Week 2: The Marvels of Multilingualism


Let's be honest. English. It's everywhere.

 

 



China, America, Germany, Italy, Narnia. Yes, English would be present.

 

Thus, being a monolingual speaker of English is enough, right?

 

 

 

 

Imagine you're a plumber. Some lady calls in desperate need of your plumbing expertise. So, there you are. Under the sink. There's a leak, and you're just the person to fix it.

 

Or are you?!

 

You're in need of a wrench, but alas! You only have a spanner. One lousy spanner. What do you do now?

 

Cry. Just cry it out. Everything won't be alright. 

 

 

 

 

Sure, it's possible to get by with just English, but is that what we want? To get by?

 

Why doesn't everybody just get on the multilingualism train so that we can depart to a brighter tomorrow? We're all living in the now, and there is nothing wrong with that.

 

But we're struggling. We're struggling to understand each other, and not only in the verbal sense.

 

We have all been affected by the past. We all carry pain from the happenings of the past, and forgiveness does not come easily.

 

Embracing multilingualism might be seen by many as a betrayal. It's understandable. Also, everybody grapples with a fear of the unknown.

 

We don't like change, but we need change. Multilingualism could open so many doors for us.

 

 



 

 

It gives us insight into other cultures. We are also given the opportunity to view our own culture from an entirely different perspective.



 

One of the most amazing benefits of multilingualism is that it allows us to form more meaningful relationships. The insight into other cultures help us understand others on a less superficial basis.

 

And that is awesome.

 

Of course, as we get older, it becomes much harder to learn new languages.

 

Once again, we look towards our children. They are the future, but they are still young and impressionable.

 

We need to ensure that we are not teaching them what we have been taught, but teaching them what they need to know in order to prosper and live contentedly.

 

Remember: Multilingualism is dope. Let's stop saying 'nope'.

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 





  

 

 

  



 











 

 



Week 1: Language, identity, bias, and privilege

Sunday, 13 March 2016

Throughout my last years of high school, I always dreamt of studying linguistics at university. Why?

Because punctuation was my passion.

Now that I am, in fact, studying it, I realise that I was slightly misinformed.

Linguistics is the scientific study of language and its structure, and it has opened up a whole new world for me. 

"You can tell a lot about someone by their speech."

My reaction to this statement was,"Yes, of course." I didn't even think about it. 

When I was proven wrong, I felt extremely unsettled. 

I have always thought of myself as a non-judgemental person, but am I really? The truth is that when I am speaking to someone and they don't speak like me, I judge them. 

When I talk to someone who speaks the same dialect as I do, I immediately find it easier and more comfortable to converse with them.

In contrast, when I talk to someone who speaks a different dialect, I unconsciously separate us on levels with regard to who is higher and who is lower, in terms of intelligence.

It is something I absolutely despise about myself, but also something that I was only recently made aware of. 

We often make judgements about people based on their speech. 

We judge their level of education, their socio-economic status, their trustworthiness, their race, and their attractiveness. 

Many people believe that non-standard dialects of English are inferior to the standard dialect of English. 

"Do non-standard dialects have a place in the media?"

Once again, I replied with,"Yes, of course." But the truth is, when I hear non-standard dialects of English on TV, I immediately change the channel. 

My heart says one thing, but my actions say another. I need help.

It is not that I don't understand what they are saying, it's that I don't hear what they are saying. 

I hear how they say it.

In my opinion, the main reason non-standard dialects aren't widely represented in the media is because those who work in the media do not wish to displease the majority of people who want only standard dialects.

But hold up people!

We as South Africans need to take a stand. The media representation is crucial for us to learn about different cultures, religions etc. 

This generation is already set in their ways. We NEED to become aware of our own bias in order to ensure that we do not pass it on to the next generation. 

Once we recognise that our way is perhaps not the best way, then, and only then, will we be able to look forward to a brighter day.