A multicultural viewpoint is partly based on the idea that an individual can successfully hold two or more cultural identities; where it is possible to be Ukrainian and Canadian, Chinese and Malaysian, Mexican and North American. They thought that it was not useful for our mind and character formation. In some official bilingual areas, some persons can refuse to answer in a language that they do not consider to be their own. Foreign language teaching methodologies debate on the inclusion of culture in foreign language curricula. This is one of the reasons why nowadays there is an active promotion of learning foreign languages, in schools, in universities, or within business companies and even as hobby courses. It is this same assumption that is projected by Li [16], who looks at multilingualism in the light of “anyone who can communicate in more than one language, be it active (through speaking and writing) or passive (through listening and reading).” Li aligns with the school of thought for whom a multilingual person, group, or setting engenders basic proficiency in the use, speaking, or understanding of more than one language. Beyond that, monolingualism seems more attractive, and monolinguals especially those speaking a language of … This leads to a view of the bilingual as having increased competence or multi-competence (where multi-competence is defined as the added capacity resulting from bilingualism. Conclusion: There are over 30 times as many languages as there are countries (i.e. They have no other choice but to come into contact with another language and culture; they will need to adapt and learn the language of the country. • Multilingualism is the act of using polyglotism, or using multiple languages. This indicates that the bilinguals could more easily affect the monitoring processes involved in executive control during conflict condition than their monolingual counterparts. These consider multilingualism as “the ability to use three or more languages either separately or in various degrees of code-mixing. Conversation guides, which only focus on traveling phrases or basic needs, do not include cultural aspects. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, Vol. By making research easy to access, and puts the academic needs of the researchers before the business interests of publishers. The various findings from different researchers and organizations discussed above, especially the EC and EU positions, thus constitute empirical support for the fact that multilingualism comes with sociocultural benefits that can transform any community into an optimal social intercultural haven for all its citizens. The situation of immigration has raised the subject of heritage languages, defined by Valdés [14] as the immigrants’ languages. By recognizing two or more official languages in a territory, we recognize the strong impact of past historical events, such as conquests. ([41] 557). He reported from his findings that “The bilingual children used higher order rules more frequently than the monolingual children. In the Council Conclusions on multilingualism and the development of language competences, Member States committed to enhancing cooperation in the field of multilingualism and improving the effectiveness of language teaching in schools. Accompanying institutions, resources, facilities, and proper implementation strategies and monitoring schemes are needed to make multilingual practices effectively operational. The benefit of knowing foreign languages is, according to Frijhoff et al. When you have to do that all the time, you get really good at inhibiting the words you don't need.” Benefits accrue because the bilingual brain is constantly activating both languages, choosing which to use and which to ignore. From their analysis, by virtue of the fact that bilinguals already know two languages, positive transfer and familiarity with language structures and rules of previous languages become very useful in their acquisition of another foreign language. The second section handles benefits of “societal multilingualism,” i.e., the advantages of multilingualism for communities and the nation. Among the many findings that are discussed (I have chosen a few not already dealt with in this blog), some … Keeping these types of conflict under control is done through rules and through crowd psychology. In other words, competent teachers understand that a positive self-concept and a positive identification with one’s culture are the basis for academic success. EU has started a campaign advertising the benefits of foreign language learning with a political purpose: to keep its citizens united. task of teaching bilingualism and multilingualism to children consist hardship for parents and teachers in initial communication. Considering the fact that culture is transmitted and expressed through language, multilinguals are obviously multicultural individuals who can adapt different cultures more easily. The novels by Hanif Kureishi (1990–2017), for example, feature characters who are half-Indian and half-British and often explore these themes. This act can be seen as a political way of freedom from domination of a certain language and culture ([1], p. 11). We share our knowledge and peer-reveiwed research papers with libraries, scientific and engineering societies, and also work with corporate R&D departments and government entities. It is now well accepted that language and culture are inextricably linked because, as articulated in Chumbow [11, 54], language is the means by which people who share the same culture express their belonging to a common or shared cultural experience. A community can be formed of two or more individuals, according to Romaine [15]. He postulates that (6) students should become critical in approach, (7) enabling them to feel safe, significant, and enthusiastic to share thoughts and feelings, and (8) active in promoting social change and justice. Built by scientists, for scientists. In 1950 there were only four countries with a national population greater than 100 million persons. 2 Citations; 551 Downloads; Abstract. This raises the issues of cultural and political tensions in areas where two cultures are supposed to coexist peacefully. Mok and Morris [33] draw attention to the persons who are not only bilingual, but also have to identify with two different cultures. However, in colloquial usage the term Bilingualism: Consequences for Mind and Brain. bilingualism or multilingualism is present in practically every country in the world) Multilingualism is the norm, monolingualism is the exception! Varieties of New English, such as Malaysian English, Philippine English, Indian English, and others, borrow ways of pronunciation, grammar structures, and words from the languages spoken natively in Malaysia, the Philippines, and India. 