Essay

Mix it up

By Tan Ying Zhen

Do you “mix” languages? For example, while speaking English, you may switch to Japanese for certain phrases.

Some people take this to mean that one’s language proficiency is not good enough. But researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design say this may not be so.

The researchers did a study of 51 pre-schoolers between 5 1/2 and 6 1/2 years old. These children had similar family profiles. Their parents’ average highest education was a university degree. They also spoke more English than Mandarin at home.

After testing the children on their English vocabulary and studying their spontaneous speech, the researchers found two things. First, code-switching (switching between English and Mandarin) did not affect their English skills. Second, those who code-switched more frequently had better Mandarin skills than those who did not.

What does this mean for children learning two languages?

One of the researchers, Assistant Professor Yow Wei Quin, said she hopes that parents will not discourage their children from code-switching. Some parents and educators think that code-switching is bad. However, her research suggests it may not be as clear-cut as we think.

In Singapore, code-switching is common across all the ethnic groups. In school, we study both English and our mother tongue, for example Mandarin, Malay or Tamil. All subjects, except the mother tongue, are taught in English.

Because of the emphasis on English, some people are concerned that young Singaporeans are no longer proficient in their mother tongues. For example, many Chinese Singaporeans cannot hold a conversation in Chinese at all.

Singaporeans are in an awkward position. For instance, Chinese Singaporeans may be bilingual but foreigners think our Chinese is not as good as that of people from China or Taiwan. We may write and speak better English than some people from the West, but fellow Asians probably think our English is not as “authentic.”

Yet, I would never have it any other way. I am happy to have grown up listening to different languages and to have friends who speak various languages. I enjoy code-switching because different situations call for different expressions. Sometimes the translation just doesn’t pack as much punch.

Singaporean film-maker Woo Yen Yen shared a similar sentiment recently on singaporepoetry.com. Her daughter, who is growing up in New York’s Flushing, a diverse linguistic neighbourhood, is used to hearing and speaking different languages. She “works hard to listen to responses and to find the right language. She never assumes that the language she speaks the most is the linguistic centre. So “when someone does not understand her, she doesn’t assume it’s because the other person is stupid. She assumes that she just hasn’t got the right language.”

Less judgment. More understanding. That’s what communication is all about, isn’t it?

言葉を混ぜ合わせる

多民族国家シンガポールでは日常的な会話の中でさまざまな言語が飛び交い、混ざり合うことは珍しくない。子どもの語学学習にとってこれは良くないという指摘があるが、果たしてそうだろうか。

The Japan Times ST: September 19, 2014