<div dir="ltr"><h1 id="page-title" class="">From 'patwa' to Spanish - lost in translation</h1>
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</div></div></div><span class="">Published:<span class="">Wednesday | June 15, 2016 | 12:00 AM</span></span><a href="http://jamaica-gleaner.com/authors/nadine-muschette" class="">Nadine Muschette</a><ul class=""><li class=""><br></li></ul><div class=""><div class=""><div class=""><p>
The last week's articles, letters and commentaries about language
education in Jamaica are testament to the passion we have for this
aspect of our identity and our awareness of the role of language and its
opportunities in the global society. For me, the discussions need to
come down to the importance of the home language for literacy,
especially in the early years, and how this facilitates the learning of
multiple/other languages.</p>
<p>
Last Friday's Letter of the Day, 'Don't neglect the people's language',
by Louis Moyston, mentioned the language policy enacted in Singapore
and the national benefits of teaching English as a second language to
their Creole-speaking groups. Online commentators who frown upon 'patwa'
in schools have mentioned Europe and that many Europeans comfortably
speak multiple languages. This is true.</p>
<p>
What is also true is that Europeans are made literate in their own
national language - it is taught as a subject and it is their instrument
of general instruction. Additionally, they have the advantage of
'natural' exposure to these multiple languages without much hassle. They
can take weekend trips by bus, car or train to a neighbouring country
and they don't generally need a visa!</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2>
MOTHER TONGUE</h2>
<p>
</p>
<p>
But since this debate was (re)fuelled by a mention of Spanish becoming
our official second language (because of our geographic locale), let us
not go too far. Consider some of our Spanish-speaking neigh-bours who
have also struggled with literacy and similar debates about
home/indigenous languages in education - Peru, Guadeloupe, Honduras,
Guat-emala, Colombia, Para-guay all come to mind.</p>
<p>
Peru's case is probably the most recent, so let's look at that.</p>
<p>
In November 2015, <b>The Latin Correspondent</b> reported that an
estimated 'one million primary students in Peru speak a language other
than Spanish in the home'. It was only last year October that their
Ministry of Education took the bold policy decision to educate these
children in their mother tongue with a goal of fluency/literacy in both
their home language and the official Spanish by the end of primary
school.</p>
<p>
The surprising thing is that the appreciation for the recognition of
indigenous, home languages and bilingual education was written into
Peru's 1979 constitution. Funding, political will and the social
attitudes towards the teaching of the home language in schools
challenged the enacting of this policy. Parents in the very regions of
the country that used different home languages feared that their
children would be at a disadvantage in a country where Spanish was the
official language. Citing their own experiences with socio-cultural
discrimination, these parents preferred that their children learn in
Spanish and leave their mother tongue behind. Sounds familiar?</p>
<p>
</p>
<h2>
STRUGGLES AND TRIUMPHS</h2>
<p>
</p>
<p>
So, why now for mother tongue policy implementation? Generations of
their children have not mastered the official language, and simply put,
they want literacy. If we want the same, we must not only make our
neighbours' language ours, but we should also consider their own
struggles and triumphs with home and official languages in education.</p>
<p>
Are we willing to reach back for our own home language, and so ensure
our children are literate and can leap into multi-language learning
(English, Spanish, Mandarin ... )?</p>
<p>
May we choose literacy for our children. May we become a truly multilingual nation. In that order.</p>
<p>
- Email feedback to <a href="mailto:columns@gleanerjm.com">columns@gleanerjm.com</a> and <a href="mailto:muschetten@gmail.com">muschetten@gmail.com</a>.</p>
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