by Sophia Moore and Xena Wang
So Many Languages.
With over thousands of languages in existence, it is no surprise that many individuals speak more than one. Sociolinguist Carol Myers-Scotton, in her book Multiple Voices, defines bilingualism as “the ability to use two or more languages sufficiently to carry on a limited casual conversation”. [1] In order to investigate the different implications of bilingualism with regards to the self and others in a social context, we conducted two surveys within the college-aged community of Swarthmore College.
In this post, we explore how bilingualism affects linguistic diversity: variations in all aspects of languages, including grammars, vocabularies, dialects, and languages themselves. Our study looked at the relationship between thought and speech patterns, and the different ways in which bilinguals’ speech styles differ depending on the language used. We examined the diverse ways people process language with the self (internally) and with others (externally), and how these differences contribute to linguistic diversity as a whole. By contributing to the overall diversity of the human population, linguistic diversity helps with the formation of new ideas or solutions to problems in relationships or larger societal issues, and aids in forging a unique identity within a community of language speakers.
In this post, we explore how bilingualism affects linguistic diversity: variations in all aspects of languages, including grammars, vocabularies, dialects, and languages themselves. Our study looked at the relationship between thought and speech patterns, and the different ways in which bilinguals’ speech styles differ depending on the language used. We examined the diverse ways people process language with the self (internally) and with others (externally), and how these differences contribute to linguistic diversity as a whole. By contributing to the overall diversity of the human population, linguistic diversity helps with the formation of new ideas or solutions to problems in relationships or larger societal issues, and aids in forging a unique identity within a community of language speakers.
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