is that students <a href="https://webtv.univ-rouen.fr/videos/conference-dylis-daudrey-rousse-malpat-du-18102021-decoupage/">learn vocabulary in context</a> rather than simply memorise it. </p>
<p>In the classroom, the activities are varied and focus on listening and speaking. The aim is first to reduce the anxiety linked to speaking by de-dramatising what are typically seen as errors. Repetition is emphasised until responses are integrated and become automatic. The activities are mostly done in groups so that the learners develop a certain self-confidence. Individual language development happens throughout, and mutual aid is encouraged.</p>
<p>By focusing on the meaning of language and not its form, each learner can use their own linguistic repertoire and learn from the repertoire of others. At the same time, each learner can work individually on linguistic weaknesses. </p>
<h2>The decentred role of the teacher</h2>
<p>This way of working gives a new role to teachers. Instead of being the only transmitters of knowledge, language models and evaluators in the classroom, they provide resources, organise activities that encourage repetition and language automation, and create an environment conducive to practice. Collaboration takes place between learners in the target language, ensuring it is used most of the time. The teacher is also the one who determines learners’ individual or collective needs and offers activities to meet them.</p>
<p>Teachers also play a key role in organising peer feedback, testing language skills and assessing the learners’ state of development – the strengths and the elements that each one needs to work on. The method moves away from counting students’ “errors”.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HB4WXDWqeCs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Webinar “Innovative language teaching methods”, with Audrey Rousse-Malpat.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this regard, teachers need to <a href="https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/Language-Learning-and-Teaching-in-a-Multilingual-World/?k=9781788927611">move away from the way they learned the language</a> – and sometimes even from their personal beliefs. Their actions will be all the more relevant if they understand how language develops from a <a href="https://eboutique.didierfle.com/fr/FR/products/cognition-et-personnalite-dans-l-apprentissage-de-langues-2019-livre-numerique">social and psycho-cognitive point of view</a>, and consider how and when to intervene.</p>
<p>Several studies have shown the benefits of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3AmZRkdXSA">usage-based inspired methodologies</a> on learners’ listening, speaking, and writing skills. These methods are underpinned by the idea that the language speaker is a <a href="https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2019/05/26/kesku-se-een-nieuw-soort-franse-les-a3961620">social agent</a> rather than a grammarian.</p>
<p>What is happening in the Netherlands shows the relevance of the research and education communities working together to experiment with and implement methods that are based on contemporary scientific knowledge about language and languages.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194683/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Audrey Rousse-Malpat has received funding from NWO (the national research organisation in the Netherlands). She works as a professor of language and language didactics at the University of Groningen and is a teacher trainer at Project Frans.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Grégory Miras ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Language-learning research in the Netherlands has determined that using a foreign language rather than just memorizing its grammar can transform how students progress.Grégory Miras, Professeur des Universités en didactique des langues, Université de LorraineAudrey Rousse-Malpat, Assistant Professor of language learning at the program European Languages and Cultures, University of GroningenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1943002022-11-22T17:31:54Z2022-11-22T17:31:54Z‘Still here’: Welsh world cup song Yma o Hyd and how the language is adapting to survive<p>The official Wales song for the <a href="https://www.faw.cymru/en/news/watch-music-video-yma-o-hyd-dafydd-iwan-ar-log-and-red-wall/?back=/en/news/&pos=7">FIFA Men’s World Cup 2022</a> is “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43Fag8ZQcz4"><em>Yma o Hyd</em></a>” (“Still here”), a protest song first released by Dafydd Iwan and Ar Lôg in 1983. Its unashamedly patriotic verses describe the adversity that Welsh people have endured over the centuries, including:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Byddwn yma hyd ddiwedd amser, <br> a bydd yr iaith Gymraeg yn fyw. <br> (We’ll be here until the end of time, <br> and the Welsh language will be alive.)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Welsh government has a <a href="https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-12/cymraeg-2050-welsh-language-strategy.pdf">language strategy</a> that aims to have a million people speaking Welsh by 2050. And it seems to be working: recently on TV channel S4C, <a href="https://jambori.urdd.cymru">230,000 children</a> from more than 1,000 schools across Wales sang “<em>Yma o Hyd</em>” together at the same time. They included children not only from Welsh-speaking households or so-called Welsh-speaking heartlands, but from across Wales. </p>
<p>The Welsh language, Cymraeg, has changed linguistically a lot over the centuries, which means the words, sounds and grammar used today are very different to 1,000 years ago. Welsh will continue to change – and if we want to see and hear a living Welsh language in the future, its grammar changing isn’t something that should worry us.</p>
<h2>Still here</h2>
<p>As “<em>Yma o Hyd</em>” suggests, Welsh has survived despite opposition. It is only in the past few decades that Welsh has regained a degree of social prestige, being now taught in schools across the country. Some of the children singing might not have even heard much Welsh had they been born a few generations ago. So the coming together of thousands of children singing in Welsh in 2022 is no small thing.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1590778063628951552"}"></div></p>
<p>Welsh is a minority language, spoken by perhaps <a href="https://gov.wales/welsh-language-data-annual-population-survey-july-2021-june-2022#:%7E:text=For%20the%20year%20ending%2030,to%20around%2013%2C700%20more%20people">one-third of the Welsh population</a>, having been stigmatised for many centuries. Stigma is the opposite of prestige, and in the case of Welsh it has been treated as subservient to English since <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/periods/tudors_04.shtml">at least the time of Henry VIII</a>. English was for a long time considered the language of formality and officialdom, while Welsh was the language of the home and the street. </p>
<h2>Contact between two languages</h2>
<p>Language contact happens when speakers of different languages coexist in the same community – and, the longer the contact, the more intense and intertwined it becomes. Welsh has been in contact with English since the early middle ages, and although Welsh remained the language of most of Wales until the late 19th century, factors such as industrialisation and migration changed the demographics. Now every Welsh speaker also speaks English. They are what we call bilinguals or multilinguals.</p>
<p>When languages are socially in intense contact like this – and especially where bilingualism is common – we can see those languages influence each other linguistically. That means changes to the sounds, syntax or words. And a minority language will typically be affected more by a majority language’s grammar than vice versa.</p>
<p>An aspect of the influence of English on Welsh grammar that I study is how people use multiple languages in the same conversation. In linguistics, this is called code-switching. Here are two examples from <a href="http://siarad.org.uk/speakers.php?c=siarad">the casual speech of Welsh-English bilinguals</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Oedd hi’n edrych yn STUNNING. <br>(<a href="http://siarad.org.uk/glossed.php?c=siarad&file=fusser30">She looked <em>stunning</em></a>.)<br></p>
<p>Pan dach chi’n defnyddio WIDE-ANGLE LENSES dach chi’n EMPHASISE-io’r FOREGROUND. <br>(When you use <em>wide-angle</em> <em>lenses</em> you <a href="http://siarad.org.uk/glossed.php?c=siarad&file=fusser17"><em>emphasise</em> the <em>foreground</em></a>.)<br></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Code-switching is very common in the speech of Welsh people, although it’s associated more with speaking informally than formal speech. It’s also something that some Welsh speakers have a negative attitude towards. There is even a term, <a href="https://www.wordsense.eu/bratiaith/"><em>bratiaith</em></a> (literally “ragged language”), which is sometimes used to describe code-switching, contrasted with “pure” Welsh speech that doesn’t contain English words.</p>
<p>My colleagues and I at Bangor University recorded conversations between Welsh-English bilingual participants and analysed their speech for code-switching. <a href="https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutputs/building-and-using-the-siarad-corpus(01ce0a97-a4cd-4eea-8697-8ba78b76c949).html">We found</a> that, although switching was found in almost everyone’s speech, the grammar of the sentences that contained code-switching was almost always Welsh. </p>
<h2>Language patterns</h2>
<p>Welsh and English have different grammatical structures, such as the order in which words go in a sentence – like where an adjective goes when it is describing a noun. A speaker who inserts, say, an English adjective to modify a Welsh noun has to make a (perhaps unconscious) choice of whether to put that adjective before the noun, which would be the English pattern, or to put it after the noun and use the Welsh pattern. </p>
<p>Almost always, our participants used adjectives in keeping with the Welsh pattern, like the English word <em>Egyptian</em> modifying the Welsh word <em>bethau</em> (“things”) in <a href="http://siarad.org.uk/glossed.php?c=siarad&file=fusser27">this example</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>‘CAUSE hwnna wnaeth atgoffa fi fod ‘na bethau EGYPTIAN yno. <br>('Cause that’s what reminded me that there are Egyptian things there.)<br></p>
</blockquote>
<p>We found throughout our data that speakers stuck with Welsh grammar, despite inserting some words from English. And the majority of the words they spoke were Welsh. Put another way, even though code-switching is happening, they are still clearly speaking Welsh.</p>
<p>If the government’s ambition of a million Welsh speakers is to succeed, then we will need not just those people who speak “pure Welsh”, but people that speak Welsh however they wish – even if that means switching in and out of English while doing so. </p>
<p>The presenters and guests on the videos on the S4C-funded Youtube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/HanshS4C">Hansh</a>, aimed at a young adult audience, are a great example of people speaking Welsh and effortlessly switching between Welsh and English. This is now, for many, what colloquial Welsh sounds like, and research suggests that it’s no negative thing for the future of the language. </p>
<p>So if Dafydd Iwan is right, and Welsh will endure until the end of time, then it’s good to embrace the Welsh language today in all its many forms, however it is spoken.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194300/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peredur Webb-Davies works for Bangor University and has received research grant funding in the past from the ESRC and Research Council UK. </span></em></p>Speakers of minority languages (like Welsh) often insert words from a majority language (like English) while speaking.Peredur Webb-Davies, Senior Lecturer in Welsh Linguistics, Bangor UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1890962022-08-29T18:05:17Z2022-08-29T18:05:17ZIs it important to post election signs in languages other than French in Québec?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/481629/original/file-20220829-24-109am8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C0%2C4550%2C2997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Coalition Avenir Québec Leader François Legault launches his campaign at the Montmorency Falls with candidates, Aug. 28, 2022 in Québec City.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/is-it-important-to-post-election-signs-in-languages-other-than-french-in-quebec" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>In electoral campaigns, election signs help candidates market themselves. But does the language of an election sign matter in a multilingual society?</p>
<p>This question is relevant in Québec, especially as the province begins <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-2022-election-campaign-start-1.6564813">its fall election campaign</a>. </p>
<p>While Québec is predominantly French-speaking, the population of potential voters in Québec is linguistically diverse. According <a href="https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm">to the 2021 census</a>, 93.7 per cent of Quebecers know French, but 28.2 per cent speak a language other than French at home. And the majority of the population <a href="https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/as-sa/fogs-spg/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Dguid=2021A000224&topic=6">knows more than one language</a> — 14.5 per cent know three or more. This makes Québec the province with the most bilingual and multilingual people in Canada. </p>
<h2>Languages on election signs</h2>
<p>Despite that linguistic diversity, Québec’s political parties post few signs in languages other than French during campaigns. In fact, our research — yet to be published — shows that over the last 100 years, less than 10 per cent of political signs posted in the province were bilingual or in English. </p>
<p>The majority of signs were in French or did not convey a particular message other than the name of the candidate, party or riding. </p>
<p>Our findings also show that the presence of English on election signs has fluctuated over time. For example, 22 per cent of signs had some English on them in the 1950s and ‘60s. This percentage fell to 2 per cent from the 1970s to 2000s, followed by a timid resurgence of English in the 2010s. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480924/original/file-20220824-10117-wneb24.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Languages on election signs by decade in Québec" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480924/original/file-20220824-10117-wneb24.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480924/original/file-20220824-10117-wneb24.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480924/original/file-20220824-10117-wneb24.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480924/original/file-20220824-10117-wneb24.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=327&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480924/original/file-20220824-10117-wneb24.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480924/original/file-20220824-10117-wneb24.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480924/original/file-20220824-10117-wneb24.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Which language appears on election signs in Québec has varied for the past 100 years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Marc Pomerleau)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In translation studies, we say that translation not only serves as a textual indicator of meaning, but also as a sociopolitical indicator. This is clearly the case when it comes to election signs. </p>
<p>The overall disappearance of English from election signs coincides with the redefinition of the political and social balance of power in Québec <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/quiet-revolution">since the 1960s</a>. </p>
<p>One might assume that posters are almost exclusively in French because of the <a href="https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/document/cs/C-11/19991022#se:59">Charter of the French Language</a>, but in no way does it prevent political advertising in other languages. The explanation here lies in the context rather than the law.</p>
<h2>Should political parties post signs in different languages?</h2>
<p>As the vast majority of Quebecers know French, political parties could easily decide to post their election signs in French only. But it is also true that people tend to <a href="https://csa-research.com/Featured-Content/For-Global-Enterprises/Global-Growth/CRWB-Series/CRWB-B2C">prefer content in their mother tongue</a>. </p>
<p>That fact however doesn’t mean a political party would gain votes by posting signs in English or other languages. </p>
<p>To find out how Quebecers perceive election signs in different languages, we conducted a survey on electorate language preferences — the results of which will soon be published in <a href="https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/meta/"><em>Meta</em></a>. Our survey consisted of multiple-choice questions where participants were shown several hypothetical unilingual and bilingual election signs.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480926/original/file-20220824-12-911l98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A collage of three election signs with varying degrees of bilingualism." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480926/original/file-20220824-12-911l98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480926/original/file-20220824-12-911l98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480926/original/file-20220824-12-911l98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480926/original/file-20220824-12-911l98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=302&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480926/original/file-20220824-12-911l98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480926/original/file-20220824-12-911l98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480926/original/file-20220824-12-911l98.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In Québec, election signs are predominantly in French.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Musée québécois de culture populaire, Collection Dave Turcotte/Musée virtuel d'histoire politique du Québec, Québec Solidaire)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Perception of French and English signs</h2>
<p>The vast majority of Francophones (82.9 per cent) had positive feelings towards a unilingual French poster. Among non-Francophones, 61 per cent felt the same. </p>
<p>For a sign in English only, a mere 4 per cent of Francophones liked it, compared to 18.7 per cent of non-Francophones. When it came to bilingual (French-English) signs, 39.1 per cent of Francophones and 69.5 per cent of non-Francophones had positive feelings. </p>
<p>This shows that what bothers Québec voters is not so much the presence of English on signs, but the absence of French — English-only signs bothered 91.5 per cent of Francophones and 61 per cent of non-Francophones. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480927/original/file-20220824-9546-6hueb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graph showing how people feel about bilingual election signs in Québec." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480927/original/file-20220824-9546-6hueb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480927/original/file-20220824-9546-6hueb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480927/original/file-20220824-9546-6hueb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480927/original/file-20220824-9546-6hueb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=333&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480927/original/file-20220824-9546-6hueb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480927/original/file-20220824-9546-6hueb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480927/original/file-20220824-9546-6hueb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=418&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Over 69 per cent of non-Francophones had positive feelings towards bilingual signs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Marc Pomerleau)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Perception of signs in other languages</h2>
