The Reasons for Bilingualism

The main reason for bilingualism is obvious. The child shall learn more than one language. Most parents who raise their children bilingually do so because the parents have different native languages and the children have relatives in two languages and cultures. Those parents want their children to be able to communicate with all their relatives, and they probably want to pass on both their cultures as well.

Another very evident reason is shown by the example of immigrant families who speak their native language at home and the foreign language of the country they are living in outside of their home. In order to give their children an easy start into life in the foreign country, they have to enable their children to learn the environment’s language.

Apart from these two examples, however, what reasons do parents have to raise their children bilingually?

Language Ability

Children with more than one native language have a neurological advantage for learning more languages, and they already know at least two languages to start with. Bilingual children will always have it easier to learn new languages. Even those who gain bilingualism after the critical age (see primary/secondary bilingualism) will have the advantage as every new language they learn adds to the pool of resources they can draw from when trying to learn a new language or improve one of their languages. They build a huge pool of vocabulary to use for comparison when they try to guess the meaning of an unknown word, and they build a huge grammar pool as well which can help them understand grammar structures of new languages.

Intercultural Ability

When we learn a language, we always learn some part of the speakers’ culture as well. Even if we only learnt the words and grammar and stuff, we would still learn something about the speakers’ culture as the culture of a region always reflects in their language. It is reflected in idioms, common phrases, even the way words are built. However, as it is, we learn a language in context, and context means more cultural insight. Which phrases are used in which context? Why? What does that reveal about the culture behind the language? We don’t think about these things when we learn a language, but unconsciously, we will take it in. When we travel at some point in our life, we will likely have it easier to understand the mentality of the people we meet because we learnt part of their culture with their language.

Cognitive Ability

Bilingual children are able to switch between different tasks more easily than monolingual children. Experts believe this is due to the fact that their brains are trained in high cognitive effort from keeping languages apart and preventing one language to interfere with another one. In short, bilingual or multilingual people's brains are better trained for multitasking.

Coming up next week: Common criticism and fears in regard to raising children with more than one native language.

Latin for Smartasses, Part I

Since I know that writers tend to be smartasses (at least sometimes), here are a few select quotes from Latin for you, to be used at your leisure to demonstrate your wisdom, exceptional education, or just to annoy the hell out of others.

"In vino veritas" (~truth in wine)
Alkaios from Lesbos, Greek poet (630-580 BC)
Plinius the Older (23-79 AD)
The original quote is supposed to be from Alkaios, though in his native language, Greek. Plinius was the first one to use the Latin version of it, "in vino veritas", though. It referred to the believe that drunk people can't effectively lie anymore and will therefore tell you the truth.

"Veni, vidi, vici." (~I came, I saw, I won.)
Julius Caesar (100-44 BC)
This quote is supposed to be written down by Julius Caesar after he had won a surprisingly easy battle over Pharnakes II.

"Qui tacet, consentire videtur." (~Who is silent seems to agree.)
Pope Bonifazius VIII (1235-1303)
Pope Bonifazius chose these words carefully to make it clear that silence needn't mean agreement in every case.

"Festina lente!" (~Hurry slowly!)
Augustus, Roman Emperor (63 BC-14 AD)
According to history, Emperor Augustus despised haste since he saw the flaws of a bad strategist in it.

"nolens volens" (~not wanting, wanting)
Augustinus from Hippo (354-430 AD)
This quote means that someone does something although he doesn't want to do it.

"Ceterum censeo...." (~Furthermore, I think....)
Cato the Older (234-149 BC)
Cato started his plea to destroy Carthago with this quote, according to history. He repeated his plea in every meeting of the Roman senat until Carthago was finally destroyed in 150 BC.

"Carpe diem." (~Seize the day.)
Horace, Roman poet (65-8 BC)
Maybe the most well-known Latin quote ever. Horace's intention was to remind people of how short life was. In his opinion, hope was pointless and it was much more sensible to live in the now and here instead of wasting time with predictions of the future.

Watch out for more Latin quotes next week!

Irish Word of the Week ... I

Since there seems to be an unusally high interest in the Irish language in particular, I will start a new Saturday series, the Irish Word of the Week.

Let's begin with my Irish pen name, Saoirse. It is, indeed, a real Irish word, not only a derivative.

"saoirse"

Pronunciation: SEERsha

Meaning: freedom

My connection with this word:

Apparently, I like it pretty much; it's my pen name, after all. Furthermore, for me, it stands for the freedom I have as freelancer.