2012. In considering multilingualism as a blessing and not a curse for any society, we take the standpoint of an objective evaluation of certain parameters in both multilingual and monolingual societies, adopting the linguistic disenfranchisement rate proposed by the European Commission (cf. In the case of immigrants, the lingua franca becomes the language of the country they have migrated to, as they need to communicate with the inhabitants of the respective country. © 2017 The Author(s). At the same time migratory movements around the globe have created all kinds of new minorities like for instance Kurds in Germany or Turks in the Netherlands.” The main problem “is to find a stable balance between unity and diversity. Its inhabitants use both English and Cantonese. When you can speak multiple languages, then your value as an employee increases exponentially with each new language that you learn. Working abroad has become something common, especially for citizens of poorer countries of the EU, such as Romania. Trends in Cognitive Sciences 16, no. Certain countries function due to the respect shown to a multilingual community. It “is seen as a secondary linguistic ability - a sort of by-product.” ([24], p. 1). All taken into consideration, the perspective adopted in this study is that of Aronin and O Laoire [21] that “plurilingualism” limits its scope to only individuals and not societal multilingualism. When people hear the term bilingual many imagine an individual who speaks two languages perfectly. How? Also, in recent years, the US government has expressed a need for fluent speakers of languages other than English, particularly in less commonly taught languages such as Arabic and Chinese (US General Accounting Office 2002). The advantages that any multilingual society would gain outrightly supersede that from a monolingual society in many dimensions given the aggregate advantages of individual bilingualism as seen above. Once bilingualism and multilingualism are the official rule, individuals have no choice but to adapt to the crowd that has adopted the rules. In a nutshell, the research results discussed in this chapter hold up bilingual or multilingual experiences in most instances as assets to both the individual and the society that make use of it. Your story matters Citation Bialystok, Ellen, Fergus I. M. Craik, and Gigi Luk. Licensee IntechOpen. The theories showing the importance and benefits of being bilingual encourage learning at least one additional language. They have needed to make their home in various different cultures. This was because “The EU allows the free movement of people across the continent which necessitates a lot of public spending on language services,” (https://www.empowerlingua.com/brexit-will-affect-translation-industry/) which will no longer be necessary if Great Britain establishes business relationships with America and China, where the English language is used. The issue of heritage speakers has appeared due to the possibilities of mobility in today’s world. They suggest that the prior foreign language experience of bilinguals place them in vantage position in learning another language, as this helps to improve their ability to learn and recall English vocabulary better than their monolingual counterparts. - Michel Bouthot 3. Receptive Bilingualism 28. This list is generated based on data provided by CrossRef. Cook [44] supports the sociocultural advantage by stating that “multilinguals can expand their personal horizons and — being simultaneously insiders and outsiders — see their own culture from a new perspective, not available to monoglots, enabling the comparison, contrast, and understanding of cultural concepts.” Thus, multilinguals can better understand and appreciate people of other countries, a factor in lessening racism, xenophobia, and intolerance, since the learning of a new language usually brings with it a revelation of a new culture. However, there is enough evidence that, globally, multilingualism is the norm and monolingualism the exception [11] and the advantages of bilingualism and multilingualism need to be identified, exploited, and used for individual growth and national development. Background. This would lead them not to be able to be included in current debates and online communities, “which are critical elements in support of sustainable development.” ([30], p. 2). Due to this, it is not vital for Americans to learn a second language for the sake of their professional lives. This is closely related to intercultural competence, summarized by Curtain and Dahlberg [46] who states that “… exposure to a foreign language serves as a means of helping children to intercultural competence. This naturally follows the structure of states and nation-states, as well as the connections among communities. The European Commission [73] further suggests that multilingualism helps in strengthening social cohesion, intercultural dialog, and European construction (described as social inclusion), which can be defined as the process by which people resident in a given territory, regardless of their background, can achieve their full potential in life. They were “voluntary and involuntary immigrants” ([28], p. 467). *Address all correspondence to: efogwe@yahoo.com. Around 6.1% of all people speak minority languages, such as Frisian, Basque, Welsh, Irish, and Catalan in Europe.” ([5], p. 12). None highlights considerations of the situational use/domain, function, degree of fluency, different manner, time, or place of acquisition of the second language and other languages. The awareness of a global community can be enhanced when children have the opportunity to experience involvement with another culture through a foreign language.” Here, intercultural competence is considered as the ability for successful communication with people of other cultures. Being bilingual can also help you reach further for customers in a diverse society, as you understand more of their cultures. The book brings together sociolinguistic, neurolinguistic, and educational perspectives on language acquisition and learning in the classroom and