<p>When presented with signs with a message in a foreign language, participants generally felt more positively towards those showcasing languages closer to French like Spanish, Italian and Portuguese — especially compared to those using a different script like Arabic, Mandarin and Russian. </p>
<p>The bilingual French-Spanish sign was the most widely accepted. Spanish is also the most widely understood foreign language in the province with a total of over 450,000 speakers. So what seemed to bother participants was their inability to understand a language. </p>
<p>However, a sign in Inuktitut generated very positive feelings across all Quebecers, especially when the sign was bilingual with French. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480932/original/file-20220824-4026-r6jk1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Québec election signs in French from over the years." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480932/original/file-20220824-4026-r6jk1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480932/original/file-20220824-4026-r6jk1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480932/original/file-20220824-4026-r6jk1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480932/original/file-20220824-4026-r6jk1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=303&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480932/original/file-20220824-4026-r6jk1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480932/original/file-20220824-4026-r6jk1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480932/original/file-20220824-4026-r6jk1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As the vast majority of Quebecers know French, political parties could easily decide to post their election signs in French only.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Bibliothèque de l'Assemblée nationale du Québec, Collection Richard G. Gervais/Bibliothèque de l'Assemblée nationale du Québec, Marc Pomerleau)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Should political parties post signs in multiple languages?</h2>
<p>Although our participants’ perceptions of hypothetical signs don’t necessarily translate into who they will vote for in real situations, they exemplify the linguistic preferences of the Québec electorate. </p>
<p>Francophones prefer by far French-only signs and non-Francophones have similar positive feelings towards French-only signs and bilingual French-English signs, the latter being slightly preferred. </p>
<p>Our findings suggest that Québec politicians who wish to put up provincial election signs in languages other than French should do so with caution. </p>
<p>Bilingual signs and signs in other languages could be used strategically in locations chosen with care, taking into account where said languages are actually spoken. </p>
<p>It will be interesting to see what political parties actually do during the 2022 campaign, especially in the context of <a href="http://m.assnat.qc.ca/en/travaux-parlementaires/projets-loi/projet-loi-96-42-1.html">Bill 96</a> and the newly released census data showing a <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220817/g-a002-eng.htm">decline of French</a>. </p>
<p>Signs in languages other than French could be seen as an outstretched hand in yet another episode of linguistic tensions, but also as an indicator that French is indeed losing ground.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189096/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marc Pomerleau receives funding from Fonds d’aide institutionnel à la recherche, Université TÉLUQ.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Esmaeil Kalantari does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Signs in languages other than French could be seen as an outstretched hand in yet another episode of linguistic tensions, but also as an indicator that French is indeed losing ground.Marc Pomerleau, Professeur de linguistique et de traductologie / Professor of linguistics and translation, Université TÉLUQ Esmaeil Kalantari, Auxiliaire de recherche, Université TÉLUQ Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1883832022-08-29T13:12:18Z2022-08-29T13:12:18ZCOVID was a setback for indigenous languages: South African lecturers on what went wrong<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479902/original/file-20220818-23-q0r83i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">By some estimates only 5% of the world’s languages are likely to survive online. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">PeopleImages / Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South African indigenous languages are among those at risk of a <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0077056">serious decline</a> due to the increasing use of digital technologies. By some estimates only <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0077056">5%</a> of the world’s languages are likely to survive online. </p>
<p>As hubs of knowledge generation, South African universities have an essential role in ensuring this does not happen. When democracy came to South Africa in 1994, multilingualism was seen as imperative to ensure that all of the country’s 11 official languages were esteemed and promoted. Universities could play their part by using indigenous languages in high status functions: teaching, learning and research. </p>
<p>Despite the numerous legislative policy documents and <a href="http://www.dac.gov.za/sites/default/files/LPD_Language%20Policy%20Framework_English_0.pdf">frameworks</a>, in <a href="https://www.usaf.ac.za/the-state-of-language-policies-at-public-institutions/">practice</a> the use of indigenous African languages in South African universities falls far short of where it should be. The adoption of remote (online) education during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 may have widened the chasm further. That’s because English dominates in online engagements in this <a href="https://www.talkwalker.com/blog/social-media-stats-south-africa">context</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-academics-can-manage-covid-19-shutdowns-133947">online teaching</a> employed by universities during the pandemic was conducted almost exclusively in English. If this continues, it could derail the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-south-africas-universities-are-making-more-students-multilingual-116638">work done so far</a> in “intellectualising” indigenous languages – that is, developing them for use in high status contexts like education. </p>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14790718.2022.2074012">recent paper</a> I drew on the reflections of seven lecturers from seven South African universities on the challenges of trying to teach online in more than one language. I looked at the implications for developing historically marginalised languages, as called for by the <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202011/43860gon1160.pdf">Language Policy Framework for Public Higher Education Institutions</a>. </p>
<p>What the lecturers told me suggests that if multiple indigenous languages aren’t used in higher education, their speakers could face even greater <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-pandemic-is-hurting-university-students-mental-health-159643">exclusion</a> in universities. It will also set back the advances made in raising the status of these languages.</p>
<h2>Reflections from lecturers</h2>
<p>The lecturers were teaching in fields like politics, history and education. Some were at traditional universities and others at universities of technology.</p>
<p>Their experience was that it was challenging to teach multilingually during emergency remote teaching. The challenges were in three categories: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>shifts from in-person to on-screen interactions </p></li>
<li><p>shifts in the types of resources used to teach multilingually </p></li>
<li><p>shifts from approaches that intellectualise indigenous languages to approaches that are focused on delivery.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Their view was that their experiences during COVID did not bode well for the intellectualisation of indigenous South African languages.</p>
<p>One participant was worried that multilingualism would become no more than a mechanical translation from one language into another. While the <a href="https://theconversation.com/simple-vernacular-translations-make-the-most-sense-for-university-students-48599">translation of resources</a> is an important part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/bilingual-education-can-work-in-south-african-schools-heres-how-186780">multilingual education</a>, it is just the start. What must then follow is teaching students how to use indigenous language to come up with new ways of thinking about their disciplines, drawing on the indigenous knowledge systems that the languages are rooted in. </p>
<p>The participant went on to say:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Our students need vibrant, living multilingualism that demonstrates that intellectual work is not singularly about English. And that your professors are not English speakers. They are also Xhosa, and they have Afrikaans, and they have slang, and they have Zulu, and they have high language, and they have street language … there is a cross-set of all our multilingual capability to convey the intellectual project.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Under the conditions of emergency remote learning, lecturers were under pressure simply to deliver the content of courses. This was true even for lecturers who wanted to use multilingual pedagogies. They were mindful of the need for multilingualism in higher education in South Africa. But the <a href="https://theconversation.com/delivering-education-online-coronavirus-underscores-whats-missing-in-africa-134914">conditions</a> under which they were teaching were such a hindrance that they defaulted to translation of resources like notes and slides.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…this has not been a huge success in that our sense is that students are just not reading. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The academics Rosalie Finlayson and Mbulungeni Madiba have <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14664200208668036">argued</a> that effective intellectualisation is what will see indigenous languages </p>
<blockquote>
<p>developed, within the shortest possible time, to a point where they can express concepts that already exist in languages such as English and Afrikaans. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>For this to happen, the focus must be on capturing African languages in written form to develop lexicon and grammar. This was a challenge during COVID because some web-based learner management systems don’t support texts written in African languages. They don’t have the special characters that a student should use in an exam to show what they know. So it’s difficult to assess the candidate. </p>
<p>Indigenous language teaching resources, such as journal articles and textbooks, are scarce too. So lecturers had few resources to draw on when attempting to move their courses online. And the technology did not allow lecturers to write easily online as they would on a board:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As a language teacher, you are bound to write because when students don’t understand what you are trying to teach, you have to put what you are uttering orally into writing for their full grasp. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Adapting systems for local use</h2>
<p>In 2014, South African <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14790718.2020.1717496">scholars called for</a> the localisation of learner management systems to promote teaching. </p>
<p>Localising a learner management system entails adopting and modifying digital information and computer user interfaces into local languages, cultures, values and beliefs. </p>
<p>It is costly and requires institutions to collaborate. But researchers have been highlighting how important it is for raising the status of indigenous languages. The fact that it hasn’t happened yet suggests it may not be a priority for universities, which are best placed to do it, or for government, which is empowered to hold them accountable if they won’t.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188383/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sisanda Nkoala receives funding from the National Research Foundation and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology</span></em></p>Multilingual teaching was a challenge under emergency remote learning conditions: computer systems weren’t adapted to indigenous languages.Sisanda Nkoala, Senior Lecturer, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1862262022-07-05T13:48:59Z2022-07-05T13:48:59ZJustice Maya’s support for African languages in South Africa’s courts is a positive sign<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472337/original/file-20220704-14-wz0f2q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Judge President of South Africa's Supreme Court of Appeal, Mandisa Maya.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Simphiwe Nkwali (Photo by Gallo Images / The Times via GettyImages)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa’s <a href="https://ewn.co.za/2022/07/25/ramaphosa-appoints-maya-as-deputy-chief-justice">new Deputy Chief Justice</a>, <a href="https://www.supremecourtofappeal.org.za/index.php/judges/judges-of-the-supreme-court-of-appeal/9-judges/maya-mandisa-muriel-lindelwa">Justice Mandisa Maya</a>, has once again put the spotlight on indigenous languages and the justice system.</p>
<p>South Africa’s post-apartheid legal profession, through legislation and policy, adopted an English-only approach. English was further elevated when the heads of the courts adopted it as the only official language of record <a href="http://vital.seals.ac.za:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:37968?site_name=GlobalView&query=zakeera+docrat+&sort=ss_dateNormalized+desc%2Csort_ss_title+asc&queryType=vitalDismax">in 2017</a>. But the country has <a href="https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/chp01.html#:%7E:text=(1)%20The%20official%20languages%20of,%2C%20isiNdebele%2C%20isiXhosa%20and%20isiZulu.">11 official languages</a>, and the majority of citizens speak an African language as mother tongue. <a href="http://vital.seals.ac.za:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:37968?site_name=GlobalView&query=zakeera+docrat+&sort=ss_dateNormalized+desc%2Csort_ss_title+asc&queryType=vitalDismax">Only 9.6%</a> of the population speak English as a mother tongue.</p>
<p>The other official languages <a href="https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/chp01.html#:%7E:text=(1)%20The%20official%20languages%20of,%2C%20isiNdebele%2C%20isiXhosa%20and%20isiZulu">are</a> Afrikaans, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Setswana, Sepedi, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga and isiZulu. They all have equal status.</p>
<p>The decision to use English only is a missed opportunity for promoting multilingualism. Giving African languages intellectual status would ensure that legal practitioners became proficient in them. Using and developing all the nation’s languages is vital for their growth and survival. </p>
<p>It is often wrongly thought that language is associated with “race”. That is not the case. Language acquisition is linked to a person’s <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Languages-Identities-and-Intercultural-Communication-in-South-Africa-and/Kaschula/p/book/9780367364359">environment</a>. This is true for the two of us. We grew up in an isiXhosa environment and learnt the language at school and at university. It is not our mother tongue.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996-chapter-8-courts-and-administration-justice#174">Section 174 of the constitution</a>, “race” and gender must be taken into account when “appropriately qualified” judges are appointed. The primary purpose is to ensure the judiciary is transformed from the past era of racial discrimination to one that’s part of an inclusive, equal society. </p>
<p>Judges’ competence in official languages other than English is not considered.</p>
<h2>Language and the judiciary</h2>
<p>To our minds, the exclusion of proficiency in African languages runs counter to the country’s transformation agenda. No language should be seen as superior or inferior to any other. They should be seen as a rich resource which can ensure social justice.</p>
<p>Similar to the constitution, the <a href="https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/acts/1994-009.pdf">Judicial Service Commission Act</a> makes no mention of the language abilities of judicial officers. Yet they work in multilingual courtrooms.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.judiciary.org.za/index.php/judicial-service-commission/about-the-jsc">Judicial Service Commission</a> advises the government on matters concerning the judiciary and the administration of justice. It interviews candidate judges and <a href="https://www.judiciary.org.za/index.php/judicial-service-commission/members-of-the-jsc">handles complaints against judges</a>. </p>
<p>Some commissioners and candidates have recently highlighted the importance of accepting African languages for <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/jsc-interviews-money-cant-buy-experience-judge-candidate-65-when-asked-about-age-20211007">court proceedings and records</a>.</p>
<h2>Justice Maya shows the way</h2>
<p>In her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frzrvsLA08Y">first interview for the position of Chief Justice</a> in February 2022, Justice Maya was commended for writing judgments bilingually (in isiXhosa and English). This was described as “extraordinary”.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.supremecourtofappeal.org.za/index.php/judges/judges-of-the-supreme-court-of-appeal/9-judges/maya-mandisa-muriel-lindelwa">Maya</a> reiterated the need to develop African languages <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=medfs6HuxMY">for use in courtrooms</a>. She suggested reviewing the law degree curriculum and enabling judges to write judgments in African languages. Maya noted that a new language policy for courts would require resources and commitment. She said she would encourage all judges to write judgments in their mother tongue.</p>
<p>In her most recent interview for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frzrvsLA08Y">the position of Deputy Chief Justice</a>, Maya was grilled on the fact that she wrote a bilingual judgment in the case <a href="http://www.saflii.org/cgi-bin/disp.pl?file=za/cases/ZASCA/2020/79.html&query=UNISA">Afriforum v Unisa</a>. It appeared as though commissioners were taking issue with the fact that the case, dealing with language rights of Afrikaans-speaking students, was written in isiXhosa (Maya’s mother tongue). One would expect commissioners to ask questions about Maya’s views on using African languages. </p>
<p>Maya said she needed the assistance of a legal translator when writing the judgment. This opens the possibility of employment for forensic linguistics and legal translation students and graduates. But the theme of transformation was not pursued at the interview.</p>
<p>Maya’s bold step of using isiXhosa as a language of record may chart a new course, one where African languages are finally recognised as being “official” in practice. </p>
<h2>Writing judgments in African languages</h2>
<p>Maya’s example was not the first in South Africa. It has happened in the past, primarily in the magistrates’ courts. This dates back to 1998 in the case of <a href="http://vital.seals.ac.za:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:37968?site_name=GlobalView&query=zakeera+docrat+&sort=ss_dateNormalized+desc%2Csort_ss_title+asc&queryType=vitalDismax">State v Matomela</a>. The case was heard in isiXhosa and the magistrate wrote the judgment in isiXhosa. The magistrate argued that it was practical to proceed in isiXhosa, where all parties were proficient in the language. </p>
<p>But when a high court reviewed the judgement, the judge said the most practical and efficient way to proceed in future was to have one language of record: English.<br>
