Is Multilingualism a problem?
A discussion of the consequences of multilingualism for the individual and society
Written by:
Fahd Al Alwi
April 2008
Introduction
It is estimated that there are about 3000-5000 languages spoken in the world, while there are only some 150-190 states, depending on how languages and states are categorized. This will undoubtedly lead to the presence of different many languages alongside each other in one country (Hoffmann 1991:2; Grosjean 1982:4). This phenomenon is natural and called multilingualism. Practically speaking, multilingualism is nearly present in every state of the world, in different age groups. As a matter of fact, it is fairly difficult to find a society that is genuinely monolingual. Furthermore, Multilingualism is a worldwide phenomenon that has existed since the beginning of language in human history. It could be true to argue that no language group has ever existed in isolation from other language groups, and the history of the languages is replete with examples of language contact that eventually lead to some form of multilingualism (Grosjean1982:1). It is important to distinguish, here, between two basic types of multilingualism: individual multilingualism, and societal multilingualism. Each type of multilingualism has been believed to has its definition, characteristics, factors and even consequences.
In this essay, I will discuss the (false) claim that multilingualism in its two types pose a threat. It is worth to mention that the two terms multilingualism and bilingualism will be used interchangeably throughout this essay. In the first section, I will talk about individual bilingualism, giving brief introduction to what it could mean if an individual is described as bilingual. After that, I will discuss two topics related to individual bilingualism in an alleged causal relationship. The first one is individual bilingualism and personality, while the second is individual bilingualism and intelligence. In the second section, I will discuss societal bilingualism, introducing its definition and main types before I proceed to discuss its relationship with identity. My discussion will refer to various studies that have specifically dealt with these issues, so that I can reach a reasonable conclusion.
Individual bilingualism
According to Appeal and Muysken (1987:2) it is fairly difficult to determine whether a particular individual is bilingual or not. The adoption of different criteria have lead to the fact that there is no one agreed upon definition. So, definitions range from strict criteria like that of (Bloomfield1933)[1] who sees that a bilingual should have a "native-like control of two or more languages", to the broad definition of (Haugen 1953)[2] who observes that "bilingualism begins when the speaker of one language can produce complete meaningful utterances in the other language" which as (Hakuta 1986)[3] notes "brings the entire process of second language acquisition within the scope of the study of bilingualism." There is no standard for language proficiency to come up with a psychological definition. Therefore, we will obtain a sociological definition that refers to the individual who regularly and alternately uses more than one language as bilingual (Appeal and Muysken 1987).
Individual bilingualism and personality
The question of whether bilingualism affects personalities of the individuals has been studied by many researchers. Is it possible that a bilingual shifts personality when he/she shifts language? Researchers observed informants' behaviours or sometimes what they report about their behaviours. Haugen(1956)[4] reports a French-born American writer who could not translate one of his books into English saying" it was as if I, writing in English, I had become another person." Similarly, Di Pietro(1977)[5] observes an Italian butcher whose behavior when he speaks English is formal whereas in Italian he is much less formal with a sense of humor. Furthermore, other researchers took it beyond that like Weinreich(1953)[6] who illustrated the negative view of bilingualism by citing the words of the Luxembourger Reis:"the temperament of the Luxembourger is rather phlegmatic ...our bilingual eclecticism prevents us from consolidating our conception of the world and from becoming strong personalities.." However, studies that have used sounder methodologies show that bilingualism could have negative effects on the individual's personality only, and only, when "social conditions are unfavourable" Apple and Muysken (1987:113). According to Apple and Muysken(1987), it is the individuals with socio-psychological problems who are usually more likely to be affected negatively by bilingualism, as one factor among others that have detrimental effects on personality of the individual. Migrant labourers, for instance, usually suffer from psychosomatic illnesses; this is of course not because of the fact that they are bilinguals, but because they feel that their social and cultural values are socially stigmatized. Another example is bilingual children at schools like those in the study of emotional and social development carried out by (Appel, Everts and Teunissen, 1986)[7] on Turkish and Moroccan children in a bilingual program in the Netherlands, it was found that these children have fewer problems compared to a similar group in monolingual schools. Now, to answer the question of whether a bilingual have one or two personalities, Grosjean(1982:283) sees this alleged change of personality as a "shift of attitudes and behaviors corresponding to a shift in situation or context, independent of language." Thus, we could say that bilingualism is not to blame for changing personality as it is not the only factor that shapes it.
