The Wonder of Multilingualism

Normally, we don’t think about grammar as we talk and probably do so when we write only when there’s a question of correct form. Grammar involves the total use of a language, how words combine to form sentences; it is not simply a question of right vs. wrong usage or vocabulary. Those who are multilingual have greater awareness of grammatical structures in languages than the rest of us because they shift from one language system to another.

It’s awesome to understand and speak more than one language, but duality can present problems for those who write in a language other than their first or primary language. Phrasing in one language can be completely correct, totally acceptable, but then turn out to be deemed incorrect in a different language—the use of double negatives, for instance. In English, a double negative is outlawed, verboten, not right at any time. In Spanish, applying emphasis through the double negative form is acceptable, at times expected or required. Another example is that articles (a, an, and the) in the English language don’t identify gender, but in French, articles do indicate the gender of a noun. Is the surfboard "la" or "le"?

Considering the examples mentioned above, a student who is in the process of learning a new language realizes quickly that word-for-word translations are not always going to work, at least not precisely as planned. The grammar of one language may be unlike the grammar of the next one, resulting in some confusion or stylistic awkwardness.

One way to figure out how to go from one language to the other is to actively and consciously compare grammars, how each language handles specific parts of speech. Knowing where languages differ in adjective, adverb, subject, verb placement, etc., should help increase the bilingual or multilingual student’s ability to move from one language to another.

In sum, the study of grammar (in the sense of how words are used to form sentences) is essential to the student who wishes to be in command of more than one language. Finding points of comparison and differences gives one who studies different languages at a structural level an edge when it comes time to write in the new language. Simpler ways to master an additional language involve concentrated listening, maybe opting for the captions on TV programs in the new language, and just conversing in the new language at every opportunity in order to become familiar with its nuances.

Since surfer slang is not actually a foreign language, no matter what my composition professor said about my first college essay, I look with complete admiration at those who do speak more than one language and wonder at their intellectual feats.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!