In the 2004 case of <a href="http://vital.seals.ac.za:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:37968?site_name=GlobalView&query=zakeera+docrat+&sort=ss_dateNormalized+desc%2Csort_ss_title+asc&queryType=vitalDismax">State v Damoyi</a> no interpreter was available for the accused, so the magistrate heard the case in isiXhosa. On review, the judge questioned this. The magistrate responded that isiXhosa was an official language, and that it was practical to proceed in the language to safeguard the accused’s right to a fair trial.</p>
<p>In the case of <a href="https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2018/106.html">State v Gordon</a> in 2018, the use of languages as part of transformation of the legal system was undermined and criticised. English was said to be the most beneficial and practical option. </p>
<h2>Language in pursuit of justice</h2>
<p>When forensic and legal linguists have argued for judgments to be written in African languages, and for cases to be conducted in African languages, they have been accused of <a href="http://vital.seals.ac.za:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:37968?site_name=GlobalView&query=zakeera+docrat+&sort=ss_dateNormalized+desc%2Csort_ss_title+asc&queryType=vitalDismax">shopping for judges on the basis of “race”</a>. But, as we have argued, the link between “race” and language is not a given. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-using-just-one-language-in-south-africas-courts-is-a-problem-134911">Why using just one language in South Africa's courts is a problem</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Judges should be allowed to play to their own linguistic strengths, thereby entrenching language and multilingualism in line with the constitution. The discussion should centre on how language can be used in courts of law in the pursuit of justice, rather than fixating on a particular language of record.</p>
<p><em>The article was updated following Justice Maya’s <a href="https://ewn.co.za/2022/07/25/ramaphosa-appoints-maya-as-deputy-chief-justice">appointment</a> as Deputy Chief Justice</em>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186226/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zakeera Docrat receives funding from the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Russell H. Kaschula receives funding from the University of the Western Cape and the National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>It is important to embrace all the nation’s languages in a multilingual and multicultural society. This will ensure they are used, developed and mainstreamed.Zakeera Docrat, Postdoctoral research fellow (Forensic Linguistics/ Language and Law), University of the Western CapeRussell H. Kaschula, Professor of African Language Studies, University of the Western CapeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1844002022-06-08T14:50:54Z2022-06-08T14:50:54ZSenzo Meyiwa trial casts spotlight on language use in South African courts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467727/original/file-20220608-13-7b0o8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The murder of football player Senzo Meyiwa in 2014 and its protracted and <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2022-04-19-who-killed-senzo-meyiwa-as-court-case-unfolds-docuseries-reveals-8-years-of-inconsistent-storytelling-and-inept-policing/">controversial</a> <a href="https://mg.co.za/news/2022-06-03-senzo-meyiwa-trial-more-police-blunders-exposed/">police investigation</a> involving high profile figures in the South African music industry continues to make headlines in South Africa. Five men are on trial for allegedly murdering the national team captain and goalkeeper. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2022-06-02-police-witness-gets-interpreter-in-meyiwa-trial/">Recent events</a> in the criminal trial have shone the spotlight on the use of language from a perspective of legal practitioners, judicial officers, police officers and courtroom interpretation. </p>
<p>Both the advocate for the accused as well as a state witness experienced linguistic challenges – they were seen to be struggling with the language in court. This was no fault of their own but due to a restrictive language policy that favours English as the main language in court. In one instance the judge halted proceedings and urged a state witness – forensic detective Sergeant Thabo Mosia – to ask for a Sesotho language interpreter, which he agreed to. The only interpretation in court had been in the isiZulu language. The country has 11 official languages.</p>
<p>Language is the most <a href="https://www.litnet.co.za/winds-of-change-decolonialising-language-theory-at-the-2020-ilaf-webinar-on-language-and-the-criminal-justice-system/">important component</a> of courtroom proceedings, yet it is assumed that English is the only language through which communication can take place. This is inconsistent with the ideals and rights contained in the South African <a href="https://www.gov.za/documents/constitution-republic-south-africa-1996">constitution</a> and the fact that the country is multilingual – an aspect that should be celebrated. </p>
<p>As forensic and legal linguists we focus on the language issues plaguing our legal system, especially when evidence is being imparted. The Meyiwa case is not <a href="http://africansunmedia.com/index.php/sunpress/catalog/book/25">unique</a> in shedding light on the country’s courtroom language challenges. But through it we see the need for mindful legal practitioners and judicial officers who are sensitive to the language complexities that exist. </p>
<h2>Language prejudice in courtrooms</h2>
<p>It is a human condition that we judge each other based on the use of language vocabulary, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02572117.2021.1948212">accent, tone and language sensitivity</a>. When you open your mouth people naturally make valued judgements and attach psychological labels, these being either positive or negative and thereby influencing their response. </p>
<p>In another example from the trial, Advocate Malesela Teffo, the advocate for the accused, was at a loss for English vocabulary which resulted in various types of language prejudice coming into play. It also resulted in Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela laughing when the advocate ran out of words. This relates to subjective and strictly linguistic <a href="https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Languages_Identities_and_Intercultural_Communicati?id=1503EAAAQBAJ&hl=af&gl=US">inequality</a>: how we judge people based on their lack of words and on the basis of how they speak and their level of speech. Such judgements can often be unreliable.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467731/original/file-20220608-22-55wh3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A wood-panelled room with court officials sitting in front of a row of men and people watching further back, everyone wearing face masks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467731/original/file-20220608-22-55wh3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467731/original/file-20220608-22-55wh3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467731/original/file-20220608-22-55wh3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467731/original/file-20220608-22-55wh3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467731/original/file-20220608-22-55wh3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467731/original/file-20220608-22-55wh3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/467731/original/file-20220608-22-55wh3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The courtroom where the Meyiwa trial is being held.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by OJ Koloti/Gallo Images via Getty Images</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The country’s <a href="https://lpc.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Legal-Practice-Act-2014-1.pdf">Legal Practice Act</a> and <a href="https://lpc.org.za">Legal Practice Council</a> fail to address the language question for courtroom communication. They don’t address the language qualifications and competencies of South African legal practitioners and future judicial officers. The legislative and policy frameworks <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-022-09902-9">reinforce</a> the English only status quo. Legal practitioners and judicial officers who do not speak English as their mother tongue are often required to first think of vocabulary before even posing a question to the witness. This was clearly the case with Advocate Teffo. </p>
<p>We notice the ease with which Advocate Teffo was able to formulate and pose the question in his mother tongue and this should be embraced within courtroom discourse. Instead, policies and legislation dictate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11196-022-09902-9">otherwise</a> and impose a language on the practitioner without thinking of the consequences. Specifically during examination in chief and cross-examination is the phrasing and use of language important for a witness and could result in an alternative answer being provided. </p>
<p>Cultural and linguistic concepts within the South African context are often not explainable and are often not even translatable in English. An example would be the psychological state of amafufunyana, a state of being inexplicable in western psychology. Or the word adoption, for which there is no equivalence in the isiNguni languages. There is sexual terminology also considered taboo in African culture and creating linguistic challenges in court. You think best and speak best in your mother tongue, where there is a clear link between language and culture. </p>
<p>This should be the point of departure in any legal context, where language is law and law is language.</p>
<h2>Problematic language of record policy</h2>
<p><a href="http://africansunmedia.com/index.php/sunpress/catalog/book/25">Policy</a> dictates the use of English as the official language for record purposes. Where an interpreter is used the English interpretation is recorded. The direct words and sentiments of the witness are not recorded. The English only language of record policy was <a href="http://africansunmedia.com/index.php/sunpress/catalog/book/25">said</a> to have been practical according to the Heads of Courts in 2017. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/forensic-linguists-explore-how-emojis-can-be-used-as-evidence-in-court-133462">Forensic linguists explore how emojis can be used as evidence in court</a>
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<p>However, in the Meyiwa case we see that when implemented the policy is questionable. A one size fits all language policy in a multilingual country such as South Africa may not necessarily be practical and definitely not transformative. </p>
<p>The policy also hinders legal practitioners, judicial officers and witnesses from proceeding in a language other than English where it is practical to do so. This places sole reliance on interpretation services in our courts.</p>
<h2>The importance of the court interpreter</h2>
<p>The Meyiwa case also highlights the needs for interpreters where indigenous languages are to be used. Unfortunately, we have a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02587203.2019.1615383">shortage</a> of skilled, qualified and competent court interpreters in South Africa. </p>
<p>Interpreters are not merely translating words between people for the record of the court, but rather are tasked with finding equivalence between two languages and two cultures in the case of English and an African language. The legal terminology that court interpreters require suggests the need for appropriate academic qualifications and training which are presently lacking.</p>
<h2>Police as transpreters (translators + interpreters)</h2>
<p>The English language of record policy and the South African Police service language policy dictate that police officers need no language <a href="https://theconversation.com/south-african-cops-need-linguistic-training-urgently-140075">qualifications, competencies or training</a>. Yet they are required to record statements in English where complainants are more than often not English mother tongue speakers.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/south-african-cops-need-linguistic-training-urgently-140075">South African cops need linguistic training -- urgently</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<p>Police officer are therefore interpreting between themselves and complainants and then translating into English for the written statement – acting as a transpreter without the requisite knowledge or qualifications. There are instances where police officers suffer linguistic prejudice, where English vocabulary fails them – as in the case of the state witness and the interpreter in the Meyiwa trial.</p>
<h2>A way forward</h2>
<p>The first aspect that needs urgent <a href="http://africansunmedia.com/index.php/sunpress/catalog/book/25">attention and revision</a> is the monolingual language of record policy for courts. It needs to include all official languages on the basis of provincial language demographics to ensure practicality.</p>
<p>Secondly, to empower legal practitioners, judicial officers, and police officers through training programmes and other language qualifications. Legislation and policies need to be are more inclusive, fostering a multilingual rather than a monolingual approach. </p>
<p>These require the facilitation of <a href="https://theconversation.com/forensic-linguistics-holds-promise-for-south-africas-legal-system-108113">forensic and legal linguists</a> to assist government and the judiciary with the aid of new technologies formulated by forensic linguists. </p>
<p>Furthermore, forensic linguists can assist in the re-training of legal practitioners, judicial officers and interpreters to be more mindful of the language complexities in courtroom discourse. The <a href="http://africansunmedia.com/index.php/sunpress/catalog/book/25">research</a> has been conducted by forensic and legal linguists, with the next step being the implementation of these strategies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184400/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zakeera Docrat receives funding from the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Russell H. Kaschula receives funding from the University of the Western Cape and the National Research Foundation. </span></em></p>English has failed often as the main language of court in proceedings - this impacts testimony and must be addressed.Zakeera Docrat, Postdoctoral research fellow (Forensic Linguistics/ Language and Law), University of the Western CapeRussell H. Kaschula, Professor of African Language Studies, University of the Western CapeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1777042022-05-10T15:21:17Z2022-05-10T15:21:17ZHow heritage language schools offered grassroots community support through the pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460818/original/file-20220502-16-6cqdbg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C148%2C6192%2C3670&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Schools helped connect immigrant children to grandparents and families overseas. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Heritage language schools are grassroots organizations that maintain the languages and cultures of immigrant communities, and offer vital community services, employment opportunities and networking to prevent social isolation. They advocate for multilingualism and cross-cultural understanding. These schools range from small organizations, run by volunteers, to large, accredited schools. </p>
<p>We collaborated on a study to examine how 25 heritage language schools of the <a href="https://ihla.ca/">International and Heritage Languages Association</a> in Edmonton responded to the pressures and challenges of the pandemic. </p>
<p>Despite pandemic-imposed threats to these schools’ operating capacities, they continued offering vital services. These services included translation, English-language classes for newcomers, early learning classes for young children, daycare and providing selfless community care where needed. Schools reached out to the vulnerable in the earliest stages of the pandemic, often before the government’s sluggish response. </p>
<p>Many continued to teach and work together with other heritage language schools in Canada and beyond. The pandemic also pushed these schools to become more professional and to forge new supportive alliances.</p>
<h2>Struggles during COVID-19</h2>
<p>Out of a rich <a href="https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/dv-vd/lang/index-eng.cfm">linguistic palette</a> in Canada, the Edmonton heritage language schools in our study teach Arabic, Armenian, Bangla, Czech, Farsi, Filipino, Greek, Gujarati, Hindi, Italian, Marathi, Nepali, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Slovak, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Telugu, Tigrinya, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. </p>
<p>When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-school-covid-funding-1.5709101">governments offered public schools financial support</a> to ease the transition to online teaching or to cover pandemic protocols. <a href="https://www.heritagelanguageschools.org/coalition/article/249073">Heritage language schools</a>, left to their own fates, had to cope by themselves. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Students and teachers from schools teaching Czech, Filipino, French, Hindi, Greek, Italian, Marathi, Nepali, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Telugu, Ukrainian, languages share at International Heritage Language Association’s second virtual Mother Language Day celebration.</span></figcaption>
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<p>These schools teach children and adults, and typically meet on the weekends in libraries, community centres or church basements. Most of these schools dream of permanent space but make do with whatever space they can get.</p>
<p>Heritage language schools often operate outside of the public school system while supplementing and enriching public school education and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2011.01237.x">contributing to social justice</a>. They help immigrants integrate into society, connect immigrants with the local heritage language community and provide newcomers with meaningful work experience and leadership opportunities.</p>
<h2>Responding to racism, xenophobia, inequities</h2>
<p>The pandemic clearly showed systematic inequalities: <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2021/02/cpho-sunday-edition-the-impact-of-covid-19-on-racialized-communities.html">Racialized communities have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19</a>, as have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109920960832">immigrants</a> and <a href="https://journals.brandonu.ca/jrcd/article/view/2102/540">migrant workers</a>. Visible minorities were exposed to verbal harassment, aggression, unwanted physical contact and <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2196%2F19833">cyber-racism</a>. </p>
<p>A report by the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter and Project 1907, a grassroots community group, showed a <a href="https://www.project1907.org/reportingcentre">disturbing rise in anti-Asian racism and xenophobia across Canada during the pandemic</a>. Fears of crimes motivated by hate <a href="https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/fear-of-hate-motivated-attacks-a-concern-for-edmonton-s-asian-community-1.5352409">seriously concerned Edmonton’s</a> <a href="https://www.covidracism.ca/">Asian community</a>. Edmontonians have experienced multiple <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7905554/edmontons-asian-heritage-month-racism/">incidents of racial hatred</a>. </p>
<p>One school made this public statement: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It has been deeply bothering to read, hear and see the recent rise in attacks on the Asian community. We are personally affected by these incidents, which have shaken up deep rooted issues of racism felt in our society and have provided an opportunity to reflect on our personal experiences … We are here to listen and check in with our community to ensure everyone feels safe, heard and protected.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In another case, when a student in an online adult heritage language class shared the experience of being subjected to an anti-Asian racial slur, the teacher opened the space for students to openly discuss racism. </p>