What Is Bilingualism?

When people talk about bilingualism, they often only mean the fact that someone has two native languages and speaks both of them fluently. Bilingualism in its specific meaning, however, includes more than that. They distinguish between primary and secondary bilingualism, for example, and include people with more than one native language who only speak one of them fluently.

Primary Bilingualism

Primary bilingualism is the term for bilingualism which started before the time frame for acquiring a native language closed (at around three years). People who are primary bilingual have two native languages. It doesn’t matter if they really speak both languages fluently; the only important fact is that they started learning both languages before they turned three. At around that age, the brain starts degenerating and “deletes” all the cells and connections it doesn’t need.

Secondary Bilingualism

Secondary Bilingualism is the term for bilingualism which started after the time frame for acquiring a native language closed. People with this kind of bilingualism only have one native language. They have, however, acquired fluency in a second language afterwards. So, for this kind of bilingualism, it is important to be fluent in both languages. Secondary bilingualism is much rarer than primary bilingualism for two reasons: First, because it requires fluency in both languages whereas primary bilingualism only asks for two native languages, and second, only few people are able to acquire fluency in a second language.

What Is the Difference Between Primary and Secondary Bilingualism?

The main difference lies within our brains. People with more than one native language only have one brain area for languages. Every second language they learn is “written” into the existing area which makes it easier for them to learn more languages. People with only one native language, on the other hand, have at least two brain areas for languages: one for the native language and one for each second language. This means that learning a second language requires much more effort as the brain has to build a whole new net of connections for the second language.

Read more about the various reasons to raise a child with more than one language next week!

The Language of Pictures

You might wonder what I mean with today's headline. Pictures are, well, pictures, not any language. They usually don't contain words, or letters; instead, they contain colours, scenery, signs, expressions, ....

Pictures talk to us. They do it in a universal language, not restricted by usual language boundaries. There are even "dictionaries" for travellers which contain pictures of important things like food, body parts etc instead of words translated into another language. These picture dictionaries
can be used in whatever country you might find yourself. All you have to do is to point at the picture you mean to be understood. And, well, maybe a bit of improvised sign language or theatre play....

Pictures are an integral part of picture books for younger children as well. Just imagine a picture book story without the illustrations...something will be missing. Illustrations help tell the story. They can convey emotions, show without need for long descriptions, and can keep the young readers'/listeners' attention much better than text alone.

Make the test: Pick a picture--illustration, painting, photo--of your choice and look at it. What do you feel, and think? What emotions are conveyed? Memories sparkled? Sometimes, a picture can say much more than a thousand words, and most of the time, the same picture says different things to different people--just like the same sentence might have a different meaning to different people....

Word of the Week ... XV

This week's Word of the Week is

"pastime"

When I first read it in a manuscript, it made me stumble. I re-read it, then I looked it up. My first association was something along the lines of "past-time" so that the sentence didn't really make any sense. Now, when I think of it, it's clear, although I think it would be much more obvious if it would keep the "ss" from the verb "to pass".

Meaning: something you do to spend your time, usually in an agreeable manner; from "to pass the time"

Example: She's such a bookworm; she always spends her evenings with her nose in a book. I guess reading is her favourite pastime.

Translating vs. Writing

There is a difference between writing a story in English and translating a story from German to English. A huge difference. You see, when I write in English, I think in English. I use English "word pictures", English idioms and phrases. When I translate, though, the story uses German "word pictures", idioms and phrases. It works perfectly in German, and I have the task to make it work with a different set of "language tools". This isn't always easy since these tools can't be translated one to one. I have to use different "word pictures" to make the story work the way I want it to work.

Sometimes, I have no other option than to change the meaning, the intention of a sentence slightly. This isn't because I'm a bad translator; it's just that the two languages work in different ways. If I tried to stick to the original meaning and intention as if it was set in stone, it might well turn out awkward in another language. My goal, therefore, isn't to make each sentence work exactly like the original sentence but to make the story work the same way. If that means changing a sentence or two to make a scene work in the target language, then that's what I do.

I always translate in two steps, no matter whether I translate fiction or non-fiction. My first step is obvious: I have the original text and translate it sentence by sentence, often with help of a good dictionary or two (I like to use a bilingual and a monolingual dictionary, the monolingual one to check use and meaning, and prepositions). The second step, however, might surprise some of you. I close the original document; I don't need it anymore. In this step, I fully concentrate on my target text. I edit it thoroughly to make it work in the target language. In this step, I have to be careful that I don't change any meaning since I don't have the original text open anymore.