at home. In what way? However, they also need to speak Romanian as they need to communicate with people belonging to this culture. Adepts of the ideology of monolingual habitus (one nation, one language) have tended to consider multilingualism and linguistic diversity as a curse and an obstacle to nation building. Multilingualism represents a challenging issue for current schooling contexts and language teachers are often considered to be intuitive main actors in this area, promoting and integrating multilingualism. Yet, perhaps not so surprisingly, we notice how much philology and politics are related, as politics create the rules for teaching and studying at all levels, including university. According to [63] “All African countries are multilingual in varying degrees; from two or three languages in Lesotho, Swaziland, Rwanda and Burundi to over 450 in Nigeria” [68]. Bilingualism and multilingualism provide an enormous number of advantages and opportunities at both individual and societal levels. The European Union expects every member country to take into consideration the language needs of minorities and immigrants. To date our community has made over 100 million downloads. At the same time, identity issues could arise, as national belonging goes hand in hand with using a certain language, a majority language. In their turn, immigrants and minorities have no choice but to learn standard languages used in the countries where they now reside, and used by those with whom they wish to interact. The contact between two different languages and cultures could lead to negative experiences, such as that of not knowing where home is. These varieties are found in former British colonies. Certain groups are more powerful and this leads to their language becoming the used one ([15], p. 449). It helps your application or resume stand out when you apply for a job at a global company that has many divisions around the world. [7], Craik et al. Yiddish itself is a language containing elements of several languages. As far as linguistic awareness, communication ability, and competences go, it can be briefly affirmed that all the authors outlined in this subsection of the chapter attest that the advantages of being a multilingual speaker extend to other problem-solving aspects in life, besides the communicative resourcefulness and creativity privilege they have over monolinguals. Their findings go to support the fact that there is a significant transfer of phonological features from a speaker’s first language to the second, especially when they share some phonological entry similarities. The truth is that it was impossible for foreign language teaching to be separated from the culture of the respective language. Help us write another book on this subject and reach those readers. Essays. If a society is multilingual, it stands to benefit from the flexibility of its variety of linguistic codes to reach out to all the villages and suburbs of the nation, which is a faster and more assuring approach to disseminate urgent information on health-threatening issues to a wider population, for instance. This is evidenced in a survey of 581 alumni of The American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona, where most respondents said they had gained a competitive advantage from their knowledge of foreign languages and other cultures. This coalesces in what has been labeled intercultural dialog, defined by the Council of Europe as “an open and respectful exchange of views between individuals and groups belonging to different cultures that leads to a deeper understanding of the other’s global perception.” And these advantages of intercultural relationship in a society are further elaborated in the EC [69] which states that “Language skills facilitate intercultural dialogue because they increase the capability of EU citizens to understand the culture of other fellow Europeans (and migrants), thereby contributing to European integration” ([69] 29). [35] used the results from their investigation on “whether there is a cross-language transfer of phonological awareness” to support this added advantage for bilinguals. ... Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. The benefits of being bilingual (enhancing cognitive abilities, task-switching, adjustment to “C” of 7-month-old children and “less cognitive decline” for seniors) are also constantly advertised through scientific research [18]. The Hong Kong Basic Law (Article 9) and the Official Languages Ordinance (Chapter 5) have established that English and Chinese are Hong Kong’s official languages. We are a community of more than 103,000 authors and editors from 3,291 institutions spanning 160 countries, including Nobel Prize winners and some of the world’s most-cited researchers. The feeling of nationalism goes hand in hand with the respect for one single language: in Europe, from early modernism until the twentieth century, “a single national language” was regarded “as a guarantee of the unity and indeed the identity of a people, the language often being interpreted and praised as the purest expression of a nation’s soul.” The process of the standardization of a language is done through “normative prescriptions, appropriate actions for identity formation, sociocultural policies and educational policy, even measures for the unification of religious idiom by imposing specific translations of the Bible or prayer books.” We could regard all these practices as part of an ideology, which has in mind a “cultural conquest” performed by means of language policy. [81] is an analytic approach to give an objective picture of the benefits any society with a multilingual regime stands to gain and exposes its country to sustainable evolution and development for its citizens. With the neurocognitive perspective, using neuroimaging methodologies, Wodniecka et al. In today’s world, we try to show respect to several languages spoken in the same territory, to respect the language and culture of minority groups, and, at the same time, to bring them together, offering a sense of unity through a common language, a lingua franca. Any history of multilingualism originates in the myth of Babel. To this stack of evidences must be added (Nayak et al. ... conclusion, multilingualism increases opportunities and choices. 21, Issue. Romaine raises the question of the existence of nation-states, which by definition recognize several languages. 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