bilingualism

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Diversity is a strength, not a problem

Multilingal voting sign: a thing of the past?

There is yet another executive order forthcoming from President Donald Trump, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal and Politico, this time proclaiming English as the official national language of the United States. It is not that there has been any doubt about what the dominant language of the country is of course, but it’s clear what the point of this order is: to alert those whose first language is not English that they are lesser-class US citizens. It is an invitation to discriminate against non-English speakers, with the additional outcome of instilling feelings of inferiority into families where English is not the primary language. It is likely to accelerate the decline in language learning in the US, which has already been underway for some time. The directive aligns with a growing move towards nationalism and xenophobia in the US, which unfortunately we are seeing in other countries as well.

The executive order joins others dismantling DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) efforts in government agencies. That affects US universities as well, as they have been told to shut down DEI programs or be in danger of losing funding from federal agencies. This has repercussions on academic programs and on educational opportunities for disadvantaged populations (minority groups, LGBQ+ individuals, women, less abled individuals, and more). It also has led to programs and individual faculty members being told to eliminate terms that can be interpreted as pro-DEI from Web sites and other online documents. I’m waiting to see if I will be asked to take down some of the pages of the open textbook I wrote on intercultural communication, as many chapters deal with topics such as racism, intolerance, and white privilege.

In the textbook I also promote the value of learning another language, as it has been shown to increase tolerance and understanding towards other cultures. Being bilingual also opens up new worlds of experience, emotion, and personal growth while providing insight into how language mediates our interactions with others and with our own identity. There was a fascinating interview this week on NPR with Mexican writer, Cristina Rivera Garza, whose 2007 novel La muerte me da (Death Takes Me) was recently translated into English. In the interview, the author talks about writing alternatively in Spanish and in English. She says that for emotionally laden topics (like writing about her deceased sister) she finds turning to writing in English creates a “buffer” that allows her to write with an emotional detachment that she doesn’t have available when writing in Spanish. In that way, she says, having access to a second language “may provide you with opportunities and freedoms that the language that you grew up with could not afford”.

It’s a shame to see government policies that will lead to fewer opportunities for developing bilingualism, and through it the expanded personal experiences that kind of double self creates. Maintaining a diversity of languages in our society, as well as a diversity of lifestyles, beliefs, and behaviors, enriches all of our lives.

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Bilinguals smarter?

There has been quite a bit of controversy about bilingual education in recent years.  As schools have faced reduced budgets in the wake of the economic downturn, one program looked at critically – along with arts and foreign languages – is bilingual education.  A recent article in the NY Times suggests that we should instead do all we can to encourage bilingualism: “Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age.”  This adds to the recent research that indicates that learning a second language late in life can help fend off the onset of Alzheimer’s.

The new research points in the opposite direction from the common view of bilingualism in recent years, namely that a second language hindered a child’s development, interfering cognitively. The new research, interestingly does not really contradict this view:  “They were not wrong about the interference: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual’s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other. But this interference, researchers are finding out, isn’t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles.”  In the experiments carried out on bilingualism, bilinguals did better than monolinguals at solving a variety of mental puzzles.  The improvement in cognition points to a heightened ability to monitor the environment. Having to switch back and forth between languages requires speakers to keep track of who and what’s around them – so they can speak English to Mom and Spanish to Dad, for example.  The good news for language learners: “The bilingual experience appears to influence the brain from infancy to old age and there is reason to believe that it may also apply to those who learn a second language later in life.”