Individual bilingualism and intelligence
There have been heated debates about the relation between bilingualism and intelligence. Some studies argued that bilingualism could have cognitive effects which can be measured by verbal tests of intelligence(Darcy 1953)[8]. An earlier study by Goddard(1917)[9] which aimed to assess the intelligence of immigrants found that 25 of 30 adults Jews are “feeble-minded”, commenting that “lack of vocabulary in adults would probably mean lack of intelligence”. Furthermore, the latter findings were praised by Hakuta(1986)[10] who took these findings further to recommend that testing facilities should be provided at ports of entry to the united states so as to prevent “feeble-minded aliens” from entry. Although intelligence tests were provided in a language not known to the examinees, Brigham[11] argued that they did not suffer a disadvantage. One of the most widely cited studies was that that Saer(1924)[12] conducted, studying welsh/English bilingual children in rural and urban areas of Wales. He concluded that bilingualism caused lower intelligence in rural areas’ children, attributing the higher intelligence of bilinguals in urban areas to their capability to ‘resolve their emotional conflict between the use of Welsh and English at an earlier age that rural children’ whereas critics disputed his claim, attributing the lower scores of children in the rural areas to the lack of practice of English language. Morrison (1958)[13] added that taken the occupation of parents into account as another social factor , there will be no differences between the two groups. According to Romaine(1995:110) two major factors make such studies suspect. Firstly, it is impossible to infer ‘cause and effect relationships’ specifically with the high possibility of having many other mediating variables. Secondly, intelligence tests are usually carried out using the ‘second or non-dominant language’ to the examinees. Thus, claims of lack of intelligence among specific bilinguals should not be taken as accurate simply because they are usually based on studies that focus on bilingualism as the only factor without taken other factors into consideration.
On the other hand, some studies claimed that bilingualism could have positive effects on individuals. Leopold (1939-49)[14] analysed the simultaneous acquisition of English and German by his daughter to find that she is different from her monolingual peers in that she did not bother to listen to fairy tales in the exact wording, and even reproduced what she memorizes with different words. This attitude, according to Leopold, is attributed to the ‘lack of nominalism’ where there is no rigid relation between forms and meanings of words. On the basis of Leopold’s findings, Ianco-Worell(1972)[15] investigated the metalingusitic ability of bilinguals. She studied the case of comparable groups of Afrikaans and English-speaking children who had acquired the languages simultaneously. In one experiment, subjects were supposed to relate set of words to one key word. For instance, one set was cap, can, and hat. She found that the bilingual children tend to relate the words semantically, while only the older children of the monolinguals tend to do so which could mean that “ bilingual children were in a more advanced stage of metalinguistic development than their monolingual peers” Apple and Muysken (1987:112). Furthermore, in a rather complex experiment, she tested the difference between the two groups in the relation between names and things where for example a cow could be called a dog and a dog a cow and she concluded that “bilingual children become aware at an earlier age of the arbitrary connection between things and the names they are given in a particular language” Romaine(1995:113).
Considering the studies presented above, Apple and Muysken (1987:112) “state that it is not bilingualism in itself which causes cognitive advantages or disadvantages, but certain social factors that influence the levels of proficiency the bilingual attains in both languages”.
Societal Bilingualism
Roughly speaking, there can be societal bilingualism when more than one language is spoken in this society (Apple and Muysken 1987:2). Societal bilingualism could occur as a result of different factors some of which are historical like military conquests, occupation, cession and annexation; political marriages and succession arrangements; colonization; migration and immigration; federation. While some others are contemporary like neocolonialism; immigration and migration of labour; language promotion and internationalization (Hoffman 1991: 158-163). Different factors that lead to bilingualism in societies together with the unique reactions showed by different members of society towards these factors make it impossible to find two identical countries with regard to bilingualism (Hoffman1991: 164).
Nevertheless, Apple and Muysken (1987:2) three types of societal bilingualism can be distinguished theoretically:
1- Two languages are spoken by two different monolingual groups. Here, individual bilingualism is limited to the necessary communication. This type occurred in former colonial countries, with colonizers speaking English, or French, for example, and the colonized speaking a local language.
2- Two languages are spoken by all people. A good example of this type would be India and some African countries.
3- One group is bilingual while the other is monolingual. In this type, the bilingual group is most often a minority, not necessarily in terms of number or statistics but in a sociological sense; it is a non-dominant or oppressed group. A clear example here is the situation in Greenland where people who speak Greenlandic Inuit have to learn Danish while Danish-speakers (being the dominant group) can remain monolingual.
According to Hoffman(1991: 165) some basic types of bilingualism can be recognized in terms of languages' official or co-official status in one country.
Hoffmann(1991:165) recognized the same types of bilingualism referring to the situation where two languages enjoy equal status as horizontal bilingualism (Pohl 1965)[16], emphasising that it is useful to use this term on condition that languages enjoy official or co-official status . In this type, she distinguished between bilingual countries on the basis of territorial monolingualism which is similar to (1) above, and territorial multilingualism, similar to (2) above, While the most frequently type of multilingualism in western Europe is characterised according to Hoffmann by "social inequality of the languages concerned" which is similar to (3) above.
