Are Multilingual Perspectives a Thing?

One of my students this term is from Africa. I was talking with her during a break one day, and I learned that she speaks at least four languages: French, her "mother tongue", the language of the town in which she grew up, and English. There may have been a fifth, but if so, I've forgotten.

She is not that out of the ordinary. Most of my students of the past year can speak at least two languages, not including English. If not languages, then at least two dialects of the same language. It seems the norm.

I wonder what this does to a person's perspective of the world. More than that, I wonder what it does to those culture's perspectives on the world and even their own communities. I wonder whether there has been research into whether or not there are measurable thought pattern trends in both multilingual individuals and multilingual societies. If there are measurable trends, I wonder what they might be.

Can anyone suggest any reading?

The demise of pleasure reading

There have been many reports recently with headlines such as "Why don't teen read for pleasure like they used to?" or "Why aren't teens reading like they used to?" or "U.S. children read, but not well or often: report". Most of the articles seem to reference this article from Common Sense Media.

The statistics, quoted from Common Sense Media, are not encouraging:

• 53% of 9-year-olds vs. 17% of 17-year-olds are daily reader
• The proportion who "never" or "hardly ever" read has tripled since 1984. A third of 13-year-olds and 45% of 17-year-olds say they've read for pleasure one to two times a year, if that.

Two of the articles linked above also delve into reading proficiency. Did you know that only about 1/3 of fourth grade students read proficiently? Or that another 1/3 read at a below basic level?

As a citizen of the US, this concerns me. As an educator, a language educator no less, this concerns me. As a father of young boys, the oldest of which (2 years 8 months) loves being read to, this concerns me. As an individual who tries to set aside at least a little time for reading every day, this concerns me.

Most of the articles are fairly quick to single out rising rates of media usage as the primary culprit. Rates of television viewing have remained basically stable, but computer and handheld device screen time has risen precipitously. Most articles also mention, however mostly in passing, that screen time could be spent in reading activities.

I would also point to digital (visual) media as a primary culprit. Between watching a video and reading a story, watching videos has a lower cognitive load than reading, and people tend toward lower cognitive loads when they can. Watching videos is more immediately gratifying than the slower process or reading. Together, this is a near death sentence for pleasure reading.

People are quick to bring up the examples of the Harry Potter series and The Hunger Games, forgetting that these phenomena were not primarily a victory of reading. These were primarily social movements, drawing people in because all their friends were reading them, not due to an intrinsic interest in reading. It's that intrinsic interest that defines pleasure reading.

While many young people are reading via social media and the like, I would be loathe to call this pleasure reading. That type of reading only builds language skills for that arena: social media. The language used among peers does not readily transfer to the skills needed to comprehend or appreciate texts of fiction, non-fiction, biography, science, technology, etc.

It is popular today to hear people talk about "digital literacy" and to make trendy assertions that today's students are simply different and have different "learning styles" than students of the past. Reading, however, still does and will form the foundation of an educated society. Reading needs to to be a primary concern of parents, educators, and society as a whole.


Follow Matthew on Twitter @MatthewTShowman

Book Review: A little book of language

Speaking of the library, I recently checked out A little book of language by David Crystal. Last week I finished . I found it a great and quick read, very conversational and accessible in language and tone. The inner jacket of the books begins like this:

"With a language disappearing every two weeks and neologisms springing up almost daily, understanding the origins and currency of language has never seemed more relevant. In this charming volume, expert linguist David Crystal proves why the story of language deserves a retelling."

Aside from the incredibly poor use of the word prove, I have to agree with the assessment. It is indeed a charming volume, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Crystal covers a broad sweep of topics. The book opens with several chapters discussing the language development in children. Crystal then segues into the basic elements of language: spelling, grammar, accents, etc. From there he moves into a variety of language topics. Some of my favorite chapters were 21 Language change, 22 Language variation, 26 Etymology (a topic that always intrigues me), and 31 Language at play.

Despite the variety of topics and a tendency to jump from one topic to another, A little book of language does not come across as fragmented. There are mini "sections", for example chapters 27 and 28 discuss place names personal names, respectively. Crystal also does a great job of pulling the chapters together, reminding readers ideas already mentioned and hinting at what's to come. The overall effect is one of great scope and cohesiveness.

A little book of learning is not an overly academic read. Unlike previous Crystal texts, such as Language death, I can't imagine it being used as a university or college textbook, unless in an introduction to linguistics course. For those with a linguistics or language education background, there will be few, if any, major conceptual revelations. At best you might acquire some trivial yet captivating facts.

To whom then would I recommend this book? First, this is a great introductory text for those flirting with interest in linguistics and language-related topics. It's full of great information, and yet because of the brevity of each chapter, readers are left not only captivated, but also desiring to learn more. Second, for those of us with linguistics and language-related backgrounds, although there may be little in the way of new concepts, the Crystal's love of language shines through in in his writing. The prose is engrossing, and if you've lost a bit of your passion for language learning, language teaching or language study, A little book of language will likely reignite that flame.

"This is a 'little book' about language. But language is a big subject. None bigger, to my mind. It's the Mount Everest of subjects. I suppose that's why I find it all so fascinating." (David Crystal)

Stars: 4.5 / 5

Follow me on Twitter @MatthewTShowman.