<h2>How communities coped</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460823/original/file-20220502-26-d0xv7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460823/original/file-20220502-26-d0xv7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460823/original/file-20220502-26-d0xv7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=680&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460823/original/file-20220502-26-d0xv7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=680&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460823/original/file-20220502-26-d0xv7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=680&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460823/original/file-20220502-26-d0xv7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460823/original/file-20220502-26-d0xv7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460823/original/file-20220502-26-d0xv7q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=855&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A protester stands near the Cargill beef processing plant in High River, Alta., May 4, 2020, as workers return following a temporary closure due to a COVID-19 outbreak.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the Edmonton area, heritage language schools’ support network was important when <a href="https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/under-the-shadow-of-contagion-abuse-of-filipino-workers-in-albertas-largest-covid-19-outbreak">racialized temporary foreign workers</a> were blamed for the spread of the pandemic.</p>
<p>One school helped temporary foreign worker families find places to live when they could not longer afford apartments. People from the school community provided financial support and delivered food from a communal bakery. </p>
<p>Connectivity with motherland and direct information from relatives inspired action across borders. Two schools moved their teaching online before the official school closure in the province to curb the spread of the pandemic. “It was obvious to me that what was happening there would come here, too,” a principal said. </p>
<p>Almost half of the schools played critical roles translating and sharing important information about COVID-19. </p>
<h2>Supporting frontline workers and families</h2>
<p>Sixteen schools that were part of our research reported that they have community members who are frontline workers. Global migration researchers Laura Foley and Nicola Piper note that the pandemic “exposed the front-line nature of much <a href="https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/covid19-and-women.pdf">of the work carried out by migrant workers</a>.”</p>
<p>Six schools started sewing cloth masks for the homeless, elderly and for hospitals, three schools cooked and distributed food donations through connected local churches and organizations. Seven schools provided mental health support and two schools took part in blood donation and helped migrant workers. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A boy is seen talking to a woman online." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460822/original/file-20220502-26-kurhue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460822/original/file-20220502-26-kurhue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460822/original/file-20220502-26-kurhue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460822/original/file-20220502-26-kurhue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460822/original/file-20220502-26-kurhue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460822/original/file-20220502-26-kurhue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/460822/original/file-20220502-26-kurhue.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Schools supported frontline workers and their families.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/Katerina Holmes)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some schools joined online teaching with similar schools across borders and thus increased <a href="https://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/1190-lifting-barriers-to-education-after-covid-19-improving-education-for-migrant-and-refugee-children-in-lac.html">equitable access</a> to education. </p>
<h2>Online connections overseas</h2>
<p>Schools provided access to heritage language education to students in <a href="https://www.linguapax.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/LinguapaxReview9-2021-low.pdf">all geographic locations</a>. In one case, students or teachers attended online classes from Edmonton, Montréal and Toronto, as well as from Bratislava, Slovakia; Zwickau, Germany; and Mullagh, Ireland.</p>
<p>Many schools benefited from the higher engagement of grandparents. Grandparents or relatives overseas soothed pressures faced by <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3934%2Fpublichealth.2021013">immigrant families</a> with several children. </p>
<p>Relatives taught children school subjects in online learning when <a href="https://theconversation.com/immigrant-families-had-to-fend-for-themselves-during-online-schooling-179550?fbclid=IwAR1eyyAbINhpK38dMvzVVJ-r34-GfEf2XgBLF8x-AqMni6puaaGGsXFyt3U">immigrant families were scrambling to manage online schooling</a>. This allowed for increased usage of heritage languages in families during the pandemic.</p>
<h2>Increased global collaboration</h2>
<p>Lack of governmental support played into the resilience and transformation of these schools. The lack of support pushed leaders to gain new skills and to seek help in transnational resources and collaboration.</p>
<p>One critical outcome was the development of <a href="http://www.modurmal.com/international-guidelines-for-professional-practices-in-community-based-heritage-language-schools/">International Guidelines for Professional Practices in Community-Based Heritage Language Schools</a>. </p>
<p>These will guide schools that choose to use them in improving their professional practice. They also represent values and professional ambition of heritage language schools towards becoming recognized by the public school sector. For example, in Alberta, some heritage language schools are recognized by the Ministry of Education as accredited private schools.</p>
<p>Guidelines were a result of the collaboration of leaders of several organizations, based in <a href="https://www.hlenet.org">the Netherlands</a>, <a href="https://www.modurmal.com">Iceland</a>, the <a href="https://heritagelanguageschools.org/coalition">United States</a>, <a href="https://ihla.ca/">Canada</a> and <a href="https://mothertongues.ie/about/">Ireland</a>. This collaboration also inspired establishing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwRwTEPbXHQ">a European coalition</a> of heritage language school associations.</p>
<p>Through their strong community involvement, heritage language schools foster different models of integration and belonging than public schools. They respond directly to the needs of their communities, representing a bottom-up, grassroots approach to integrating immigrants into society.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177704/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nina Paulovicova is an academic advisor of the International and Heritage Languages Association in Edmonton, AB, Canada. She received a small grant for the project titled "Heritage language schools’ response to COVID-19 and school closures" from Athabasca University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Renata Emilsson Peskova is affiliated with Móðurmál - the Association on Bilingualism. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marta McCabe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A study of 25 heritage language schools in Edmonton shows how schools met the needs of migrant and front-line workers, resisted racism and built community for immigrants.Nina Paulovicova, Associate Professor, History, Athabasca UniversityMarta McCabe, Course instructor, English for International Students Program, Duke UniversityRenata Emilsson Peskova, Adjunct lecturer, Teacher Education, English Department, University of IcelandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1823202022-05-05T13:47:15Z2022-05-05T13:47:15ZBill 96 will harm Indigenous people in Québec. We need more equitable language laws<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461349/original/file-20220504-15-euyt2q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C0%2C3487%2C2375&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Québec Premier François Legault defended Bill 96 saying he doesn't want the province to become Louisiana.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/bill-96-will-harm-indigenous-people-in-quebec--we-need-more-equitable-language-laws" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>One of the reasons I moved to Québec in 2015 was because of the <em>mélange</em> of languages in which many Quebecers — <a href="https://languagescompany.com/wp-content/uploads/14_1228-LUCIDE-Montreal-Report-V8_HRONLINE.pdf">especially in Montréal</a> — live and work. Some are able to change languages from sentence to sentence; others will switch in the middle of sentences or speak in an ever-changing <a href="https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/vc-rv/index.cfm?Lang=ENG&VIEW=D&GEOCODE=24&TOPIC_ID=4">medley of languages</a>.</p>
<p>The language dance happens most frequently between French and English, but other languages can be involved — such as Indigenous and immigrant languages. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/quebecs-bill-40-further-undermines-the-provinces-english-language-school-system-131595">Québec's Bill 40 further undermines the province's English-language school system</a>
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<p>The reality of multilingualism goes very far back in Québec: the perceived founder of French Québec, Samuel de Champlain, even knew “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/49790/champlains-dream-by-david-hackett-fischer/9780307397676">a smattering of [Indigenous] languages, not enough to speak directly on sensitive questions. Most of his communications had to happen through interpreters</a>.” However the mythic view of historical dominance held by some Quebecers is that “<a href="https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2022/01/04/a-propos-du-respect-de-notre-langue"><em>la langue française […] s’est implantée officiellement au Québec avec Samuel de Champlain en 1608</em></a>” or, the French language was officially established in Québec with Samuel de Champlain in 1608.</p>
<p>As the leader of a tiny, vulnerable French outpost, Champlain probably thought more about making alliances with Indigenous nations, which would allow the French colonists to survive, than he did about official languages. </p>
<p>Indigenous nations, and languages, have endured — as have the descendants of the original French settlers (including me), joined by British settlers and a mix of immigrants from all over the world, to create a diverse and complex society.</p>
<p>And all of this contributes to why Bill 96 is so problematic. The <a href="http://m.assnat.qc.ca/en/travaux-parlementaires/projets-loi/projet-loi-96-42-1.html">proposed bill</a>, “An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec,” will reduce the accessibility to health-care services in English, which will <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/first-nations-leaders-call-bill-96-cultural-genocide">drastically and negatively impact Indigenous people</a>. As a researcher and teacher of Inuit health, I find this deeply troubling.</p>
<h2>Indigenous experience in Québec</h2>
<p>Part of Québec’s complexity is ensuring equity for all its citizens. For Indigenous people in the province, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-021-01500-8">equitable treatment can seem fleeting</a>. </p>
<p>In the health-care system, systemic discrimination against Indigenous people has been formally recognized. In 2019, the Québec-mandated Viens Commission concluded that “<a href="https://www.cerp.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/Fichiers_clients/Rapport/Final_report.pdf">it is clear that prejudice toward Indigenous Peoples remains widespread in the interaction between caregivers and patients</a>,” and recommended “cultural safeguard principles” be incorporated into health services and programs for Indigenous people. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Protesters walk wearing ribbon skirts, holding signs that read 'Justice pour Joyce'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461325/original/file-20220504-27-me06yd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461325/original/file-20220504-27-me06yd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461325/original/file-20220504-27-me06yd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461325/original/file-20220504-27-me06yd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461325/original/file-20220504-27-me06yd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461325/original/file-20220504-27-me06yd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461325/original/file-20220504-27-me06yd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=552&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thousands of people take part in a rally in support of Joyce Echaquan in Trois-Rivières, Que., in June, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In October 2021, coroner Géhane Kamel’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/joyce-echaquan-systemic-racism-quebec-government-1.6196038">top recommendation</a> in her report on the death of Joyce Echaquan was that the province needs to recognize that systemic racism exists and take concrete action to eliminate it. </p>
<p>To receive health care in a language that you speak is obviously a dimension of cultural safety. So it’s all the more disappointing that a recently released plan to reform the Québec health-care system <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-quebec-health-care-plan-fails-to-respond-to-indigenous-concerns">ignores systemic discrimination and cultural safety for patients</a>.</p>
<h2>The problem with Bill 96</h2>
<p>In an analysis of Bill 96, Montréal lawyer and advocate Eric Maldoff <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-its-essential-to-exempt-health-and-social-services-from-bill-96">says</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Even when the staff and institutions have the option to use another language, Bill 96 strongly directs them to avoid exercising it and specifies that a language other than French should not be used systematically, such as by establishing translation services. There is an option to use a language other than French in case of health, public safety and natural justice. However, it seems aimed at dealing with a health emergency of an individual.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Nunavik Inuit in northern Québec have been identifying challenges within the health-care system for years. A report prepared by <a href="https://nrbhss.ca/sites/default/files/health_surveys/The_IQI_Model_of_Health_and_Well-Being_report_en.pdf">the Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services</a> says: “Many [Inuit] do not understand medical terms and translation is sometimes inefficient, as many terms do not have an equivalent in Inuktitut. Consequently, many people struggle to understand their health problems and to follow medical advice.” </p>
<p>Ninety-eight per cent of Nunavik Inuit <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-656-x/89-656-x2016016-eng.htm">speak Inuktitut as their first language</a>. This should be celebrated, not hindered during the <a href="https://en.unesco.org/idil2022-2032">Decade of Indigenous Languages</a>, which Canada supports. Although many Indigenous people in Québec — including most Inuit — may have recognized rights to services in English, many, including myself, think Bill 96 will create greater impediments to accessible health care for Inuit and First Nations people. The bill will worsen health and health care, instead of improving it.</p>
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<h2>Multilingualism shouldn’t be a threat</h2>
<p>Bill 96 will also create new <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-quebecs-language-requirements-put-first-nations-students-at-a-disadvantage">challenges in education for Inuit and First Nations people</a> who use English. </p>
<p>Indigenous students will now have to complete an additional three French-language courses <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-rolls-back-proposal-forcing-english-cegep-students-into-three-french-language-classes-1.5877572">to receive a CÉGEP diploma</a> (typically required for university admission). In practice, most Inuit, and about half of First Nations students have been predominantly educated in English and will struggle with an additional French requirements.</p>
<p>Québec Premier François Legault recently <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/new-political-parties-would-turn-quebec-into-a-new-louisiana-legault">defended the draft Bill 96 by saying</a>: “If Québec is bilingual, unfortunately the attraction in North America to English will be so strong it will be a matter of time before we don’t speak French in Québec and we become Louisiana.”</p>
<p>Turning into Louisiana is a commonly deployed bogeyman in Québec, to imply that without restrictive measures on the use of other languages, French is endangered.</p>
<p>For most Québec residents, there is broad consensus that French should be protected. But many of us believe that multilingualism — including Indigenous languages — need not threaten French.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of a story originally published on May 5, 2022. It clarifies that many Indigenous people in Québec have recognized rights to services in English.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182320/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard Budgell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For most Québec residents, there is broad consensus that French should be protected. But many of us believe that multilingualism need not threaten French.Richard Budgell, Assistant Professor, Family Medicine; Ph.D. student, History and Classical Studies, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1659892021-09-20T13:58:07Z2021-09-20T13:58:07Z5 ways immigrant parents support children’s home language learning<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420773/original/file-20210913-19-174ee25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1032%2C17%2C4544%2C2991&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Moments of intimate playing, learning and teaching are among the ways that
immigrant parents extend and expand their home languages with their children.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Rajesh Rajput/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is important to preserve and develop a child’s home language for their cultural, linguistic and social development. Research shows that English plays a dominant <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/ycyoungchildren.69.4.86">role in schools and society at large, while children’s diverse home languages are often marginalized.</a> Languages other than English are often not welcomed or encouraged in classrooms.</p>
<p>Marginalizing languages <a href="https://theconversation.com/language-learning-in-canada-needs-to-change-to-reflect-superdiverse-communities-144037">beyond English in school has negative effects on children and classroom cultures</a> by creating environments that suggest the daily language practices of children whose families speak languages other than English aren’t “good enough.” Unsurprisingly, if children feel unwelcome or disrespected in the classroom, this can adversely affect their <a href="https://www.edcan.ca/articles/multilingual-students">learning engagement and academic achievement</a>. </p>
<p>This includes immigrant children — children who were born elsewhere and immigrated with their families, or those who are born in Canada and are being raised by immigrant parents who are establishing new lives in a new country. In families that are seeking to retain a link with their heritage language, the burden of preserving this falls almost exclusively on parents. </p>
<h2>Immigrant parents bring knowledge</h2>
<p>However, schools rarely consider immigrant parents as capable knowledge holders. Immigrant parents <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/canajeducrevucan.35.2.120">and their knowledge are typically seen as having deficits</a>.
