LL-L: "Multilingualism" LOWLANDS-L, 28.OCT.1999 (01) [E]

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From: Ian James Parsley [parsley at highbury.fsnet.co.uk]
Subject: LL-L: "Multilingualism" LOWLANDS-L, 27.OCT.1999 (06) [E]

Dr Suleiman,

Thanks very much for a very informative and interesting piece - like Ron
says, I only wish there was a way of marking applause!

I am actually currently running Ulster-Scots language classes: these present
a number of problems which it may be worth mentioning here:

The option I've taken is to conduct most of the class in Ulster-Scots. No
matter what language I'm asked the question in, I reply in Ulster-Scots.
That way the students get to hear Ulster-Scots in use.

This has marked advantages over, say, teaching Scots grammar out of a
textbook (in the way most people learn Latin). It means Ulster-Scots becomes
a live, real language for the students. It's there, they've heard it spoken,
they know it exists! It also encourages them, because they find that because
Scots is so close to English (and particularly Ulster-English, of course)
they already know more than they thought.

There are problems also, however, as mentioned by John Tait on occasions in
the past. Such similarities can lead to complacency - because people
understand so much of this apparently different language, they assume they
can speak it just as accurately. That's to say the distinction between
passive understanding and active use is not marked by non-linguist
specialists. There are occasions when a sharp reminder is required saying
that just because I don't appear to have mentioned Scots grammar in great
detail doesn't mean it isn't there, just as Dr Suleiman says.

I too am often asked "what's the easiest language to learn?" (usually the
choice here in NI is French, German, Spanish or Gaelic). Well, of course the
answer is that attaining real near-native proficiency in any language is
equally difficult to any other. You might find you can say a lot more after
three months' Spanish tuition than after three months' German (given that a
German sentence as simple as "I see the man" is fraught with difficulties
for English-speakers), but ultimately it takes a lot of practice and a visit
to a place where the target language is used (as much for cultural as
linguistic reasons, very often).

I am often asked as well how many languages I speak. A tough one to answer -
how do you define "speak" (and, indeed, how do you define "language"!). Any
answer I give does not account for the fact I shift readily from vastly
differing dialects - from near southern English standard at job interviews
to strong Ulster dialect with friends (even on the e-mail).

But most importantly it does not account for the point that it is in fact
impossible to retain any more than three languages at near-native
proficiency in one go, a point Dr Suleiman touched on. At the minute I
regularly use English and Scots and also watch German TV to keep up my
German. As a result I have noticed a marked decline in my Spanish. I could
choose to put that right by visiting Spain for a while, but the result would
be loss of one of the other three (last time I was there for four months I
lost my Scots, simply because I was still speaking to English and German
tourists on occasions). This point is something few people know about, but
it's noticeable how many people are interested in it when you mention it.

I also remember spending five months in Germany and then driving down to
Spain through France - some warning signs on the route gave the warning in
four languages, it was only later I realised I had always picked out the
German one rather than the English to follow, as that seemed the natural
language for me to be in. Even the other day a friend staying remarked that
I was watching TV in German when I hadn't actually noticed, the shift from
English to German was irrelevant (tho' I hasten to add it becomes relevant
when I try to *speak* German!).

I seem to have gone on and would lose marks for lack of coherence in an
essay, but I hope some of you at least followed that!

Best,
-------------------------------
Ian James Parsley
http://www.gcty.com/parsleyij
"JOY - Jesus, Others, You"

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From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Multilingualism

Dear Lowlanders,

I have been wondering if another aspect upon which we have not explicitly
touched so far is that of learning languages in a basically monolingual
environment versus doing so in a multilingual environment.  Generally
speaking, should acquiring another language not be more difficult for someone
who is exposed to only one language in everyday life than to someone who grows
up in a multilingual environment?  Just looking around in my own circle of
associates, I am under the impression that this tends to be so, that people
who grow up with more than one language tend to have smoother sailing
acquiring another one, even if that language is not or rarely used in their
own environment.

One good example is a family I know in Israel.  The parents grew up speaking
both Yiddish and Polish, the father could read some Biblical Hebrew, and both
of them learned Modern Hebrew as adult immigrants.  (They also thought they
knew German, but that was little more than Germanized Yiddish.)  They were
pushing 60 when they started learning English in evening classes (having known
zero English before that), and they learned it with astonishing speed, so much
so that Rachel was able to direct an English-speaking work group after only a
few months.  The two older children grew up speaking Polish and only
understood Yiddish, but as immigrant children they soon found themselves in a
multilingual environment and picked up Hebrew in no time, using it with native
proficiency, and Michael also ended up speaking fluent Arabic because of his
play environment.  Both of them learned English with great speed and fluency,
though with a heavy Hebrew accent, mostly due to their teachers' accents.
Shoshana, the youngest, was born in Israel and, because of the living
arrangements, grew up in an almost totally Hebrew-speaking environment.  She
could understand bits of Polish and Yiddish, mostly jocular expressions and
the like, but she was never encouraged to speak or understand anything but
Hebrew.  As it turned out, at least initially she had great difficulties
learning English in school, and she told me she hated English and wished she'd
be allowed to drop it (which was not an option in her school).

Is it simply a matter of experience or the lack thereof?  Is it also a case in
which a positive attitude and confidence is present or absent depending on
whether or not you already know more than one language?

I am wondering if linguistic minorities tend to do better learning new
languages because they grow up speaking two or more languages to begin with.
Would there be noticeable differences between Frisians and originally
monolingual Dutch speakers in the Netherlands, or between Frisians, Low
Saxons, Danes and Sorbs versus originally monolingual German speakers in
Germany?  What about bi- or trilingual Scots versus monolingual
English-speaking Scots?  Do South Africans do better on the whole because many
of them grow up being exposed to two or three languages?

Of course, all of this can at best lead to speculation, unless any of you know
of relevant studies.

Best regards,

Reinhard/Ron

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