Volume 3 (2012) Issue 1
pp. 187-191
Prof. Dr. Thomas
Tinnefeld
Saarland University of Applied Sciences
Business School
pp. 187-191
.
.
Madalena
Cruz-Ferreira: Multilinguals are ...? London / Colombo
(90 pages) (ISBN: 978 1 903292 20 4)
(90 pages) (ISBN: 978 1 903292 20 4)
The present book,
which addresses laymen interested in the phenomenon of multilingualism as it
appears in life, represents an inspiring and illustrative read and outlines the
given phenomenon in a multi-perspective manner. In an attempt to answer the
question raised in the book title, the author formulates the following
statements which serve as the titles of the different chapters:
Multilinguals are …? (pp. 1)
- It’s a
multilingual world, but multilinguals are the odd ones out (pp. 5)
- Multilinguals must have balanced
languages, but one of them must be dominant (pp.11)
- Multilinguals must develop one main
language, but that won’t let them develop other languages (pp. 17),
- Multilinguals have no mother tongue,
because they are not native speakers of any language (pp. 23),
- Multilinguals can learn new languages
easily, but only in childhood (pp. 27),
- Multilingual competence means erasing
signs of multilingualism from the speech of multilinguals (pp. 35),
- Multilinguals don’t have many
languages, they have many half-languages (pp. 41),
- Becoming multilingual is both a drain
and a strain on your brain (47),
- Growing up
multilingual is no problem, provided you seek clinical assistance (pp. 53)
- In order to
raise multilingual children, you must speak to them in only one language
(pp. 59)
- Multilinguals
should be encouraged, but only in languages that matter (pp. 67)
- Multilinguals
are multilinguals because they are gifted for languages (pp. 73)
- Multilingualism is a boon, but also a bane, or vice
versa (pp. 79)
What are we talking about, really?? (pp. 85)
These chapter
titles provide readers with a first impression as to what they may find in this
book. In accordance with the target group envisaged, they will not find any
scientific or academic analysis, but a – not seldom personal – description by
the author made on the basis of her experience on the one hand and linguistic
research on the other.
A closer look at
the chapter titles reveals that in some cases, the hypotheses represented are
challenging or at least provocative and deal with “paradoxes and / or myths
about multilingualism” (p. 3). This intellectual challenge and / or provocation
is intentionally used by the author to stir her readers’ (possibly fixed) ideas
and to confront them with traditional points of view which may seem logical at
first sight, but which require some more research.
What is of
intellectual enjoyment to informed readers may, however, represent a potential hindrance
to understanding for uninformed ones, as the statements made in the chapter
titles (and serving as a starting points for the discussion of the different
points of view) are potentially misleading. Should readers ever take these
statements for granted, the ground will be laid for serious misinterpretations.
Uninformed readers may then ask questions like: “How can multilinguals have
balanced languages if one of them must be dominant” (chap. 2)?, “Can multilinguals learn foreign languages
easily or only in childhood” (chap. 5)? or: “Do multilinguals have many
languages or do they indeed only have many half-languages” (chap. 7)? Of
course, the discrepancies evoked in the titles are touched upon and further
elaborated in the very chapters, but in a first step, misunderstandings can
easily be caused. The chapter titles, meant to be eye catchers, can turn out to
be counter-productive elements which may reduce the general understandability
of the book.
In discussing the various
theories and approaches relevant to multilingualism, the author takes a
generally inductive perspective and follows logic reasoning which the
(informed) readers can easily follow. In doing so, she offers readers the
opportunity to develop their ideas along with her and to understand themselves
better (provided they are multilinguals). The author, thus, accompanies readers
and invites them to share her education and experience, but she never adopts a
didactic tone, which consequently increases the enjoyment of reading.
Although the
present book is relatively theoretical at times, it does not mean to be an
academic monograph. This is what the author herself claims, and this is
formally symbolised by the lack of any references: there are neither references
at the end of the book, nor are there any explicit references in the text which
point to specific publications or representatives of the respective view or
finding. The author herself mentions this general orientation of her book and implicitly
refers to research by using phrases like It has been argued that…, The
findings showed… or They were found to… (p. 3). Yet, any reader who
would like to get him or herself better informed about the topic of
multilingualism after having read the present book, is left behind in despair.