As education researcher Yan Guo notes, North American models of parent involvement tend to focus on experiences “relevant to parents of Anglo-Celtic descent than to those from non-English-speaking backgrounds,” as well as assuming “middle-class rather than working-class values and concerns.” </p>
<p>Through <a href="https://doi.org/10.36510/learnland.v14i1.1026">autobiographical narrative inquiry research</a>, I explored the informal teaching and learning practices as an immigrant parent with my children in the home context. </p>
<p>My research highlighted something that other researchers have also documented: <a href="https://doi.org/10.20355/C5QC78">immigrant parents bring a lot of linguistic, cultural and social knowledge</a> to their children’s home language education. Here are some of the ways they pass their knowledge of their home language along.</p>
<p><strong>1. Using home language in daily conversations</strong></p>
<p>Immigrant children’s home literacy-learning environments are characterized by conversations in their home language. Daily oral input is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2012.01168.x">staggeringly important to a child’s language development.</a> When parents engage in daily routines with their children, such as getting dressed, taking baths, eating meals, playing games, taking walks and so on, they elaborate, explain and encourage detailed conversations. </p>
<p>The use of home language becomes especially important after children begin formal schooling and master the English language. Parents who build a home-language-rich environment tend to foster in their children <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798406069797">a more positive attitude</a> toward and higher levels of proficiency in that language.</p>
<p><strong>2. Engaging in inter-generational communication</strong></p>
<p>In some Chinese immigrant families, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2011.594218">grandparents continue the tradition of providing care to grandchildren.</a> Inter-generational communication plays an important role in the development of immigrant children’s home languages. Everyday communication between generations promote a commitment to speak the child’s heritage language at home.</p>
<p>Children from multilingual homes are often acutely aware, for example, that their grandmother speaks another language, so they pay attention to whom they are talking to, and switch languages in different scenarios.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In some immigrant families, grandparents play an important role in passing on language and culture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/Alex Green)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A second way grandparents pass on language and culture is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-018-9357-5">by cooking and sharing food with their grandchildren.</a> In such family activities, the two generations converse about making and enjoying authentic cultural cuisines together.</p>
<p><strong>3. Reading picture books in intimate and creative ways</strong></p>
<p>Research has confirmed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00417">storybook exposure promotes language acquisition</a>.</p>
<p>Many immigrant parents <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2017.1349137">make picture book reading a part of their language practice</a> because picture books have fascinating topics, short, simple text and visual images that help children communicate ideas.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/global-storybooks-from-arabic-to-zulu-freely-available-digital-tales-in-50-languages-127480">Global Storybooks: From Arabic to Zulu, freely available digital tales in 50+ languages</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Rather than a “learning activity,” shared reading at home is a fun family time during which everyone cuddles close and shares a book with lively pictures and vibrant colours in their home language.</p>
<p>My research demonstrated that children’s initiative, imagination and creativity makes picture book reading a rich experience. When parents and children together creatively respond to stories through creative media or performance, the transformative power of drawing, painting, crafting, music, dance and performance is not only a way to understand the stories more deeply, but also a way to create spaces to travel freely across the interwoven language worlds.</p>
<p>It is common in bilingual and multilingual households for children to <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137385765_5">use two or more languages spontaneously and pragmatically</a>. Such <a href="https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/Foundations-of-Bilingual-Education-and-Bilingualism/?k=9781788929882">exchange and use of languages is beneficial </a>for both heritage and dominant language development.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A mother reads to two daughters." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children’s initiative, imagination and creativity makes picture-book reading a rich experience.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/Kindel Media)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>4. Developing language skills through real-life stories</strong></p>
<p>Real-life stories are the most beloved type of storytelling, given the very personal and particular nature of the home landscape. Enacting real-life stories, such as about the day they were born, helps children develop advanced use of their home language, and makes them feel closer to their parents. These are the times when immigrant children learn how to listen to, participate in and understand when, where and how to express themselves in their home language. </p>
<p>In addition, the gradual introduction <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2018.1447943">of more complex vocabulary and expressions supports the development of home language</a>. Sharing past experiences and telling real-life stories also help develop <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716409990191">children’s social capital</a> — children’s sense of belonging to certain social and cultural networks, as well as their access to resources in these groups.</p>
<p>When children engage in real-life storytelling and story-acting, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.05.024">they benefit intellectually, socially, emotionally and linguistically</a>. When children tell and act out true stories, in addition to developing memory and social skills, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10904018.2014.861302">draw on their bodies and manipulate objects</a> in ways that support a foundation for language development.</p>
<p><strong>5. Nurturing passion for early writing</strong></p>
<p>As young as age two, children begin imitating the act of writing by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-012-0563-4">making sketches and symbolic marks</a> that reflect their ideas and thoughts. In immigrant families, early writing includes sketches and symbols in English and in their home language. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When a child writes in their home language it helps them to make relevant cultural and linguistic connections. Here, ‘apple’ is shown in traditional Chinese characters: 蘋果 (píng guǒ).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In many cases, children <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/ca/academic/subjects/education/education-history-theory/language-and-literacy-development-early-childhood?format=PB">learn to read and write through play</a>. Playful introduction to early writing at home helps young children open the door to their home language and the wonder of print. Immigrant parents engage their children in emergent writing at home to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/90015861">introduce the knowledge of sound/symbol connections, the conventions of print, and accessing and conveying meaning</a> through print in their home language system (which might be very different from the dominant language). </p>
<p>Early writing in their home language also helps children construct meaning by <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Handbook-of-Research-on-Reading-Comprehension/Israel-Afflerbach-Alexander-Allen-Allington/p/book/9781462528882">making relevant cultural and linguistic connections</a> between print in their home language and their own lived experiences.</p>
<p>Many immigrant parents extend and expand their children’s home language practices on a daily basis, through moments of intimate teaching, learning and playing. When schools acknowledge, honour and learn from immigrant parents’ knowledge, they support more opportunities to enhance young children’s linguistic, cultural and social experiences both at school and elsewhere.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Chen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When schools honour and learn from immigrant parents’ knowledge, they support more opportunities to enhance young children’s linguistic, cultural and social experiences.Emma Chen, Doctoral Student, Curriculum Studies, University of SaskatchewanLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1654852021-08-29T07:47:25Z2021-08-29T07:47:25ZThe first-ever dictionary of South Africa’s Kaaps language has launched - why it matters<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/416938/original/file-20210819-25-1n0krmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Graffiti artist Falko Starr finishes a mural in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>It’s been in existence since the 1500s but the Kaaps language, synonymous with Cape Town in South Africa, has never had a dictionary until now. <a href="http://dwkaaps.co.za">The Trilingual Dictionary of Kaaps</a> has been <a href="https://www.uwc.ac.za/news-and-announcements/news/the-first-trilingual-dictionary-of-kaaps-launched">launched</a> by a collective of academic and community stakeholders – the <a href="https://www.uwc.ac.za/study/all-areas-of-study/centres/centre-for-multilingualism-and-diversities-research/overview">Centre</a> for Multilingualism and Diversities Research at the University of the Western Cape along with the hip hop-driven community NGO <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HealTheHoodZA/">Heal the Hood Project</a>. The dictionary – in Kaaps, English and Afrikaans – holds the promise of being a powerful democratic resource. Adam Haupt, director of the Centre for Film & Media Studies at the University of Cape Town, is involved in the project and tells us more.</em></p>
<hr>
<h2>What is Kaaps and who uses the language?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.litnet.co.za/kaaps-is-the-future-of-afrikaans/">Kaaps</a> or Afrikaaps is a language created in settler colonial South Africa, developed by the 1500s. It took shape as a language during encounters between indigenous African (Khoi and San), South-East Asian, Dutch, Portuguese and English people. It could be argued that Kaaps predates the emergence of an early form of Kaaps-Hollands (the South African variety of Dutch that would help shape Afrikaans). Traders and sailors would have passed through this region well before formal colonisation commenced. Also consider migration and movement on the African continent itself. Every intercultural engagement would have created an opportunity for linguistic exchange and the negotiation of new meaning. </p>
<p>Today, Kaaps is most commonly used by largely working class speakers on the Cape Flats, an area in Cape Town where many disenfranchised people were forcibly moved by the apartheid government. It’s used across all online and offline contexts of socialisation, learning, commerce, politics and religion. And, because of language contact and the temporary and seasonal migration of speakers from the Western Cape, it is written and spoken across South Africa and beyond its borders. </p>
<p>It is important to acknowledge the agency of people from the global South in developing Kaaps – for example, the language was first taught in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/madrasah">madrassahs</a> (Islamic schools) and was written in Arabic script. This acknowledgement is imperative especially because Afrikaner nationalists appropriated Kaaps in later years. </p>
<p>For a great discussion of Kaaps and explanation of examples of words and phrases from this language, listen to <a href="https://www.capetalk.co.za/podcasts/613/the-morning-review-with-lester-kiewit-podcast/536517/first-trilingual-dictionary-in-kaaps-to-be-published">this conversation</a> between academic Quentin Williams and journalist Lester Kiewit.</p>
<h2>How did the dictionary come about?</h2>
<p>The dictionary project, which is still in its launch phase, is the result of ongoing collaborative work between a few key people. You might say it’s one outcome of our interest in <a href="https://www.uwc.ac.za/news-and-announcements/news/neva-again-quentin-williams-on-hip-hop-activism-and-academia-324">hip hop art, activism and education</a>. We are drawn to hip hop’s desire to validate black modes of speech. In a sense, this is what a dictionary will do for Kaaps.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/quentin-williams-392453">Quentin Williams</a>, a sociolinguist, leads the project. Emile Jansen, Tanswell Jansen and Shaquile Southgate serve on the editorial board on behalf of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HealTheHoodZA/">Heal the Hood</a> Project, which is an NGO that employs hip hop education in youth development initiatives. Emile also worked with hip hop and theatre practitioners on a production called <em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVpBHcR1_tU">Afrikaaps</a></em>, which affirmed Kaaps and narrated some of its history. Anthropologist <a href="https://anthro.ucla.edu/person/h-samy-alim/">H. Samy Alim</a> is the founding director of the <a href="https://ed.stanford.edu/spotlight/center-race-ethnicity-and-language-launches-new-website">Center</a> for Race, Ethnicity and Language at Stanford University and has assisted in funding the dictionary, with the Western Cape’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418052/original/file-20210826-15-1dmerfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="An album cover with the title 'Afrikaaps', an illustration of assorted cool looking young people with a mountain in the background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418052/original/file-20210826-15-1dmerfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/418052/original/file-20210826-15-1dmerfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418052/original/file-20210826-15-1dmerfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418052/original/file-20210826-15-1dmerfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418052/original/file-20210826-15-1dmerfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=749&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418052/original/file-20210826-15-1dmerfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=749&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/418052/original/file-20210826-15-1dmerfu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=749&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">CD art from the musical Afrikaaps.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy of Afrikaaps/Dylan Valley</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We’re in the process of training the core editorial board in the scientific area of lexicography, translation and transcription. This includes the archiving of the initial, structured corpus for the dictionary. We will write down definitions and determine meanings of old and new Kaaps words. This process will be subjected to a rigorous review and editing and stylistic process of the Kaaps words we will enter in the dictionary. The entries will include their history of origin, use and uptake. There will also be a translation from standard Afrikaans and English. </p>
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<h2>Who will use the dictionary?</h2>
<p>It will be a resource for its speakers and valuable to educators, students and researchers. It will impact the ways in which institutions, as loci of power, engage speakers of Kaaps. It would also be useful to journalists, publishers and editors keen to learn more about how to engage Kaaps speakers.</p>
<p>A Kaaps dictionary will validate it as a language in its own right. And it will validate the identities of the people who speak it. It will also assist in making visible the diverse cultural, linguistic, geographical and historical tributaries that contributed to the evolution of this language. </p>
<h2>Kaaps was relegated to a slang status of Afrikaans?</h2>
<p>Acknowledgement of Kaaps is imperative especially because Afrikaner nationalists appropriated Kaaps in order to create the dominant version of the language in the form of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Afrikaans-language">Afrikaans</a>. A ‘<em>suiwer</em>’ or ‘pure’ version, claiming a strong Dutch influence, Afrikaans was formally recognised as an official language of South Africa in 1925. This was part of the efforts to construct <a href="https://theconversation.com/afrikaner-identity-in-post-apartheid-south-africa-remains-stuck-in-whiteness-87471">white Afrikaner identity</a>, which shaped <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa">apartheid</a> based on a belief in white supremacy. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/afrikaner-identity-in-post-apartheid-south-africa-remains-stuck-in-whiteness-87471">Afrikaner identity in post-apartheid South Africa remains stuck in whiteness</a>
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<p>For example, think about the Kaaps tradition of <em>koesiesters</em> – fried dough confectionery – which was appropriated (taken without acknowledgement) and the treats were named <em>koeksisters</em> by white Afrikaners. They were claimed as a white Afrikaner tradition. The appropriation of Kaaps reveals a great deal about the extent to which race is socially and politically constructed. As I have said <a href="https://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/books/static">elsewhere</a>, cultural appropriation is both an expression of unequal relations of power and is enabled by them.</p>
<p>When people think about Kaaps, they often think about it as ‘mixed’ or ‘impure’ (‘<em>onsuiwer</em>’). This relates to the ways in which they think about ‘racial’ identity. They often think about coloured identity as ‘mixed’, which implies that black and white identities are ‘pure’ and bounded; that they only become ‘mixed’ in ‘inter-racial’ sexual encounters. This mode of thinking is biologically essentialist. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-cape-towns-gayle-has-endured-and-been-adopted-by-straight-people-117336">How Cape Town's "Gayle" has endured -- and been adopted by straight people</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Of course, geneticists now know that there is not sufficient genetic variation between the ‘races’ to justify biologically essentialist understandings. Enter cultural racism to reinforce the <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-unpack-the-word-race-and-find-new-language-138379">concept of ‘race’</a>. It polices culture and insists on standard language varieties by denigrating often black modes of speech as ‘slang’ or marginal dialects.</p>
<h2>Can a dictionary help overturn stereotypes?</h2>
<p>Visibility and the politics of representation are key challenges for speakers of Kaaps – be it in the media, which has done a great job of lampooning and stereotyping speakers of Kaaps – or in these speakers’ engagement with governmental and educational institutions. If Kaaps is not recognised as a bona fide language, you will continue to see classroom scenarios where schoolkids are told explicitly that the way in which they speak is not ‘respectable’ and will not guarantee them success in their pursuit of careers. </p>
<p>This dictionary project, much like ones for other South African languages like isiXhosa, isiZulu or Sesotho, can be a great democratic resource for developing understanding in a country that continues to be racially divided and unequal.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165485/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adam Haupt receives funding from UCT's University Research Committee and the National Research Foundation. He is affiliated with the University of Cape Town, Association for Cultural Studies, Global Hip Hop Studies Journal. Haupt is Professor and Director of the Centre for Film & Media Studies at UCT.</span></em></p>It’s been in existence since the 1500s but the Kaaps language, synonymous with Cape Town, has never had a dictionary until now.Adam Haupt, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1624502021-06-09T17:17:51Z2021-06-09T17:17:51ZWhat makes someone bilingual? There’s no easy answer<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405353/original/file-20210609-14847-7iz6p1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C22%2C1911%2C1095&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are a million different ways to be bilingual.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/fr/illustrations/apprendre-%C3%A9cole-2001847/">Gerd Altmann/Pixabay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s estimated that half the world’s population is <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/life-bilingual/201209/how-many-are-we">bilingual</a>, and two-thirds of the world’s children grow up in an environment where several languages intersect. But while bilingualism is common, its definitions are varied. They are often based on people’s experiences or feelings about language – what they convey and what they represent.</p>
<p>The question also divides linguists. While some emphasise cultural integration as the most important factor, others say that only an individual with equivalent mastery of both languages can truly be considered bilingual.</p>
<p>In 1930, linguist <a href="https://ling.yale.edu/about/history/people/leonard-bloomfield">Leonard Bloomfield</a> defined bilingualism as the complete control of two languages, as if each were a mother tongue. This is an idealised vision of a perfect, balanced bilingualism, assuming equivalent written and oral skills in both languages. According to this definition, a bilingual speaker is the sum of two monolinguals. However, this type of bilingualism is extremely rare, and in reality, bilingual people have varied language profiles. Each is unique in their relationship to language.</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Lire cet article en français:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-partir-de-quand-devient-on-bilingue-161305">À partir de quand devient-on bilingue?</a></p>
<hr>
<p>There are other theories of bilingualism. The Canadian linguist <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-linguistics-revue-canadienne-de-linguistique/article/abs/description-of-bilingualism/26FFC45CC887C1AD025D8901A0C1FE52">William F Mackey</a> defines it as the alternating use of two or more languages, while Swiss scholar <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0093934X89900485">François Grosjean</a> argues that people who are bilingual use two or more languages in their everyday activities. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0778">Vivian Cook</a>, from the UK, defines a bilingual person as a multi-skilled individual who develops language skills consistent with the context of acquisition and use of the second language. Thus, an individual may be considered bilingual even if he or she has only a partial command of the second language.</p>
