In a global world defined by diversity, language is a form of expression that delineates one cultural group from another. And increasingly, in our multicultural communities, children are exposed to the brilliant palette of languages and dialects that comprise our modern-day experience. Recently a couple of articles addressed the issue of bilingualism, and its effects on children.
A well-written, albeit lengthy, piece titled “Why I Want My Children to be Bilingual” in Aeon Magazine, recounts an author’s experience as a parent, struggling to inculcate in his children the appreciation, and practice, of non-English languages. Ben Faccini is a native English and French speaker and has high hopes that his London-born children will adopt his other mother tongue of French:
“Introducing French into the family equation has undoubtedly been an additional complication. It skews mealtimes, often setting off lopsided conversations, pitting my French against everyone else’s English. It makes the children feel they are being judged and tested. And, despite their growing comprehension of French, they’ll find any excuse to walk a few steps behind me on the way to school in case I’m overheard. They stick their fingers in their ears when the Petit Nicolas CD is played in the car…”
Mr. Faccini’s frustration with his children’s apathy is palpable, and like any logical parent, cites hard facts of bilingualism’s benefits:
“Studies by the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics at Cambridge University appear to show that bilingual children have a distinct advantage over their monolingual peers in their social interaction, cognitive flexibility and awareness of language construction. Research by the psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle Martin-Rhee at York University, Toronto, also noted this boost to cognitive abilities. Their 2004 study of pre-schoolers showed bilinguals eclipsing monolinguals when given tasks with conflicting visual and verbal information.”
The evidence for grooming a polyglot may be there, but children certainly don’t see it that way. I speak Japanese, minimally, having lived in Japan for three years (and being quarter-Japanese) and have tried to slip in words, even questions and commands, to my two-year-old. He is quick to replicate the sounds (chisai, for small; kudasai for please, even itadakimasu for blessing the food), but mostly reacts as if I’ve just told a bad joke: “Mama, you are sooo silly,” he says.
He is smart enough to know that I am speaking a different language, and is very keen to “play along” at home for a few minutes when my phrases turn high-pitched and tonal, but shuns it in public, when I point out produce in Japanese.
He is, I fear, embarrassed, as Mr. Faccini noted. In fact, as it turns out, children who have taken the leap to acquire a second language, prefer not only to be around those that speak the same language, but also the same accent.
Researchers at Concordia University found that children prefer to “interact with people who are like them, and might perceive an accent as the mark of an outsider.” In a press release by Eureka Alert, Professor Krista Byers-Heinlein says:
“This…has implications for parents. Since children lack the self-awareness to remind themselves that accent is a superficial measure of character, parents should be more direct in teaching their kids about accents.
We show biases early on, so it might be necessary to educate all kids, regardless of their linguistic background, about what an accent is and how it doesn’t reflect anything about people other than the fact that they are not speaking their native language.”
Though languages, and accents, may be mere facades of one’s true, full character, they can also serve as a window into another world. Faccini says it best in his essay:
“A knowledge of languages can foster versatility, an attentiveness to the world and an understanding of cultural difference. It can make sense of the make-up and narrative of nations, cultivating deeper and joyous communion with others. Without languages, I feel as though my children are going to be missing some vital limb, hobbling through life, cut off from their heritage and the possibilities of the world.”
photo credit: Dietmar Temps via photopin cc