Therefore, it is here suggested that, in the upcoming edition, a reference list
be added to the book which will then give readers the chance of extending their
knowledge – and to enter the world of linguistics (as most of the references indicated
then will be academic ones). What is attractive for readers, though, is that
the author cites her own academic web page for more reference and offers
readers to contact her so as to inform them about the various theories and
their representatives.
The book is – and
is meant to be - written in a light-hearted style. What is more, the style is
often humorous. The choice of words is rarely academic but colloquial in
tendency, with spoken-language elements figuring here and there. This point,
however, does not represent a flaw of the book, but rather a forte because this
style reduces the potential distance between author and readers. From the very
first page, the author manages to build up a relationship of identification and
trust with her readers and, thus, enables them to head for the adventure of multilingualism
with her. The general orientation of the book and the tone it is written in
therefore consistently supplement each other.
As the present book
is not meant to be an academic one and therefore does not present new findings.
It is of limited use in this review to go through the various chapters and to
discuss the points and theories elaborated there. However, it should here be
noted that the author’s reflexions are generally original. To give an example,
it suffices to mention that she does not argue from the perspective of
monolingualism, which represents the traditional approach, but from that of
multilingualism, which represents an exceptional approach (pp. 8-9). Due to
this change of perspective alone, which determines the basic argumentation, the
book offers a stimulating read.
At the end of her
reflexions, the author humorously sums up what multilinguals actually are,
hinting to the complexity of their (linguistic) existence:
[Multilinguals;
T.T.] are gifted semilinguals who are dominant in no mother tongue, whose brain
brims with fractional languages learned through deficient multilingual input
designed for lower thought. Their L1 must be well in place but is not a native
language, because they have several L1s to match each of their split identities,
although none of their languages is non-native-like. In short, they are
clinically impaired workforce assets who, despite mixing their main language
and an L4, which is a second language, are nevertheless able to learn any
number of unbalanced languages any time, provided they do it in infancy (p. 85)
This description
hits the point: multilingualism is, last but not least, a phenomenon which
reflects human creativity and human versatility. However, this description
implicitly evokes the chapter titles discussed above and causes the same effect
of potential confusion to uninformed readers which these headers produce. This effect slightly diminishes the generally
positive impression the book conveys.
Another important aspect
must not be neglected, and it represents another strong point of the book: the
cartoons and caricatures which accompany every chapter and which, in most
cases, are simultaneously humorous and insightful. They offer summaries of the
respective chapters, which could not be any more to the point and serve as eye
catchers and appetisers at the same time, thus adding to the light-heartedness
of the book.
After all the generally
positive evaluation given here, a critical remark about the book reviewed has
to be made: the layout could be much more reader-friendly. In a book like this
one, which is meant to be simultaneously entertaining and pedagogical, the
density of the layout represents an obstacle to reading. With a layout which
would be less dense, therefore more easily perceivable by the human eye, the
joy of reading could be increased considerably. This point may be taken into
account for further editions (which are hopefully to come).
In an overall perspective,
it can be said that the book Multilinguals are... ? is a pleasant and
entertaining read which enlightens the non-expert reader and represents an attractive
leisure-time read for the linguist. Its merit consists in opening up the world
of multilingualism to those who – often personally concerned – would normally
not read academic texts on the subject and who will find a considerable number
of identification points. As a side effect, these readers will implicitly
acquire the art of linguistic thinking. The informed reader will find a summary
of linguistic research supplemented by the author’s personal experience and may
find some inspiration due to the originality of the approach. In spite of the (few)
critical points mentioned above, the reviewer can but agree with David Crystal,
who classifies the present book as “a breath of fresh air in a field which
desperately needs ventilation” (back cover). It is the author’s merit to have
tackled a complex linguistic topic and to guide her readers through it so as to
give them the chance to understand their situation better and to realise that
linguistic research takes their problems into consideration. This is by far more
than what can be found in many other books.
Author:
Chair of Applied Languages
Waldhausweg 14
D-66123 Saarbrücken
E-Mail: thomas_tinnefeld@htw-saarland.de