<p>Where does that leave us? Today, a working definition of bilingualism would correspond to the regular and alternating use of at least two languages by an individual – a category that applies to several million speakers.</p>
<h2>Measuring proficiency</h2>
<p>Of course, levels of language proficiency can vary widely. According to French linguist, <a href="https://www.odilejacob.fr/catalogue/psychologie/developpement-de-l-enfant/enfant-bilingue_9782738135209.php">Ranka Bijeljac-Babić</a>, two criteria should be considered when talking about bilingualism: the age at which a second language is acquired and the level of proficiency in the acquired language and mother tongue.</p>
<p>When languages are learned in early childhood, before the age of three or four, this is called “early simultaneous bilingualism” because the two languages develop at more or less the same time. Before puberty, it is called “early consecutive bilingualism”, because the second language is added after the first language is already established. When a second language is learned after adolescence, it is called “late bilingualism”.</p>
<p>The level of proficiency is more difficult to establish: the same individual may have very different skills in terms of their ability to speak, write and understand. Some people speak a language very well but cannot write it, others have good written skills but very poor oral skills. And of course, it is quite possible to have a good level of both skills in several languages.</p>
<p>Even when both languages are learned simultaneously, the contexts of use will lead to one of the languages being <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14790718.2013.783583">dominant</a> over the other. It is the language that will be activated more spontaneously, will cause the speaker to make fewer pauses and will give rise to the richest, most complex sentences.</p>
<p>The dominant language is not necessarily the first one. An immigrant to a country with a different language will gradually develop a lexicon in that second language. If the second language is used on a daily basis, and the native one is no longer used at all, then the second language will become dominant.</p>
<h2>The mental lexicon</h2>
<p>In psycholinguistics, the term <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/linguistics-the-cambridge-survey/mental-lexicon/2C9D130A0EA2CDF9A80E19CB3AC64EC7">“mental lexicon”</a> refers to all the information we know about words and their characteristics. Every individual has a mental lexicon that allows them to access linguistic information.</p>
<p>For a monolingual speaker, the mental lexicon is considered to be made up of <a href="https://repository.ubn.ru.nl/handle/2066/15504">40,000 to 60,000 entries</a>, from which they will retrieve information while speaking, reading, listening or writing. In bilingual speakers, the process is similar, but logically there are more entries, because the mental lexicon groups together information from different known languages.</p>
<p>How this happens is a matter of debate. There are two main hypotheses concerning the way bilinguals <a href="https://benjamins.com/catalog/tcb.00003.apa">access information</a> stored in the mental lexicon.</p>
<p>The “language-selective access” hypothesis assumes that when a bilingual person speaks one language, the other is suppressed. Changing from one language to the other would be made by passing through a kind of switch, allowing one language to be “switched off” in order to “switch on” the one being used. This hypothesis assumes that there is no interference between the languages.</p>
<p>The “language-nonselective access” hypothesis assumes that the languages interact within the mental lexicon and influence each other. In identifying a word, the candidates from all known languages would be activated.</p>
<p>When we acquire a second language, the mother tongue serves as a basis for learning concepts in the second language, if it is already in place. The greater the frequency of exposure to the second language, the more the learner will be able to access the meaning of words directly in that language, without mediation through the first.</p>
<h2>Losing a native language</h2>
<p>Some may remember the scene in the film, <a href="https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=33468.html"><em>L’Auberge Espagnole</em></a>, in which the main character, played by Romain Duris, dreams he is no longer able to communicate in his native language, French, and can only communicate in the language he has come to learn, Spanish. The phenomenon of attrition described here is quite real – it is possible to “lose” your native language.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://benjamins.com/catalog/sibil.33">work</a> of French linguist Barbara Köpke and her colleagues, language loss like this is mostly observed in people from a migrant background. For an immigrant who has lost contact with their native language, attrition manifests in difficulties in accessing the original mental lexicon. The good news is that, even if contact with the native language is largely cut off, a small amount of contact with other speakers is sufficient to keep the first language functioning well in adults.</p>
<p>Total language attrition can take place in young children – <a href="https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00923124/file/Kopke_Schmid2011.pdf">neuroimaging studies</a> of Korean-born French adults who were adopted between the ages of three and six show no persistent trace of the Korean language, even for something as simple as the numbers 1 to 10. There was no difference in brain activation between adoptees and participants in the control group, who had never learned Korean, during a listening task.</p>
<p>These changes are not observed in late bilinguals. Native competence in a language thus becomes “invulnerable” if it is used continuously until puberty.</p>
<p>There are many different paths to bilingualism. While it is not an easy concept to define – and doing so can sometimes be stigmatising – it is important to value all languages and their various uses.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a “good” or “bad” bilingual, but studies show that it is important to encourage early language learning, and that regular daily practice will help develop language skills more effectively.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162450/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Xavier Aparicio ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Experts disagree on what makes someone truly bilingual, and how the human brain accesses multiple languages.Xavier Aparicio, Maître de conférences en psychologie cognitive, Université Paris-Est Créteil Val de Marne (UPEC)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1545222021-02-18T13:53:50Z2021-02-18T13:53:50ZReaching African audiences in their mother tongue: one film’s ongoing legacy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384544/original/file-20210216-13-502ep1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2875%2C1616&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Copyright Colours of the Alphabet</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over <a href="https://alp.fas.harvard.edu/introduction-african-languages">2,000 languages</a> are spoken in Africa, with multilingualism a common feature of everyday life. Across the continent, though, millions of school pupils aren’t taught in their mother tongue. </p>
<p>Zambia, for instance, is a country with a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264824740_One_Zambia_One_Nation_Many_Languages">huge range</a> of languages but just one official language: English. Intrigued by the disconnect between the languages spoken at home by children in Zambia and the English of their education, <a href="https://www.ncl.ac.uk/sacs/staff/profile/alastaircole.html">Alastair Cole</a>, a lecturer in film practice at Newcastle University, and I set out to make a documentary about the linguistic experience of children in the classroom.</p>
<p>We filmed over nine months, following three children as they first discovered that the language they spoke at home would not be the language of their education. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Film poster showing line of children in front of a blackboard." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384539/original/file-20210216-17-zjr3kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/384539/original/file-20210216-17-zjr3kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384539/original/file-20210216-17-zjr3kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384539/original/file-20210216-17-zjr3kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384539/original/file-20210216-17-zjr3kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384539/original/file-20210216-17-zjr3kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/384539/original/file-20210216-17-zjr3kw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Colours of the Alphabet film poster.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Copyright: Colours of the Alphabet</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Our film, <a href="https://coloursofthealphabet.com/about-the-film">Colours of the Alphabet</a>, intended to convey the children’s <a href="http://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2019/09/19/language-lessons/">multilingualism</a> by using multicoloured English subtitles for each language spoken in the classroom. We used orange for Soli, green for Nyanja, pink for Bemba and white for English. This meant that viewers were able to recognise that at any one moment within a classroom, pupils were speaking several languages in an attempt to understand the official one. </p>
<p>However, this approach only worked for an English reading and speaking audience – perpetuating the dominance of English as a global language. We needed to make the film available in a way that reflected the linguistic diversity that we <a href="https://coloursofthealphabet.com/impact-project/">sought to champion</a>. </p>
<h2>New networks</h2>
<p>Making the film accessible to audiences across Africa was a task too big for just two academics. We began to build partnerships. First, we secured distribution with a not-for-profit distribution and streaming network called <a href="https://afridocs.net/about/">Afridocs</a>. Afridocs broadcasts the best African and international documentaries for free to 49 countries in Africa by satellite and online. </p>
<p>We then partnered with <a href="https://amara.org/en/about-amara/">Amara</a>, a free-to-use global subtitling software platform. Together with the UK-based <a href="https://screenlanguage.co.uk/">Screen Language</a> services and the <a href="https://www.iti.org.uk/">Institute of Translation and Interpreting</a>, we created an online workshop to teach translation and subtitling. The process of translation is a highly skilled activity, and our workshops, delivered over two months, included video lessons as well as interactive exercises and feedback sessions with the course leader. </p>
<p>Working with our Africa-based collaborator, Gertrude Kitongo, we set out to recruit mother tongue speakers of 27 diverse indigenous languages in Africa. These ranged from Swahili, spoken by about 100 million people in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, to the minority tongue of Soli, which, in 1989, was estimated to have around <a href="http://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2019/09/19/language-lessons/">54,000 speakers</a> in Zambia.</p>
<p>We were overwhelmed by the response and eventually managed to whittle down the applications to 54 people who took part in the subtitling workshop, and who we paid to translate and subtitle the film. </p>
<p>For one of our subtitlers, Annaliisa Amutenya from Namibia, it was the first time she had ever seen a documentary subtitled into her mother tongue, Oshiwambo. Another, Brighton Lubasi from Zambia, spoke of his pride at having a part in creating a visible affirmation of the literary, not just spoken, richness of the Lozi and Nyanja languages. </p>
<p>Our next step was to collaborate with Unesco to coordinate the first multilingual, continent-wide digital release of a documentary. This took place on February 21 2018, <a href="https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/motherlanguageday">International Mother Language Day</a>. We then made the film freely available across Africa in 30 languages – 27 African languages, plus English, French and Portuguese – thanks to funding from the <a href="https://esrc.ukri.org/">Economic and Social Research Council</a>.</p>
<p>Alongside the online film release, we launched a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ColoursOfTheAlphabetFilm/">campaign on Facebook</a>: #MyTongueMyStory. This encouraged members of the public to write about their experience of a monolinguistic education system in their own language. We kicked off the campaign with personal stories from the film’s translators. </p>
<p>Ultimately, the multilingual film content on the Afridocs platform reached over 200,000 people. The subtitling team now offer their services as the <a href="https://subtitlingafrica.org/about">African Film Translation Network</a>.</p>
<p>This year, we will take our project one step further, including even more languages. On International Mother Language Day, at the request of the UN, the film will be <a href="https://www.ungeneva.org/en/IMLD2021">freely available in 40 languages</a> to a global audience.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154522/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Higgins and Alastair Cole received funding from the ESRC - this is mentioned in the article.
</span></em></p>The documentary resulted in the creation of an active translation network.Nick Higgins, Chair of Screen Practice, Director of the UWS Creative Media Academy, University of the West of ScotlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1430932021-02-08T05:10:46Z2021-02-08T05:10:46ZDon’t be afraid to pass your first language, and accent, to your kids. It could be their superpower<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382898/original/file-20210208-21-hi4hmm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/happy-asian-family-using-tablet-laptop-1542488750">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia is a multicultural society. There are different traditions, cultures, accents and languages all over the country.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/lookup/media%20release3">The latest Census data</a> show almost 30% of Australians speak a language other than English, or English and another language, at home.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://surveyswesternsydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_74hkzh3mqjXJEwJ">latest survey</a>, we have had responses from 281 multilingual families across Australia, who speak a variety of languages at home. They include Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Teo Chew and Spanish. </p>
<p>We found many first-generation migrant parents are hesitant to pass on their first language to their children. This is because they believe a different language at home will give their children a foreign accent. Yet some parents also feel if they speak English to their children, their children will pick up their own accented English. </p>
<p>This can leave some parents in somewhat of a catch-22, feeling that no matter what, their children will be faced with the same discrimination as them. </p>
<p>But it’s important to speak to your children in your own language, and your own accent. By being exposed to multiple ways of communicating, children learn multiple ways of thinking. </p>
<p>They learn to understand that everyone plays different roles, has different identities; and that others may speak or look different. </p>
<h2>Bias against foreign languages</h2>
<p>Research suggests people are highly biased in their preferences for certain accents and languages. According to the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0261927x09341950">linguistic stereotyping hypothesis</a>, hearing just a few seconds of an accent associated with a lower-prestige group can activate a host of associations. </p>
<p>Hearing a stereotypical “foreign accent”, for example, can lead people to immediately think of that person as being uneducated, inarticulate or untrustworthy. </p>
<p>These kinds of biases develop early in life. In a 2009 study, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3096936/">five-year-old children</a> chose to be friends with native speakers of their native language rather than those who spoke a foreign language or had an accent.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/bias-starts-early-most-books-in-childcare-centres-have-white-middle-class-heroes-130208">Bias starts early – most books in childcare centres have white, middle-class heroes</a>
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<p>One hypothesis is that this is due to our broader survival mechanism. Babies learn early to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1532-7078.2010.00050.x">tune in more to the voice of their caregiver</a> rather than a stranger’s voice. This means they are better able to detect when they are in a dangerous situation. </p>
<p>However, over time, these stranger-danger associations become stereotypes, which can lead us to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/05/02/scientists-show-how-we-start-stereotyping-the-moment-we-see-a-face/">hear or see what we expect</a>. When we get older, we need to unlearn our biases that once kept us safe to become more accepting of others.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382900/original/file-20210208-16-1ur4hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A migrant family." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382900/original/file-20210208-16-1ur4hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382900/original/file-20210208-16-1ur4hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382900/original/file-20210208-16-1ur4hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382900/original/file-20210208-16-1ur4hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382900/original/file-20210208-16-1ur4hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382900/original/file-20210208-16-1ur4hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382900/original/file-20210208-16-1ur4hc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Almost 30% of Australians speak a language other than English at home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/arabian-family-portrait-park-792334939">Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In Australia, there is systematic discrimination towards speakers of <a href="https://theconversation.com/10-ways-aboriginal-australians-made-english-their-own-128219">Australian Aboriginal English</a>, as well as towards speakers of “<a href="https://theconversation.com/gogglebox-and-what-it-tells-us-about-english-in-australia-75295">ethnolects</a>”, which are a way of speaking characteristic of a particular ethnic group — such as Greek, Italian or Lebanese. </p>
<p>When people hear these accents, they may think that person does not speak English well. But having an accent is special: it signals you are multilingual and you have the experience of having grown up with multiple cultural influences. </p>
<h2>Accentuate the positive</h2>
<p>Many of the parents we surveyed felt hesitant to speak multiple languages at home, or felt their efforts were not being supported at school.</p>
<p>One parent told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Instead of helping her (my daughter) develop the language, all primary teachers assessed her language in comparison with the monolinguals and demanded to cut the other languages “to improve” the school language. </p>
<p>I would not have dared to experiment here in Australia with the kid’s second language. The peer pressure, the teacher’s pressure and the lack of language schools are main factors.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But over the centuries, some of the world’s brightest people, such as author <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/life-bilingual/201101/bilinguals-and-accents#:%7E:text=He%20was%20trilingual%20in%20Polish,strong%20Polish%20accent%20in%20English!">Joseph Conrad</a> spoke with a strong accent. Many others, such as <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/life-bilingual/201911/those-amazing-special-bilinguals">Vladimir Nabokov, Gustavo Pérez-Firmat and Eva Hoffman</a> (who wrote Lost in Translation in her second language) harnessed the benefits of being bilingual to produce astounding literary works, drawing on the <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/life-bilingual/201603/living-in-parts-dreaming-wholeness">different “voices” in their heads</a> to act out different characters.</p>
<p>In this way, a second language can be a superpower.</p>
<p>Children who can speak several languages tend to have <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/08/how-foreign-languages-foster-greater-empathy-in-children/432462/">higher levels of empathy</a>. They also <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171002084841.htm#:%7E:text=It%20is%20often%20claimed%20that,than%20monolinguals%20at%20learning%20languages.&text=The%20study%2C%20conducted%20at%20Georgetown,learning%20languages%20later%20in%20life.">find it easier to learn languages later in life</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-migrant-school-students-do-better-than-their-local-peers-theyre-not-just-smarter-93741">Why some migrant school students do better than their local peers (they're not 'just smarter')</a>
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<p>Multilingual exposure <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/opinion/sunday/the-superior-social-skills-of-bilinguals.html">facilitates interpersonal understanding</a> among babies and young children. This social advantage appears to emerge from merely being exposed to multiple languages, rather than being bilingual per se. </p>
<p>Being multilingual is also an amazing workout for the brain: speaking multiple languages throughout your life can help <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0028393206004076">delay the onset of dementia and cognitive decline</a>.</p>
<h2>Parents’ confidence translates to children</h2>
<p>Research shows migrant parents who feel pressured to speak to their children in their non-native language <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284550282_Minority_language_parenting_in_Europe_and_children's_well-being">feel less secure in their role as parents</a>. But if they feel supported in using their first language, they feel more confident as parents, which in turn has a positive effect on children’s well-being. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382901/original/file-20210208-24-1c0ao6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A migrant family at the table, eating lunch." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382901/original/file-20210208-24-1c0ao6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/382901/original/file-20210208-24-1c0ao6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382901/original/file-20210208-24-1c0ao6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382901/original/file-20210208-24-1c0ao6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382901/original/file-20210208-24-1c0ao6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382901/original/file-20210208-24-1c0ao6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/382901/original/file-20210208-24-1c0ao6h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Migrant parents who raise their kids with more than one language say they feel like they’ve given them an advantage in life.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/multi-generation-family-enjoying-meal-on-216530335">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>We found <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2019.00163/full">migrant parents who do raise their children in more than one language</a> report feeling good about passing on their culture to their children, and feel they have given them an advantage in life. They also feel as though their children are more connected to their extended family.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-politicisation-of-english-language-proficiency-not-poor-english-itself-creates-barriers-98475">The politicisation of English language proficiency, not poor English itself, creates barriers</a>