To break it down, step one is to transfer the meaning into the target language, while step two is all about the language: sentence structure, word use and meaning, text flow and so on. My two-step translation strategy only works when I work very accurately, of course, since I need to get the meaning right with the first try.

My goal is always to produce a target text that can't be spotted as a translation. Especially when I'm translating my own stories, though, I'm very glad for a second pair of eyes to proofread my final translation. One truth of editing is also true for translations: You tend to overlook awkward sentences and mistakes if you are editing or translating your own writing.

Language Love Times 110

I just realised that today's post is already my 110th post for language love. Granted, I haven't written all of these myself since I had a few great guest blog posts, but still, it's an incredible number.

When I started out in December 2010, I wasn't sure if I would be able to keep this going. I just didn't know whether I was the type of person who could come up with several blog posts each week, regularly, for months to come. Yet, my love for languages and you, my readers, kept me motivated. I only failed once to provide you with three new blog posts a week, and I used that week to get feedback from you.

My resources page has been constantly growing as well since I added new links whenever I found great websites. I might come across them while researching for a blog post, or just by chance, while reading in a language forum. There are links to online dictionaries, grammar pages, online language courses, information on languages and cultures and more. If you haven't looked through them, yet, I highly recommend it. Just have a look at the resources page to see the wealth of information at your disposal, only a click away. Are you missing something? Maybe you need a good grammar resource for a language I haven't yet provided you with? Tell me; I'll search the web and scan available websites to find new resources for you!

I am proud to announce that Language Love will have well over 300 visitors in August for the fourth month in a row! With any luck, the blog will even get past the 400 mark for the first time. I really have awesome and supportive readers!!! Thanks, guys and gals!

Language Love is on Facebook now too, and I'm planning more, so stay tuned!

Word of the Week ... XIV

Today's expression is, once again, a British expression which was brought to me by my dear colleague Richard I. Prescott. He told me it's used in pretty much the same way as "blimey", that is, said when surprised, shocked or angry.

"Gordon Bennet"

Meaning: same as "blimey"; said when surprised, shocked or angry

Example: Gordon Bennet, I have a fucking job!

If you are interested in the story behind this exclamation, read more about Gordon Bennet here!

Unusual Ways of Language Acquisition

Videogames

I have experienced it, and I have heard it from others as well: If you play videogames in a foreign language (either because you want to improve that language, or because the videogame isn't available in your native language), you pick up a lot "on the go". The greatest part surely is the game-specific vocabulary, but depending on the amount of text in the game, grammar and style will improve too. In my experience, the genre which offers best possibilities for language acquisition and improvement is that of RPGs (Role Playing Games). They depend on dialogue and story elements and some understanding of in-game texts is necessary to understand and evaluate what is going on, and to make the right decisions. Who wants to fully enjoy an RPG needs to understand the in-game texts. Since most gamers who play RPGs also want to excel at gaming, they will be motivated to learn new words.

If your children play videogames in a foreign language, support them by providing sources to look up new words, grammar and language structure, for example dictionaries and grammar books.

Comics

Especially boys might be more compelled to read comics instead of "normal books". If they have a favourite comic series which is available in a foreign language (or even originates in a different country, like the Asterix series, which is French), it might be a great motivation to actually start learning another language. Just get them a comic book in a foreign language. The illustrations will help them to understand what is going on even without any knowledge, and curiosity will likely get them to look up the words so that they can fully understand the story.

Song Lyrics

Do you listen to music with foreign lyrics? Aren't you wondering what the band is singing, and what you are singing along all the time? Well, just look for the lyrics online, grab a dictionary and start with looking up the meaning. Maybe you will take this as motivation to actually start learning the other language?

What other unusual ways of language acquisition can you think of? Care to share them with us?

From the Life of a Bilingual Writer...(II)

Synchronised Thoughts

I have noticed something really strange. At some point during the past weeks, I started having "synchronised" thoughts. That means I was thinking in one language but could "hear" the very same thoughts, almost simultaneously, in the other language. You might now that from TV interviews where they turn down the original voice of the interviewee and mix the translation on top of it. If you strain your ears, you can still listen to the original voice, but what you hear most is the translator's voice.

