Every day we use language to express our thoughts and emotions, but what role do the languages we speak play in shaping those thoughts and emotions? Just how much of our culture and worldview is based on the concepts expressed in the languages we speak? Do bilinguals really have access to a broader understanding of the world because of the nuances which can be expressed in each of their languages? This question is not a new one, but every once in a while a new article is published that makes me reconsider the impact that speaking more than one language has on the very way we think and see the world.

According to this new article by Lera Boroditsky, a psychology professor at Stanford University, a great deal of new research has been published which firmly backs the theory that language does, in fact, influence the way we see the world. The article cites several studies carried out in a wide variety of languages which showcase how language affects our worldview, but I think most bilinguals are already aware of this to some extent. Speaking more than one language not only allows us to communicate with more people across the globe, but it also gives us the great priveledge of understanding the very way people from other cultures view and understand the world. This is one of the most precious gifts a parent can give a child.

image credit: dominio de las lenguas, via Público (click to view full size image)

If you’ve been reading us for a while, I’m sure you know that we try to avoid political discussions about bilingualism and the minority languages spoken in Spain. This is primarily because we believe that there is plenty of evidence to support the fact that a bilingual upbringing has loads of benefits, regardless of which combination of languages you choose to teach your children. One of the most recent studies on the subject demonstrates some of the many cognitive advantages bilingual children and adults have over their monolingual peers. Click here for more in-depth information on the benefits of bilingualism. So we strongly encourage parents to raise their children bilingually, whether that means English/Spanish, Arabic/French, Polish/Chinese or whatever language combination you feel motivated to share with your children.

That said, a interesting article in the Spanish daily newspaper Publico recently caught my eye. Under the headline “La recuperación de las lenguas aún es un reto” (Language Recovery is Still a Challenge), the article uses pictographs and numerical data to show the evolution of each of Spain’s minority languages over the last 30 years in those regions where each language is spoken. It’s especially interesting to see the challenges each region has faced over the years and the impact that social and political support for these minority languages has had on the recovery of each language.

The main (non-political) conclusion we can gain from these statistics is that it takes work for children to learn any language that is not the primary community language. Children first need to be exposed to a language and then they need to feel a motivation to communicate in that language. Just as those communities who have supported the use of their minority languages and worked for more opportunities for children to find a practical use for those languages have seen a growth in the percentage of the population that is truly bilingual, any family that makes the choice to raise their children bilingually will see greater results if they take active steps to both expose children to the language and create real opportunities for them to use the language on a daily basis. Best of luck to those of you who are fighting to give your children the wonderful gift of bilingualism!

Following up on the success of the first volume of Cuentos del mundo, this week our latest book Cuentos del mundo 2 hits the shelves of bookstores all over Spain. This new book follows the same structure as the previous volume of Cuentos del mundo: twenty-five bilingual tales from around the world, with highlighted vocabulary words and exercises to help reinforce what you’ve learned. With Cuentos del mundo 2, students of all ages willl have a great time learning English through stories!

You can find all the details here (pdf).

As always, this new title is available in our on-line shop and in bookshops throughout Spain.

We hope you love it as much as we do!

Description:
Title: Cuentos del mundo 2
Authors: Sofía Sánchez Adalid and Ruta Viruta
Translation: William Lyon
ISBN: 978-84-92968-04-6
Pages: 84 pages
Collection: Cuentos del mundo
Size: 22 x 22 cm
Specifications: Softcover with flaps
Price w/VAT: 12.50 €

Are you raising bilingual children, teaching in a multilingual classroom or just plain interested in how young children become bilingual? The monthly blogging on bilingualism carnival is a great way to help connect bilingual families and communities from all over the world. This month’s fair is hosted by Sarah at Bringing Up Baby Bilingual. Click here for a great collection of  posts from bloggers around the world on their experiences, concerns, words of wisdom or hilarious anecdotes about raising bilingual children. See you there!

Today we published a short Spanish language article entitled “¿Por qué es tan importante leer a los niños?“, if you want to check it out here. Enjoy!

image credit: going up, via flickr

I’m from Barcelona, and I’m bilingual in Catalan and Spanish. I currently live in Italy with my Italian husband, and we were wonder which languages we should speak to our future children, since all three of these Latin languages are very similar and we don’t know any other Catalan/Spanish speaking families here in Italy. I know that Spanish would be more useful, but I would hate for them to miss out on Catalan and all the stories, songs and games I know in Catalan. My husband speaks Spanish (more or less) and understands Catalan. Thanks for your help!

Dear Mommy,

What you’re expressing when you say “I would hate for them to miss out on Catalan and all the stories, songs and games I know in Catalan” is the reason why we always encourage parents to speak to their children in the language they’re most comfortable in. This is primarily due to emotional reasons. Language is so much more than signs and symbols–it’s the instrument we use to transmit culture, experiences and the affectionate exchange between parents and children. So we feel it’s not a good idea for you to feel forced into establishing a connection with your child through a language that doesn’t feel natural to you.

In order to respond to your specific questions and doubts and to better plan a strategy for your bilingual home, we should first discuss several things. Based solely on your question about which language each parent should speak, the One Parent One Language (OPOL) model would work well for your family. You could speak Catalan and your husband would speak Italian. In this way you can create an environment in which your child would learn both languages naturally and each parent would feel comfortable speaking his or her own language.

With regard to Spanish, I’m wondering which language you and your husband speak to each other. If you generally speak Spanish together, that would be a great way to expose your child to his third language. This would be a passive way for them to learn, since they would acquire sounds and words passively, which would make it easier to activate their use of Spanish when they need it. Learning two languages from the very beginning will make it easier for your child to learn a third language later on in life. If all three languages are romance languages (Latin roots), the process will be even more simple. In fact, the entire process of language acquisition (no matter which language we’re talking about) is incitially a passive experience which later becomes active.

If you and your husband don’t generally speak Spanish to each other, don’t worry about trying to change that. There are many ways to expose your child to a third language, so I think your first priority should be for each of you to use the language which allows you to communicate freely with your children. Your children can learn Spanish by traveling to Spanish speaking countries, attending summer camp in Spain, etc.

Above all, bear in mind that languages are learned as a result of motivation and the child’s need to communicate.

Good luck with your trilingual family!

Mariana Lombardo is an experienced children speech therapist. She does clinical work at SINEWS with bilingual familias in the expat community in Madrid. Mariana is in charge of the workshops for bilingual families offered by SINEWS and she also gives personalized speech therapy sessions to bilingual families. For more information, please visit www.sinews.es.

This weekend, Elisa Silió cited our latest book Cuentos del mundo 1 in her article about summer reading entitled “El crucigrama playero tiene competencia”, in Babelia, the cultural supplement of El País. You don’t want to miss next week’s premiere of Cuentos del mundo 2!