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<hr>
<h2>So, what could you do?</h2>
<p>Here are some ways you could help your children keep their native language, and accent, alive:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>check out your local library or <a href="https://www.borrowbox.com/">BorrowBox</a> for books or audiobooks in different languages</p></li>
<li><p>connect with other multilingual families on social media for virtual or face-to-face playdates</p></li>
<li><p>schedule <a href="https://theconversation.com/grandparent-grandchildren-video-calls-are-vital-during-covid-19-here-are-simple-ways-to-improve-them-141534">video chats</a> with grandparents and extended family members. Encourage them to speak their language with your child</p></li>
<li><p>find out if your child’s preschool has a program for learning a new language, or check out <a href="http://www.dynamicsoflanguage.edu.au/lmm/">Little Multilingual Minds</a>. If your child is older, encourage them to take up a language in primary or high school. It’s never too late.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>One parent shared their strategy for helping their child speak in different languages and accents:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I play games with accents, one child is learning French, the other Italian, so I play games with them about the pronunciation of words and get them to teach me words in the language they are learning and emphasise the accent.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We hope linguistic diversity becomes the status quo. This way, all children will gain cultural awareness and sensitivity. They will become more attuned to their evolving identities, and accept others may have identities different to their own.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Do you speak more than one language at home? Help us find out more about multilingualism in Australia by responding to this <a href="https://surveyswesternsydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_74hkzh3mqjXJEwJ">survey</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>You can also help us find out Australian’s attitudes towards accents by taking part in <a href="https://surveyswesternsydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8ps8oDFBLRnRfGB">this survey</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143093/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chloé Diskin-Holdaway receives funding from The Irish Research Council, the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language and the University of Melbourne. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paola Escudero receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) via the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language and an ARC Future Fellowship.</span></em></p>Many migrant parents are hesitant to pass their language accent onto their children. They fear this may lead them to experience discrimination. But speaking two languages has many advantages.Chloé Diskin-Holdaway, Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics, The University of MelbournePaola Escudero, Professor in Linguistics, MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1400752020-07-05T08:41:34Z2020-07-05T08:41:34ZSouth African cops need linguistic training – urgently<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344733/original/file-20200630-103668-111p1ay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Police officers are expected to take statements without any real training in the process.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Roger Sedres/Shutterstock.com/For editorial use only</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you have been the victim of a crime, one of the first interactions you’ll have with police is when an officer takes your sworn statement. Language is key to this process: you tell an officer your story, and they record it, usually writing it by hand. </p>
<p>But this becomes complicated in any multilingual society. South Africa, for instance, has 11 official languages and many other spoken languages. This often throws up a language barrier between the officer taking the statement and the victim sharing their story. </p>
<p>And it gets even more complex because despite the country’s diversity of languages, <a href="http://vital.seals.ac.za:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:37968?site_name=GLobalView">English is the sole official language of record</a>. All sworn statements are to be recorded in English. That means the onus is on the police officer to be as proficient in reading, writing and speaking English as a mother tongue speaker of the language. This, in a country where English is only <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0318/P03182018.pdf">the sixth most commonly spoken</a> home language. </p>
<p>That makes it highly unlikely that either the officer taking the statement or the victim giving it speak English fluently.</p>
<p>Most South African police officers receive no language or literacy courses before qualifying. In fact, police in the country need only fulfil the requirements of <a href="http://digitalknowledge.cput.ac.za/handle/11189/6297">six months’ worth of basic training</a> – the major elements of which are a driver’s licence and a matriculation certificate that attests to the completion of schooling. There is no need for any post school qualification. </p>
<p>Police officers are also not, and are not expected to be, sworn translators or interpreters. This has serious implications for justice. In South African law, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13556509.2014.934002">a statement</a> takes precedence over any oral narrative when evidence is led in court. </p>
<p>An officer may misunderstand elements of the victim’s statement, badly paraphrase an accused person’s account of events, or choose to exclude information because they are not properly taught to listen to and sort it. But this flawed written statement will contradict the accused or a victim’s oral testimony, bringing the facts of the case and a witness’s credibility into question, even when an interpreter is present at trial.</p>
<p>The system needs an overhaul. Linguistic training for police officers, as well as proper resources for interpretation services, must be prioritised and implemented.</p>
<h2>A complex process</h2>
<p>Linguistically the process of taking a sworn statement is quite complex. It combines translation, where more than one language is spoken, with retelling and reconstruction. The police officer must synthesise everything he’s being told to ensure the facts are accurately recorded, a process called subjective synthesis. By doing all of this, the police officer is acting as an <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13556509.2014.934002">transpreter</a>: simultaneously a translator of written text and an interpreter of oral communication.</p>
<p>Police officers can hardly be blamed for not being trained in this process. It’s the system that enables the lack of training. The South African Police Services’ <a href="https://www.polity.org.za/article/use-of-official-languages-act-language-policy-south-african-police-service-draft-gazette-notice-r994-2015-11-10">draft language policy</a> makes no mention of properly training officers. Instead, it states that a trained interpreter may be called to a station to assist if it’s practical and money is available.</p>
<p>In reality, this rarely happens. Police officers are largely left to their own devices, acting as transpreters without training. This has real life consequences, as seen in the <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/omotoso-trial-this-is-about-justice-cheryl-zondi-prepared-to-testify-over-and-over-again-20190319">high profile</a> rape and human trafficking trial of Eastern Cape pastor Timothy Omotoso. In the first trial (from which the judge eventually recused himself; a second trial has not yet started), one of Omotoso’s accusers, Cheryl Zondi, was continuously asked during cross-examination why her oral evidence did not correlate with her written statement. Zondi suggested that these questions should be directed to the police, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1LvzZTshMh4">saying</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Why don’t you ask the police officer why that was recorded as such in the statement – I didn’t say that.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The current model of translation or retelling and rewriting of pre-statements into actual statements has a <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1021-545X2015000200010">long history in the South African criminal justice system</a>. Historically, it benefited English and Afrikaans speakers and put African language speakers at a real disadvantage. </p>
<p>Today, it is mostly English speakers who benefit. In the current system English acts to silence speakers who are not conversant in or comfortable enough to speak the <em>de facto</em> language of the criminal justice system. Instead, the (usually untrained) transpreter’s “voice” dominates. </p>
<h2>Towards change</h2>
<p>So, what can be done to begin shifting the system? Police statement taking is problematic in many multilingual legal systems. </p>
<p>In some countries, like Australia, forensic linguists have <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230502932_1">been employed</a> to work alongside the police, helping officers to capture statements and training them on best practice models. </p>
<p>Elsewhere – <a href="http://vital.seals.ac.za:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:37968?site_name=GlobalView&query=zakeera+docrat+&sort=ss_dateNormalized+desc%2Csort_ss_title+asc&queryType=vitalDismax">for instance</a> in Belgium and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, police officers are trained bilingually. They are then deployed to areas based on their linguistic competencies. Not only are statements captured in two languages: judicial officers must be fluent in those languages, too. So these languages are prioritised at each step of the justice process.</p>
<p>Ideally, South Africa should begin by developing police officers’ current language skills in their mother tongues. Statements can be captured digitally in these languages, then translated into English for trial. This will ensure that the initial statements capture the facts accurately without being lost in translation. Contemporary computer technologies should be considered
when facilitating the translation of sworn statements.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140075/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zakeera Docrat receives funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Russell H. Kaschula receives funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monwabisi K Ralarala does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Police officers are also not, and are not expected to be, sworn translators or interpreters. This has serious implications for justice.Zakeera Docrat, Postdoctoral research fellow (Forensic Linguistics/ Language and Law), Rhodes UniversityMonwabisi K Ralarala, Dean: Faculty of Arts, University of the Western CapeRussell H. Kaschula, Professor of African Language Studies, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1266312019-11-11T17:09:06Z2019-11-11T17:09:06ZBilingualism and dementia: how some patients lose their second language and rediscover their first<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301103/original/file-20191111-194641-14t8ggc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Being bilingual can delay onset of dementia, but sometimes patients revert to their mother tongue, leaving them isolated.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/living-alzheimers-disease-two-trees-shape-100688473">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many people with dementia, memories of early childhood appear more vivid than their fragile sense of the present. But what happens when the present is experienced through a different language than the one spoken in childhood? And how might carers and care homes cope with the additional level of complexity in looking after <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ana.24158">bilingual people living with dementia</a>? </p>
<p>This is not just relevant for people living with dementia and those who care for them. It can provide insights into the human mind that are equally important to brain researchers, social scientists and even artists.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Read more: <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-alzheimers-disease-24662">Explainer: what is Alzheimer’s disease?</a></strong></em> </p>
<hr>
<p>This relationship between dementia and bilingualism was the focus of <a href="https://ewds2.strath.ac.uk/Default.aspx?tabid=1306&articleType=ArticleView&articleid=13669">a workshop</a> we held recently in Glasgow. Bringing together healthcare professionals, volunteers, community activists, dementia researchers, translation experts, writers and actors, the workshop was organised around a reading of a new play performed by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Scots-Gaelic-language">Gaelic language</a> group, Theatre Tog-ì. </p>
<p>The play, Five to Midnight, centres on a native Gaelic speaker from the <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lewis+and+Harris/@57.7937291,-6.6915454,8z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x488d9f021d5b2073:0x1302d3ff6e73b999!8m2!3d58.2436089!4d-6.6672018">Outer Hebrides</a> whose English begins to fade as her dementia develops. Her English-speaking husband increasingly finds himself cut off from his wife as she retreats into the past and to a language he does not understand. The couple’s pain and frustration at their inability to communicate is harrowing. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T_hptqJyTf8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>Health, well-being and culture</h2>
<p>It soon became clear in the workshop that the minority-language subject matter of the play was not a rare, isolated case but rather one that connects to a broader range of important issues such as health, well-being and preserving cultural heritage for <a href="https://www.pri.org/stories/2015-10-09/my-grandmothers-disease-has-stolen-her-memories-and-our-common-language">future generations</a>.</p>
<p>We heard stories from people working in care homes in Ireland, Scotland and Wales that told how bilingual people with advanced forms of dementia and almost no linguistic skills, were transformed by care workers who could speak the patient’s mother tongue. As with many people living with dementia, <a href="https://www.dementiauk.org/get-support/complementary-approaches/music/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImKD3ksTY5QIVC7TtCh1kzg3WEAAYAiAAEgLG0vD_BwE">music and song</a> were often the keys that unlocked the flow of words and memories.</p>
<p>In Wales, where the number of Welsh speakers is estimated to be <a href="https://gov.wales/welsh-language-data-annual-population-survey-july-2018-june-2019">891,000</a>, the issue of ageing bilingual speakers with dementia is far more acute than in Scotland. One solution has been to place magnetic “Welsh spoken” signs on the hospital beds of Welsh speakers so that staff who speak the language themselves know they can communicate with patients in their mother tongue.</p>
<p>Bilingualism in the context of dementia affects millions of migrants all over the world. If parents have abandoned their original language to speak only English (or the dominant language of their adopted country) with their children, whole generations grow up cut off from their cultural heritage, unable to speak their parents’ language.</p>
<p>Which means first-generation migrants who develop dementia may find themselves unable to communicate with their own children as they revert to the language they used in their youth. At the workshop, a member of a local language-learning enterprise called <a href="https://www.lingoflamingo.co.uk/">Lingo Flamingo</a> explained this is why it organises <a href="https://search.volunteerscotland.net/opportunity/a0g1p00000FJxy3AAD/lingo-flamingo-volunteers">befriending programmes</a> for older people and patients with dementia, using languages such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Punjabi-language">Punjabi</a>, spoken by people of Indian and Pakistani origin.</p>
<p>The varied backgrounds of the our workshop participants meant a wide range of topics were discussed, including the issue of language and translation in <a href="https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/dementia-professionals/resources-professionals/publications/assessing-cognition-older-people-toolkit">cognitive assessment</a> and diagnosis, the <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/92f4233q">brain science behind bilingualism</a>, language-appropriate and culturally relevant care, language and identity, the loss and rediscovery of culture and language, and the sharing of minority languages down through families.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301105/original/file-20191111-194624-yhx51m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301105/original/file-20191111-194624-yhx51m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301105/original/file-20191111-194624-yhx51m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301105/original/file-20191111-194624-yhx51m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301105/original/file-20191111-194624-yhx51m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301105/original/file-20191111-194624-yhx51m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/301105/original/file-20191111-194624-yhx51m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bilingual dementia patients often improve if carers can communicate with them in their original language.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-elderly-women-wearing-blue-shirt-1465634576">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The workshop also explored the role of the arts in raising public awareness of the reality of dementia in relation to language, as well as providing creative outlets for bilingual patients and their carers. As Five to Midnight demonstrated, the human stories the arts can tell are an engaging and affecting way to educate the public about dementia.</p>
<h2>Linguistic diversity</h2>
<p>Britain often imagines itself to be a monolingual English-speaking country, but alongside native minority Celtic languages there are bi/multilingual speakers from around the world in most of the UK’s major cities. The same is true for many other countries: linguisitic diversity is in fact far more common across the world than the existence of a single language.</p>
<p>Loss of language skills is a common effect of dementia, and research suggests that the resulting challenges may be more complex for bilingual dementia patients and their carers. As our workshop revealed, identifying this complexity is a first step in addressing the issue at a practical and a policy level.</p>
<p>However, the workshop also explored the positive effects of bilingualism in the context of dementia. Research from countries such as <a href="https://n.neurology.org/content/81/22/1938?ijkey=6b2bd0ebadbb00ea1ccab65d172aa56f7425337e&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha">India</a> has shown that people who speak more than one language tend to develop dementia four to five years later.</p>
<p>These findings are in line with many <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/STROKEAHA.115.010418e">other studies</a>, suggesting a milder age-related decline in cognitive ability and a better recovery of brain function after stroke in those who are bilingual. So it is important that we do not see bilingualism as part of the problem but as a potential part of the <a href="https://www.meits.org/policy-papers/paper/healthy-linguistic-diet">solution</a>.</p>
<p>Whether we approach the issue from the point of view of health and care provision, brain science or art and literature, our workshop showed the need to appreciate all the languages spoken by one person as an integral part of who they are – in sickness and in health.</p>
<p><em>Are you a relative or carer of a bilingual/multilingual patient? Or bilingual or multingual youself? Get involved in our research by taking part in our survey on language preferences across lifetime <a href="https://edinburgh.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6ySpqYdw2yyH1s1">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126631/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ingeborg Birnie received small research grant from Soillse, the national research network for the maintenance and revitalisation of Gaelic language and culture (<a href="http://www.soillse.ac.uk/en/">http://www.soillse.ac.uk/en/</a>)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Thomas H Bak receives funding from AHRC Grant "Multilingualism: Empowering Individuals, Transforming Societies (MEITS)"</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aedin Ni Loingsigh and David Murphy do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Why the lives of bilingual dementia patients can be transformed by finding carers who speak their native language.David Murphy, Professor of French and Postcolonial Studies, University of Strathclyde Aedin Ni Loingsigh, Lecturer in French and Translation Studies, University of StirlingIngeborg Birnie, Lecturer in Gaelic and Education, University of Strathclyde Thomas H Bak, Reader in Human Cognitive Neuroscience, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1240322019-09-25T13:44:06Z2019-09-25T13:44:06ZWhy South Africa needs to fix its troubled public broadcaster<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/294022/original/file-20190925-51429-fmr9t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Each of South Africa's former presidents treated the state broadcaster very differently. From left Jacob Zuma, Nelson Mandela, and Thabo Mbeki (2008).</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Epa/Kim Ludbrook</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), the country’s <a href="https://www.icasa.org.za/uploads/files/Broadcasting-Act-4-OF-1999.pdf">legislated public broadcasting service</a>, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in recent times. The extent of its woes were laid bare in testimony at the <a href="https://www.sastatecapture.org.za/">judicial commission</a> investigating allegations of corruption at various state institutions under former President Jacob Zuma.</p>
<p>Witnesses, including former and current South African Broadcasting Corporation executives, painted a frightening picture of an institution hobbled by financial bankruptcy, corruption, political interference, erosion of editorial independence and abuse of power and low staff morale.</p>