It happens no matter which one language is the "original" language of that thread of thoughts, and it doesn't happen all the time...

Oh, yes, I know I'm weird...

However, this makes me wonder whether I might, with some practice, be able to do interpreting English-German-English in the future. I'd love to since interpreting, especially simultaneous interpreting, really is the most challenging language job and it would simply be awesome to be capable of doing that. Guess I might practise while watching my beloved NCIS episodes in the evening...

Word of the Week ... XIII

This week's word of the week has its place in rough moments, when watching sports, or when provocated. It's a typically British expression (don't worry; American English has its own equivalent):

"bloody"

Meaning: The British expression "bloody" is used to emphasise (in a somewhat rude way) or to express great anger (often in the expression "Bloody hell!"). The American equivalent would likely be the F-word (or substitutes). As an emphasising adjective, it has been used since the 17th century, whereas the function as swear word in foul language came about some 100 years later.

Example: What a bloody mess! / Bloody hell! That hurt!

Ogham - The Celtic Tree Alphabet

The research for last week's language overview (Irish) brought me to the old Ogham alphabet, or Celtic Tree Alphabet, an alphabet consisting of horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines.

The name "Celtic Tree Alphabet" originates in the tradition of associating tree names to the various letters. The Ogham alphabet was used to "write" on materials like wood and stone which explains why it only used lines, no round shapes: The letters were carved into the harder surface. They are grouped in four groups of five letters each, summing up to a total of twenty different letters. Ogham was written vertically from the bottom to the top.

There are still about 400 to 500 (sources vary) stone inscriptions in Ogham writingwhich are spread throughout Ireland and Great Britain, though most of them can be found in south-eastern Ireland. They mostly are names like "X son of Y". The Ogham alphabet was used for Primitive Irish and Old Irish until it was replaced by the Roman alphabet after the 6th century.

There is no agreement as to the Ogham alphabet's origins. Some claim it was based on old runes, others say it originates from the Latin alphabet, and a third group thinks that the Ogham alphabet developed independently.

Read more:

Omniglot: a very good overview over the various letters, with name and assigned tree

The Ogham Stone: in-depth information

English Accents

Last week, I've watched my NCIS DVDs again--for the first time since I've been in the States. Before my travels, I needed subtitles to understand most of the characters/actors. Actually, Ducky was the only one I understood without any problems. Both character and actor are Scot, you know, not American. By now, I am finally able to watch them without subtitles.

This reminded me of some other occasions when I noticed that English is not just English. But first some words to my English basis. In Germany, English course books for schools teach British English (apart from one year where we learn some American vocabulary and some of the major differences between British and American English). Therefore, our teachers taught us a British accent. Furthermore, I had a Scot as English teacher for one year in my sixth year of English lessons, a remarkable woman who probably taught me more than all my other English teachers together. Even the first books I read in English were British (Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings). So, my inclination towards British English was set.

I remember watching some DVDs in English together with a friend who had been on an American high school in Berlin. The first DVD, he told me, 'Heh, you won't need subtitles; they're all pretty easy to understand.' Well, I asked him to turn on the subtitles only minutes after the film started because I had a hard time understanding the gist of the story, let alone the details. All right, before we started the next DVD, he said, 'I better leave the subtitles on; Hugh Grant speaks really fast and is damn hard to understand.' Sigh...I turned the subtitles off. Hugh Grant indeed spoke fast, but he's British. I understood him just fine. The next DVD we watched didn't have subtitles. Most of the characters' voices were American, but one or two of them had Scottish voices. It was really funny, though. My friend had to tell me what was going on most part of the film, except when the Scottish characters spoke. Then, he turned to me and asked for "translation".

However, British English isn't just British English, either. Yes, I definitely understood British accents in general far better than any American accents, but that didn't mean I had no problems at all...there was one Englishman, a client of the company I was working for then, whom I didn't understand at all...one of our English salesmen had told me to call that client and find out what he had wanted earlier--after about a minute or so, I apologised and handed the phone to my colleague. No chance. After the call, my colleague grinned at me and said, 'Well, that guy actually only lives about an hour away from me...' Granted, my colleague's accent was a bit harder to understand than most, and my other German colleagues had complained about it, but I understood him ok...

I still know quite well which of the people I met on the train were the hardest to understand for me. One Hawaiian guy and another young man from New Zealand...compared to them, the characters from NCIS are easy...