Gary?s thought for the month
Working in the languages industry, I come across multi-linguists all of the time, but I was fascinated when BBC news reported about the UK?s most multi-lingual student; twenty-year-old Alex Rawlings who speaks 11 languages.
Knowing that there are other hyperpolyglots like Alex living in the UK is great, but it does highlight the opposite end of the spectrum:? those of us who only communicate in English.
English is sustained as the dominant international business language currently because of the USA?s position as the world?s dominant power.. The UK and the USA have become reliant on the rest of the world communicating with us in English. However, as BRIC countries continue to develop having an inability to speak in any language other than English can only hold us back.
While I understand that it takes a lot of skill, as well as an individual?s biographical make up and neurological hardware to become a multi-linguist, in the UK we are not doing enough to encourage people to become linguists. There are structural and cultural reasons behind this. The decision some years ago for languages not to be a compulsory part of the school curriculum beyond age 14 hasn?t helped. But this decision was merely a reflection of the British apathy towards foreign languages.
One of my favourite thinkers and commentators Will Hutton wrote in The Observer on 5 February and asked why we continue to isolate ourselves by only speaking English? He observed that in a country whose economic power is waning in a ferociously competitive world our young people are continuing to turn away from language education. Those applying to study non-European languages are down by 21%. The European position is no better with 57% of pupils taking no Languages at GCSE (normally aged 16).
Ultimately this can only harm our competitiveness economically and certainly affects us culturally. There are beacons of light in our multi-cultural society. It was encouraging to read of Byron Primary School in Bradford where only 26 of 700 pupils have English as a first language but still managed to be in the top 25% of schools in the UK on exam results. It?s a great achievement but again is a reflection of non native speakers desire to learn English.
It?s going to be a real challenge to change attitudes to foreign languages in the UK and it needs to start with our political leaders.
Read more:
BBC News, How do you become fluent in 11 languages, February 2012
The Guardian, Why do we continue to isolate ourselves by only speaking English?, February 2012
Source: http://internationalbusinessblog.conversisglobal.com/2012/03/01/the-generation-of-hyperpolyglot/
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