<p>The South African Broadcasting Corporation has had a long a painful history. For years it was a mouthpiece of the apartheid government. But it was not destroyed after 1994 when South Africa became an inclusive democracy. Rather the aim was to build it into a strong institution that would contribute to the new South Africa.</p>
<p>After an initial promising start, that project began to fall apart. There’s no question that the South African Broadcasting Corporation has violated its public broadcasting service obligations. And that it continues to place a massive strain on taxpayers.</p>
<p>The question that therefore needs answering is: what needs to be done to fix it?</p>
<h2>Media diversity</h2>
<p>It is in the very spirit of democracy and media diversity that the citizens must be exposed to a variety of media types. That’s why it’s perfectly reasonable that a public broadcasting service should co-exist alongside commercial and community media forms. </p>
<p>These should ideally be owned by a wide variety of proprietors, and widely divergent content. </p>
<p>But a public broadcaster is an essential part of the mix. Unlike other media, a typical public service broadcaster has a legislated obligation to be universally geographically accessible; have universal appeal; pay attention to the needs of the minorities such as people living with disabilites; contribute to creation of national identity and sense of community; and, compete on the basis of good programming rather than in numbers or ratings. </p>
<p>Another reason for defending South Africa’s public broadcaster is that the problem lies with the way in which the institution has been run, rather than the underlying concept of a public broadcaster. The problems that afflict the institution affect only some parts of the South African Broadcasting Corporation – and only some people. </p>
<p>It doesn’t make sense to discard the entire institution just because it has attracted people who have failed in their duties, and who have failed to make it the great broadcaster it could be. </p>
<p>One of these failures has been the inability to insulate the institution from vested political interests. Yet a public broadcaster’s primary responsibility – anywhere in the world – is to exclusively serve the interest of the public, and not any political (factional) and commercial interests. </p>
<p>Yet the ruinous eras of both Hlaudi Motsoeneng, the former SABC acting chief operating officer as well as the former news and current affairs <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2006-10-13-inside-the-sabc-blacklist-report">managing director, Snuki Zikalala,</a> are just two examples of the calamitous failure to insulate the institution from vested political interests. </p>
<h2>What it got right post-1994</h2>
<p>Politically, the SABC had a good start in early post-apartheid South Africa under the leadership of Zwelekhe Sisulu, the CEO and Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, the Board Chair. Nelson Mandela was the President at the time. His respect for public institutions is legendary. </p>
<p>Sisulu and Matsepe-Casaburri came from the African National Congress (ANC), but understood the difference between a public and state broadcaster. Merit was also the primary consideration in choosing the CEO and board chairs. </p>
<p>Even though the <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/20042gon584.pdf">Broadcasting Act</a> was only passed in 1999, political will was enough to protect the broadcaster. In addition, the SABC was largely stable, and had money. It used this to commission good quality dramas such as “Isidingo”, “Generations” and “Yizo Yizo”. Its news and current Affairs programmes, such as “Special Assignment”, were produced by seasoned journalists. And it had a solid investigative unit. </p>
<p>But the landscape began to change and the broadcaster’s market share and commercial fortunes began to shrink in the face of scores of community and regional commercial radio stations, a new free-to-air broadcaster, etv, and cheaper packages from DSTV (a sub-Saharan African direct broadcast satellite service) aimed at the growing black middle class. At the same time, the broadcaster was being politicised too. CEOs left before the end of their terms, some with massive golden handshakes. </p>
<p>President Thabo Mbeki began to rely on the SABC as the platform on which he could be defended. In 2006, the Sisulu Marcus Report <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2006-10-13-inside-the-sabc-blacklist-report">revealed</a> that the broadcaster blacklisted commentators critical of him. The SABC was to <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/2005-09-05-cameraman-blamed-in-sabc-bias-probe">hide a clip</a> showing the booing of the Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo Ngcuka. This culture of censorship was continued with the banning of violent protects and insistence on the positive coverage of President Jacob Zuma. </p>
<h2>What needs to be done</h2>
<p>The country needs to devise the legislative means to insulate the SABC - internally and externally - from people who are beholden to (political and commercial) interests other than the public interest. The country cannot afford to lose the SABC.</p>
<p>It is constituted in Chapter IV of the <a href="https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/20042gon584.pdf">Broadcasting Act (1999)</a> in defence of the South African public. It is supposed to be a practical platform where people’s Constitutional rights - freedom of speech and the right to information - are realised and equally protected.</p>
<p>This role has become increasingly important given the fact that we live in an era of shrinking commercial media newsrooms amid a rise in manipulative forms of political and commercial communications designed to cover up both government and private sector corruption and other malfeasance. </p>
<p>We also live in an era known for its preponderance of leisure and entertainment. As a public broadcaster the SABC has the potential to critically engage South African citizens on serious matters for the common good, and not exploit them in pursuit of profit. The SABC can execute this task comparatively better than any other media. It also has the distinct advantage of reach.</p>
<h2>Footprint</h2>
<p>The state broadcaster reaches millions of South Africans, in their own languages. Its physical infrastructure makes it almost universally accessible in a country beset by inequality.</p>
<p>With its 19 radio stations and four television channels, it is better suited to defend the interests of the public than other media. The SABC’s biggest radio station, Ukhozi FM, alone touches the lives of 7.7 million South Africans daily. </p>
<p>In a developing country like South Africa, it is public broadcasting, particularly radio, that provides valuable information that matters in the lives of ordinary people. It can meet the information needs of South Africans, while also providing for the needs of the minorities, whose programmes may not be profitable. As such, an SABC that lives up to the ethos of a public service broadcaster can contribute to national identity and coherence, and a sense of community in a fragile country. </p>
<p>The SABC, like South Africa itself, is a symbol of contradictions. While there are bad people who work for it, there are also many good ones. It it because of the good people that the broadcaster has survived.</p>
<p>For their sakes, and the country’s democracy, it’s imperative that the government provides the SABC with the necessary financial backing it needs to weather its current financial storms.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/124032/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Musawenkosi Ndlovu does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The South African Broadcasting Corporation, like South Africa itself, is a symbol of contradictions. While there are bad people who work for it, there are also many good ones.Musawenkosi Ndlovu, Associate Professor, Centre for Film and Media Studies, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1166382019-05-23T14:43:11Z2019-05-23T14:43:11ZHow South Africa’s universities are making more students multilingual<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/275682/original/file-20190521-23823-15oqfcx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When professionals, like pharmacists, are able to communicate in many languages, everyone benefits.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AS Photo Studio/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>South Africa is a multilingual, multicultural space. As is the case for many other countries in Africa, it has a number of official languages – 11. </p>
<p>Although the South African Constitution, other legislation and some policies promote the use and development of all 11 languages, this does not happen in practice. For instance, the country’s courts operate <a href="https://www.news24.com/Columnists/GuestColumn/courts-should-promote-all-languages-20170917-2">with English</a> as the sole and official language of record. </p>
<p>In higher education, too, English tends to be the dominant language. This is despite the fact that English is only the country’s <a href="https://www.gov.za/about-sa/south-africas-people#languages">sixth most commonly spoken</a> home language. </p>
<p>But the good news is that universities are becoming increasingly aware that they have an important role to play in ensuring that students do more than just graduate – they also need to be linguistically competent to work in sectors of society where the majority of people who access services can’t speak English. </p>
<p>That’s where vocation specific language courses come in. These focus on teaching students the words and phrases they need to interact with different people in the course of particular professional work. Cuba, for instance, provides this sort of vocation-specific language support for South African medical students training in that country.</p>
<p>These courses can encourage both linguistic and cultural awareness. They can equip students with the basics they need to communicate. For example, journalists, pharmacists or lawyers deal with clients from different linguistic backgrounds.</p>
<p>These courses have been introduced at <a href="https://journals.co.za/content/spilplus/38/1/EJC143436">a number of universities</a> in South Africa. This hasn’t been a universally accepted move. Some academics <a href="http://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/sunday-times-1107/20190331/281509342543910">have argued</a> that this approach “takes students off course” and distracts them from the key purpose of their degrees. </p>
<p>But there’s a <a href="https://journals.co.za/content/spilplus/38/1/EJC143436">growing body of evidence</a> that suggests these courses are working – and producing graduates who can function well in professional multilingual environments. These courses are valuable because they create citizens who are more aware of the backgrounds of the people they are dealing and living with. </p>
<h2>The landscape today</h2>
<p>Universities started developing vocation specific language courses in the decade after apartheid ended. The University of Cape Town was among the pioneers, introducing isiXhosa for medical students in 2004. In doing so, it recognised the need to equip students linguistically to work with patients who spoke this language, which is the country’s second most common home language.</p>
<p>Today, the structure of vocation-specific language courses differs from university to university. They can be offered at both mother tongue and second language levels. They can be compulsory and credit bearing or offered as additional courses. They can be integrated into the mainstream curricula or they can be studied separately. All universities have language policies, which allow for these permutations.</p>
<p>For instance, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02572117.1056455">at Rhodes University IsiXhosa for Journalism</a> is compulsory. It is part of the journalism course and must be passed at the relevant level: mother tongue, if a student’s home language is isiXhosa, and second language level if not. At the same institution, isiXhosa for Pharmacy is an elective and is integrated into the fourth year Pharmacy course. On average about 300 students a year complete these vocation specific language courses. </p>
<p>At the University of Cape Town, an IsiXhosa and Afrikaans course is integrated into the medical degree and must be passed. At the University of the Western Cape, there are isiXhosa courses for dentistry students. </p>
<p>The University of Limpopo has a bilingual Humanities degree. Half of the subjects are studied in Sesotho sa Leboa and the other half in English. Other institutions, among them North West University and the University of South Africa, are experimenting with Human Language Technology to create innovative language learning models. Human Language Technology is the interface of computer programming and language learning.</p>
<p>And the University of KwaZulu-Natal has taken a bold approach: students must learn isiZulu to graduate, no matter their degree.</p>
<p>All of these initiatives provide a valuable way to introduce more multilingualism to professional environments.</p>
<h2>Criticism and challenges</h2>
<p>The <a href="http://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/sunday-times-1107/20190331/281509342543910">criticism</a> that has been levelled at this approach suggests that it takes away time from mainstream, discipline-related teaching. It’s also been suggested that, since the courses tend to be fairly short, they are ineffective.</p>
<p>But if such courses are properly integrated into curricula and are carefully planned and taught with care by qualified facilitators who understand bi- and multilingual models of language teaching then this need not be the case.</p>
<p>And the alternative is to continue producing students who are detached from their own heritage, or detached from society generally because they remain in a an unrealistic monolingual vacuum. </p>
<p>The work that South African universities are doing through their vocation-specific language courses is not perfect. But it represents the beginnings of transforming higher education at a fundamental level – a commitment to moving away from English as the only and “ideal” language for learning and engagement. There may be challenges, but these can be addressed as the courses develop.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116638/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Russell H. Kaschula receives funding from the National Research Foundation as an NRF SARChI Chair, Rhodes University.
He is also the 2019 Mellon Global South Senior Fellow at the AUC, Egypt. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monwabisi K Ralarala and Zakeera Docrat do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Vocation specific language courses can encourage both linguistic and cultural awareness. They can equip students with the basics they need to communicate.Zakeera Docrat, Doctoral Student in African Languages (Law and Language/ Forensic Linguistics), Rhodes UniversityMonwabisi K Ralarala, Assoc Prof in Language Practice and Director: Fundani Centre for Higher Education Development, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyRussell H. Kaschula, Professor of African Language Studies, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1146512019-04-28T09:17:33Z2019-04-28T09:17:33ZFive ways indigenous languages can be championed for learners<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/270499/original/file-20190423-175548-xc0m1f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Learning in their mother tongue facilitates children's ability to learn another language.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cecil Bo Dzwowa/Shutterstock/Editorial use only</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2019 as the <a href="https://en.iyil2019.org/">International Year of Indigenous Languages</a>. In doing this, it says, it wants to acknowledge that </p>
<blockquote>
<p>languages play a crucial role in the daily lives of people… </p>
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<p>Indigenous languages tend to be spoken by politically marginalised groups whose nations were historically colonised and their languages sidelined in favour of the colonisers’. </p>
<p>There are over <a href="https://www.ethnologue.com/guides/how-many-languages">7,000 known living languages</a>; about <a href="https://www.ethnologue.com/guides/how-many-languages">one third</a> of them are in Africa. Most African children grow up in multilingual environments, and are often familiar with more than one language before they enter school.</p>
<p>The UN’s call makes it an opportune time to examine how best these languages ought to be re-empowered through intellectualisation and regular use in education. Drawn from <a href="http://assets.cambridge.org/97811070/88559/frontmatter/9781107088559_frontmatter.pdf">my own extensive, decades-long research</a> – and the work that’s been done by others in the fields of multilingualism and language education – I have drawn up a list of five ways that promise to work when it comes to meeting these goals. And I’ve explained why these approaches matter in the long term. </p>
<p>Doing this is a <a href="http://www0.sun.ac.za/taalsentrum/assets/files/ML%20Afr%20Lang%20&%20Cost.pdf">valuable way</a> to develop, build and champion these languages. Simply continuing the status quo in education with the almost exclusive use of languages like English, French, Portuguese and Arabic will exclusively serve the interests of the former imperialist powers and perpetuates post-colonial political and cultural dominance.</p>
<h2>Golden rules</h2>
<p><strong>Recognise and accept multilingualism as the norm:</strong> Many development models from the “Western” world imposed on African countries tend to be based on the idea that nation-states are ethnically and culturally homogeneous and basically monolingual. They are totally inadequate in the face of the essential linguistic plurality and diversity that is characteristic of the countries in the Global South, including those in Africa.</p>
<p><strong>Don’t teach children in a language they do not understand:</strong> Globally, <a href="https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/sites/gem-report/files/MLD_2016.pdf">40% of children</a> don’t have access to education in a language they understand. There is no solid data for Africa, but the rate is likely to be much higher. </p>
<p>That’s because most African countries prioritise a language for education which is not a language that the children speak at home nor understand at the point when they enter school. They do this for several reasons. One is that the education system was already established at independence and people did not want to change something they perceived as working. Another is that most countries on the continent are home to several indigenous languages and new governments did not want to cause conflicts by prioritising one over another.</p>
<p>This has serious consequences. For one, learning in a foreign language has a <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000212602">negative impact</a> on test scores in practically all content subjects. <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000212602">Research</a> has <a href="https://www.globalpartnership.org/blog/children-learn-better-their-mother-tongue">repeatedly shown</a> that children who learn in their own languages, or mother tongues, are more involved in class and are more likely to complete their schooling. </p>
<p>Learning in the mother tongue also facilitates children’s ability to learn another language. This could be English or another “global” language, opening doors to learning or living in other countries.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-it-makes-sense-for-children-to-learn-in-the-language-they-know-best-55346">Why it makes sense for children to learn in the language they know best</a>
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<p><strong>If necessary, make education trilingual:</strong> Some countries may need to introduce a third language in their education systems. This is because of migration, displacement and the wide variety of languages found across Africa.</p>
<p>In this setup, schools would teach through the local mother tongue as a first language; a regional <em>lingua franca</em> or a national language as a second language, and a foreign or global language (English, Portuguese, French) as the third. This will secure early school success (through use of the first language). It will allow learners to acquire a relevant second language so they can participate and function fully in regional and national business. And it will equip them with a “world language” for official national and international business and politics.</p>
<p>This approach will minimise language barriers, as well as giving learners a competitive advantage when they leave school.</p>
<p>Trilingual education is being discussed widely on a global scale, but is being hesitantly implemented. The late Cameroonian linguist Maurice Tadadjeu <a href="https://kb.osu.edu/handle/1811/81834">proposed this approach</a> for his country as early as 1975; Kazakhstan is working towards a trilingual education system with Kazakh, Russian and English. And <a href="http://www.unavarra.es/tel2l/eng/luxembourg.htm">Luxembourg</a> is a success story: there, the majority of people are trilingual. Any number of African countries, among them Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa, could follow suit.</p>
<p><strong>Make language policy inclusive:</strong> Mother-tongue based education <a href="https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000212602">fosters inclusion and equity</a>. It has been shown to have positive effects on girls’ enrolment, attendance, achievements and transition from school to university rates. It also de-marginalises minority sections of the population, and can help to integrate migrants. </p>
<p><strong>It will cost money now, but the long-term gains are enormous:</strong> Some argue that it costs a great deal of money to set up a multilingual education system. It does, but not that much: research has found that taking this approach may amount to <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-africa-prove-the-incredible-value-of-mother-tongue-learning-73307">only up to 2%</a> of a country’s national education budget. And the rewards, as I’ve highlighted, far outstrip the investment. </p>
<h2>What next</h2>
<p>The International Year of Indigenous Languages serves as a good impetus to start implementing policies that will prioritise Africa’s own languages on the continent. All the evidence suggests this could kick start a genuine “<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-continents-languages-can-unlock-the-potential-of-young-africans-90322">African renaissance</a>”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>H. Ekkehard Wolff has received, during the past 9 years since his retirement, funding as a visiting scholar to several international universities in Africa (Ethiopia, South Africa) and Europe (Finland) from DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service: Johann Gottfried Herder Programme), the European ERASMUS-MUNDUS Programme (EUROSA+), and a Hugh le May Fellowship from Rhodes University (Faculty of Humanitites, School of Languages and Literatures).</span></em></p>The International Year of Indigenous Languages serves as a good impetus to start implementing policies that prioritises Africa’s own languages.H. Ekkehard Wolff, Emeritus Professor of African Linguistics, University of LeipzigLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.