Multilingualism is the situation in which a person has command of, or a community uses, two or more languages. Accordingly, one has to distinguish between multilingualism on the micro-level (individual multilingualism) and multilingualism on the macro-level (societal multilingualism).
Multilingualism in India is a product of its history and a reflection of its diverse cultures. Schools play a vital role in maintaining multilingualism and in changing its nature. Planning for the development of Indian languages starts at the school level to ensure, in theory that it allows the multilingual base to continue. For the students, the motivation to learn several languages arises from advantages which might possibly act as incentives for learning more and more languages. These advantages range from better jobs to enjoying diverse cinema, reading magazines and travelling. The difference between the language that minority children speak at home and the language they use in school is one of their distinguishing features. If the language the child brings to the classroom is derided and stigmatized, and no academic strategy is adopted to give such children competence in the school language so that they may study as equals to the majority language children, they develop an inferiority complex. This in turn affects their personality. Language is therefore both the cause and the symptom of an inefficient education system.
India is often described as a linguistic and a sociolinguistic area because languages here travel across all kinds of boundaries without any passports.India is a land of diverse languages since it is a multicultural country. At present there is not a single State or Union Territory that is monolingual India is so vast and is divided in so many States, languages and religions, its culture is also much diversified. Each region possess its own local holidays and cultural differences.And thus multilingualism is not a rare but a normal necessity across the world due to globalization and wider cultural communication.
Characterstic of multilingualism 1) It actually changes our brain structure. 2) It improves our memory and helps in doing multitasking skills. It is also the result of nationalism and nationism.
3) The functional relation between languages is not linear but hierarchical. 4) People this who use different languages influence in the ability of knowledge languages. 5) When we learn a language this helps to know other language and vice versa. how languages were learnt at the initial years and affects the acquisition of languages learnt later and vice versa.
6)Be consistently better able to deal with distractions, which may help offset age-related declines in mental dexterity;
7)Better understand and appreciate people of other countries, thereby lessening racism, xenophobia, and intolerance, as the learning of a new language usually brings with it a revelation of a new culture. 8)Multilingual can expand their personal horizons and—being simultaneously insiders and outsiders—see their own culture from a new perspective not available to monoglots(a person who speaks only one language), enabling the comparison, contrast, and understanding of cultural concepts 9)To say nothing of the social and employment advantages of being bilingual – offering the student the ability to communicate with people s/he would otherwise not have the chance to interact with, and increasing job opportunities in many careers.
From the above characteristics of multilingualism we can say that linguistic diversity is not by accident but inherited through the process of acquiring the cultures of the nation. It is an integral part of the Indian society. We as a society have always appreciated and respected multilingualism and must strive to do the same. We as a teacher can provide a multilingual classroom environment. It can have a positive impact on the development of the students social, cognitive and communicative development.
Multilingualism is the situation in which a person has command of, or a community uses, two or more languages. Accordingly, one has to distinguish between multilingualism on the micro-level (individual multilingualism) and multilingualism on the macro-level (societal multilingualism).
ReplyDeleteMultilingualism in India is a product of its history
ReplyDeleteand a reflection of its diverse cultures. Schools
play a vital role in maintaining multilingualism
and in changing its nature. Planning for the
development of Indian languages starts at the
school level to ensure, in theory that it allows
the multilingual base to continue. For the
students, the motivation to learn several
languages arises from advantages which might
possibly act as incentives for learning more and
more languages. These advantages range from
better jobs to enjoying diverse cinema, reading
magazines and travelling.
The difference between the language that
minority children speak at home and the
language they use in school is one of their
distinguishing features. If the language the child
brings to the classroom is derided and
stigmatized, and no academic strategy is adopted
to give such children competence in the school
language so that they may study as equals to
the majority language children, they develop an
inferiority complex. This in turn affects their
personality. Language is therefore both the
cause and the symptom of an inefficient
education system.
India is often described as a linguistic and a sociolinguistic area because languages here travel across all kinds of boundaries without any passports.India is a land of diverse languages since it is a multicultural country. At present there is not a single State or Union Territory that is monolingual
ReplyDeleteIndia is so vast and is divided in so many States, languages and religions, its culture is also much diversified. Each region possess its own local holidays and cultural differences.And thus multilingualism is not a rare but a normal necessity across the world due to globalization and wider cultural communication.
And thus it can be said as Multilingualism is an integral part of the Indian society.
DeleteCharacterstic of multilingualism
ReplyDelete1) It actually changes our brain structure.
2) It improves our memory and helps in doing multitasking skills. It is also the result of nationalism and nationism.
3) The functional relation between languages is not linear but hierarchical.
ReplyDelete4) People this who use different languages influence in the ability of knowledge languages.
5) When we learn a language this helps to know other language and vice versa. how languages were learnt at the initial years and affects the acquisition of languages learnt later and vice versa.
6)Be consistently better able to deal with distractions, which may help offset age-related declines in mental dexterity;
ReplyDelete7)Better understand and appreciate people of other countries, thereby lessening racism, xenophobia, and intolerance, as the learning of a new language usually brings with it a revelation of a new culture.
8)Multilingual can expand their personal horizons and—being simultaneously insiders and outsiders—see their own culture from a new perspective not available to monoglots(a person who speaks only one language), enabling the comparison, contrast, and understanding of cultural concepts
9)To say nothing of the social and employment advantages of being bilingual – offering the student the ability to communicate with people s/he would otherwise not have the chance to interact with, and increasing job opportunities in many careers.
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ReplyDeleteFrom the above characteristics of multilingualism we can say that linguistic diversity is not by accident but inherited through the process of acquiring the cultures of the nation. It is an integral part of the Indian society. We as a society have always appreciated and respected multilingualism and must strive to do the same. We as a teacher can provide a multilingual classroom environment. It can have a positive impact on the development of the students social, cognitive and communicative development.
ReplyDeleteGood effort.....Well contributed by all....
ReplyDelete