I know most of you, if any, will NOT read this, but I thought it interesting to post on the chance that anyone that might be of the thought that an English only USA is what it means to be American. Well, youre wrong. Im biased, of course. Im a natural linguaphile, hence pursuing any foreign language as soon as the opportunity was available to me- French in 7th grade (which I didnt continue) and German in junior high, then high school (which I sadly also did not continue) Persian, aka Farsi, in my 20s- only on hold because Spanish took over and has to be my main focus due to job duties and hopeful further studies in linguistics. Very grateful Sarah Clarks bossiness 12 years ago made me pause my Persian study and pursue Spanish. Even just knowing the basics of another language- ANY language- will open your mind to other ways of thinking about yourself, others, relationships and the world in general. I remember when I heard about how a particular language- I believe an indigenous language in a South American country, just cant remember which one- sees the past as being in front of them and the future as being behind them because the past is something that is completed and that you can see, and the future has not yet happened, therefore unseen. Keeping endangered languages alive is imperative because these languages gives us clues, insights and information about humans and our unique ability among all animals to turn isolated speech utterances into meaningful communication, or to use sign languages to do the same. Our young brains have an innate capacity to absorb grammar without learning it, just as babies learn languages- this is why children can acquire multiple languages simultaneously. Plenty of bilingual or multilingual regions support this fact (majority of Spain is comprised of bilingual regions- I was in Galicia, where everyone speaks Spanish and Galician). There is a misconception that a childs first language will be compromised, though there is enough evidence to support that a child should be literate, or working towards literacy, in their first language before or WHILE they are learning to read in a second language. All languages are access to history, our minds, our brains, our spirit.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 21:06:53 +0000