Smatterings: Why Languages Matter

Why Languages Matter

There is no avoiding the crisis in modern language education - 57% of GCSE pupils did not take a language qualification in 2010. Much of the debate on this issue, particularly that led by central government, has focused on the economic and diplomatic value of languages. Quite rightly, this perspective aspires to additional languages perfectly known; its objective is unequivocal comprehension. Yet this is not the full picture. Having more than one language, whether perfectly or imperfectly known, holds the key to cultural richness that would otherwise remain out of reach.

This conference explored a broad range of the cultural aspects of language acquisition and language use. We start off with a mother tongue, a ‘first’ language; some of us start off with two. Does knowing a second (or third) language give the speaker something more than a practical bonus? How does knowing another language give us a different perspective on our first one, the one that is natural to us, by showing that it is not the only way of thinking and telling? How does bilingualism, native or acquired, affect cultural identity and cultural understanding? What does this mean for the role of translation in key services, and in popular culture? We live in a truly multilingual society, but how can we overcome the perceived difficulty of multilingualism? Is foreign language education impeded by an unrealistic ideal of fluency? Should the idea of ‘passable Chinese’ or ‘a smattering of Urdu’ be reevaluated?

An interim report can be downloaded from this page. A full report will follow.

This conference was organised in partnership with the British Academy and in association with the British Comparative Literature Association.