Societal Bilingualism and identity
It is worth mentioning that due to the elusiveness in the phenomenon of ethnicity or ethnic identity, some writers have often been reluctant to stick to one definition of it; ethnicity can also be considered as a stage of nationalism (Hoffmann1991:193). Thus, for the purpose of this essay, the terms identity, ethnicity and nationalism will be taken to cover the general meaning of identity and might be used interchangeably.
Societal bilingualism can be considered as a problem when language itself , and not just people, is believed to cause conflict, specifically in countries where there is no agreement upon one language to unify different groups(Hoffmann1991:4). Fasold(1984)[17]suggests that "multilingualism works against nationalism". Many people consider the language as the most important marker of identity. Thus, to them identity cannot be maintained unless they continue to use their language (Hoffmann1991:194). So, identity of a specific group will not, basically, be threatened by bilingualism unless there is solid relation between language and identity. Whether the loss of language leads to loss of identity is an important question to start with. But before that, what comprises a specific identity of a group? Is it only language that is responsible for giving a specific group its identity?
According to Hoffmann(1991:193) "The study of the relationship between language and nationalism has proved to be difficult, as the issues involved, particularly those relating to ethnic or national identity, are complex, and, quite often, intangible".
Various studies have investigated the relation between language and ethnicity. Lowely et al(1983)[18]interviewed three representatives of three American ethnolinguistic groups: French, Spanish and Yiddish. They concluded that all the three groups wanted to maintain their identities alongside the American identity. They regard their languages as indispensible of their identity. On contrary, other studies have proved that language itself does not distinguish different groups. In his study of the language situation of the Marathi-speaking community of Tamil Nadu, Apte(1979)[19]shows that there is not a necessary link between language and ethnic identity. He argued that there are two groups with the same mother tongue, but with different ethnic identities. Therefore, identities could be demarcated by factors other than language e.g social class, political affiliation..(Apple and Muysken 1987:2). Liberson(1970)[20]showed in his study of the language situation of ethnic groups in Canada that there are "many instances of ethnic groups with distinct languages, but also many instances of distinct ethnic groups with a common language". Also, Kershaw(1973)[21] pointed out that "Saudi students in the USA have not changed their attitudes towards their religion. Moreover, many Muslim scholars and communities have been living in the west for decades, but still adhere to their religion and culture, although English is their first language." Similarly, Youssef and Simpkins(1985)[22] found that Arabs who lived in the US for a long time held a positive view of their ethnic identity. There is usually a form of language loyalty from a group that speak this language, showing relation between the two. Nevertheless, this relationship between language and identity is not one-to-one (Apple and Muysken 1987:20). Therefore, societal bilingualism cannot be a threat to a group identity.
Conclusion
This essay has discussed multilingualism from social and psychological perspectives. I have talked about the issue of the effects of individual bilingualism on personality, referring to different studies. We have noticed that what have been arguably seen as shift in personality influenced by bilingualism is a mere change of the behaviour caused by a shift in the situation, occurring independently of language (Grosjean 1982). Therefore, we can say that since bilingualism could negatively affects personality only under specific unfavourable social factors, so, it is not true to be blamed for any change to it. The same applies to individual bilingualism and intelligence where there have been studies that refer the lack of intelligence of an individual in IQ tests directly to bilingualism although these tests had been introduced to those individuals in languages some of them had acquired as second languages in addition to the negligence of these studies to different mediating variables that could significantly affect the results (Romaine1995), and as for positive effects of individual bilingualism on intelligence, Apple and Muysken(1987) state that this cannot occur because of bilingualism only, but several social factor could have such influence. Regarding societal bilingualism and negative effects on group identity, studies have proved that there is not a one-to-one relationship between the two and therefore bilingualism alone cannot have a detrimental effect on identity. This can clearly show that it is not multilingualism per se that results in problems or have negative or even positive influence on personality, intelligence, and identity, but combination of factors as is discussed in the essay among which could be multilingualism can pose a threat.
References
Al-abed Al-Haq, F. & Smadi, O. (1996), "Spread of English and westernization in Saudi Arabia", World Englishes, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 307-317.
Apple, R. & Muysken, P.(1987), Language contact and bilingualism, Edward Arnold, London.
Grosjean, F. (1982), Life with two languages : an introduction to bilingualism, Harvard University Press, Mass.
Hoffmann, C. (1991), An introduction to bilingualism, Longman Inc. New York.
Romaine, S. (1995), Bilingualism, 2nd ed, Blackwell, Oxford.
