Multilingualism also has several social, cultural, economic, and cognitive benefits. Being multilingual is a desirable trait in the globalized world of today because it improves one’s cognitive abilities, communication skills, work opportunities, exposure to many cultures, and travel experiences. Cook (1992) proposed the notion of ‘multicompetence’ to designate a unique form of language competence that is not necessarily comparable to that of monolinguals. According to Cook, second language users should not be viewed as imitation monolinguals in a second language, but rather they should be seen to possess unique forms of competence, or competencies, in their own right. Herdina and Jessner (2002) also adopted a holistic view of bilingualism and emphasized the fact that multilingual competence is dynamic rather than static. Instead, this shows that children understand the grammatical rules of both languages. Children typically use this strategy to clarify their meaning in a grammatically correct manner.
Nevertheless, without a wider framework for the promotion of multilingualism, this opportunity might end up creating an even wider gap, since users feel the pressure of using the common language or a few main world languages in order to reach a broader audience. UNESCO supports the inclusion of new languages in the digital world, the creation and dissemination of content in local languages on the Internet and mass communication channels, and encourages multilingual access to digital resources in cyberspace. Another key promoter of multilingualism is the EU, since it embodies multilingualism as one of its basic political and working principles, enshrined in the EU Charter (article 22) and in the Treaty on European Union (article 3(3) TEU). Given its policy of translating all official activities into the languages of all member states, the EU has supported various development activities in the field of machine translation such as Matecat and QT21. It has also supported other language technologies such as speech recognition and data analytics. AI can also help preserve endangered languages and dialects by building digital archives and linguistic databases.
Children of linguistically and culturally diverse families are therefore faced with a multitude of cultural values, beliefs, and social rules that influence their acquisition of language. We note for the purpose of this discussion that we take a broad view of bilingualism and multilingualism, considering anyone who uses two or more languages actively to be bilingual or multilingual. The form of language experience will differ across individuals and in different language and cultural contexts. Those distinctions, the trajectory of language learning, and the resulting proficiency in each language will be critically important factors, but our interpretation of the available research is that bilingualism and multilingualism are more similar than different. The critical distinction will be between individuals who are monolingual and individuals who speak two or more languages. Interestingly, the advantages that are conferred by bilingualism have been reported for bilingual children even in the earliest months of life.
Moreover, as we seek solutions to new problems, having different modes of thinking that come with multilingualism gives us a greater chance of finding answers, providing new perspectives, and conceiving innovative questions that will benefit humanity. If you live in an area where more than one bridge has been built over time, one collapse will not prevent you from reaching your destination because you can take alternative routes to reach your home. Prior to his involvement with Thoth, Toby has been Project Manager of the Community-led Open Publication Infrastructures for Monographs (COPIM) project ( ). Lorena Caliman has a Master’s degree in Contemporary Communication and Culture (Federal University of Bahia), is a journalist and researcher in the field of public communication, disinformation and journalism. She is currently working in topics related to open scholarly communication in the Social Sciences and Humanities, as a member of the University of Coimbra in projects related to the OPERAS Research Infrastructure.
Finally, a brief outlook into challenges in multilingualism (research) is provided. In general, results of studies have reported superior performance among bilingual and multilingual individuals. Furthermore, among bilingual individuals, one’s level of proficiency in one’s second language was also reported to influence auditory processing abilities. IDNs thus contribute to making the Internet more inclusive, as the possibility of accessing and registering domain names in more languages and scripts empower more people to use the Internet. It has been said numerous times that domain names are not only about addressing and naming, but also about content.
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Children and people that learn and speak more languages develop an appreciation for other cultures and an innate acceptance of cultural differences. As adults, multilingual individuals are more cosmopolitan and more willing and open to experiencing what other cultures have to offer. In the Learnlife context, multilingualism and language proficiency is very important from two perspectives. First, language use within a group of speakers who can communicate in the same language is an excellent way in which to strengthen language proficiency and develop cultural awareness of that language and society. A ‘language tribe’ will help educate a community about the history and practices of a culture. Not only are there cognitive and health benefits, but there are social benefits too.
Linking research on the social level to research on the individual level presents a big challenge for future studies of multilingualism. Also combining the emic, the multilingual’s perspective, with the etic, the researcher’s perspective, of multilingualism appears to be the most promising step forward in the development of the field (Todeva and Cenoz, 2009). This results in speakers using terms like courrier noir (literally, mail that is black) in French, instead of the proper word for blackmail in French, chantage. A coordinate model posits that equal time should be spent in separate instruction of the native language and the community language. The native language class, however, focuses on basic literacy while the community language class focuses on listening and speaking skills.
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Within the same group, third language acquisition (TLA) is not discussed as extended second language acquisition (SLA), but rather as a different language learning process in various respects (cf Jessner, 2008a). Apart from minority and majority languages, nowadays multilingual education in different parts of the world is characterized by the presence of English in the curriculum. This is the case not only when English is the majority language in countries such as the UK, the US, Canada, Australia or New Zealand but also in countries where English is a second or foreign language. English is taught as a subject in schools in most countries in the world and it is increasingly used as a language of instruction at all levels of education. English is more important in the curriculum than any other foreign language in the past.
They acquire these skills with varying degrees of proficiency, in oral and/or written forms, in order to interact with speakers of one or more languages at home and in society. An individual should be regarded as bilingual regardless of the relative proficiency of the languages understood or used” (RCSLT, 2006, p. 268). Do parents need to worry if multilingual or bilingual children mix their languages? Multilingual or bilingual children sometimes ‘mix’ their languages within the one sentence or during conversations. Multilingual and bilingual children understand the differences among languages from an early age, especially if families use the one person-one language model.
In cases of an unspecified number of languages, the terms polyglossia, omnilingualism, and multipart-lingualism are more appropriate. The constant juggling of two or more languages creates a more interconnected neural network that compensates functionally for anatomical deterioration. Imagine taking a certain bridge home every day after work for many years until one day that bridge collapses, and that route is no longer available to you. Parliament’s lawyer-linguists ensure, throughout the legislative procedure, the highest possible quality of legislative texts in all EU languages. In order to guarantee that Parliament’s political will is rendered in high quality legislative texts the lawyer-linguists are involved at all stages of the legislative procedure. In the following sections, categorizations of educational provision in multilingual societies are outlined, and some of the major sociopolitical and psychoeducational issues that characterize this provision are discussed.
Until rather recently, bi- and multilingual speakers were often treated as schizophrenic and cognitively handicapped speakers with deficits in each of their languages. Due to the trained flexibility in the bilingual brain she and her collaborators attested elderly bilinguals to be protected against the onset of dementia (for an overview see Bialystok, 2009). Multilingualism has become an increasingly common global phenomenon especially in the last two decades. Therefore, multilingual programmes have now been regarded David Joseph Wrisley as a cornerstone of education systems in many countries around the world. Learning multiple languages helps us plug into a globalised world and strengthen links with a multitude of speakers from a diversified reality we live in. Thanks to the researched cases described in the chapters, further developments aimed at fostering multilingual practices in the contemporary world will be enhanced.
It allows WHO to more effectively guide public health practices, reach out to international audiences and achieve better health outcomes worldwide. In this way, multilingual communication is an essential tool for improving global health. The European Parliament differs from the other EU institutions in its obligation to ensure the highest possible degree of multilingualism. Every European citizen has the right to stand for election to the European Parliament. It would be unreasonable to require MEPs to have a perfect command of one of the more frequently used languages, such as French or English. The right of each Member to read and write parliamentary documents, follow debates and speak in his or her own language is expressly recognised in Parliament’s Rules of Procedure.