Language acquired without learning in childhood

According to one of the concepts (D. S. Ushakov, V. I. Belikov and L. P. Krysin, D. Kristal), the native language is the language that a person learns from early childhood without special training, being in the appropriate language environment ( first language). A child can learn several languages ​​from early childhood to one degree or another, but such cases are not frequent. A language acquired in the course of special education or in a language environment at an older age is called second language(there may also be several).

A number of authors make a distinction between native and first language, arguing that there are cases when a person's native language changes throughout life. In the textbook on sociolinguistics by Vakhtin and Golovko, it is specifically emphasized that "mother language is not necessarily native, native language is not necessarily the first" .

Functionally first language

According to another concept, the native language is identified with the language in which a person thinks without additional self-control, with the help of which he easily and naturally expresses his thoughts in oral and written form, and which a person “owns with maximum depth and completeness, in which it is easier, faster and easier for him is thought, which is for him the most familiar and convenient form of expression of thought and linguistic communication "(basic, or functionally first language).

A number of authors, on the contrary, believe that the concepts of native and functionally first language are not equivalent. In sociolinguistic works, the shortcomings of identifying the concept of "native language" by side persons on the basis of one or another competence are emphasized, since it is not uncommon for bilingual people to know one language better (in which they were educated), but they feel a stronger affective attachment to another, which they call relatives.

Language of ethnic self-identification

According to the third concept, the native language is the language of the people or ethnic group to which a person belongs, the language that connects it with previous generations, their spiritual acquisitions, serving as the foundation of ethnic and national self-identification.

The ethnic interpretation of the term "native language" is also explicitly rejected by a number of authors. The authors of the textbook "Sociolinguistics" V. I. Belikov and L. P. Krysin distinguish the concept of the native language from this concept, which they call ethnic language. The native language may correspond to nationality, but may not coincide with it (a common occurrence, especially in the context of global migration processes characteristic of the 20th century) - only the person himself determines which language is native to him.

To draw attention to the problem of preserving linguistic diversity, UNESCO established the International Mother Language Day.

Sources

see also

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

• Concession
• Huron

See what "Mother tongue" is in other dictionaries:

NATIVE LANGUAGE- NATIVE LANGUAGE, one of the main signs of ethnicity. (national) affiliation, inferior in value only to the sign of ethnicity. self-awareness; the discrepancy between these indicators usually indicates the development of assimilation processes. Under R. I. commonly understood... Demographic Encyclopedic Dictionary

NATIVE LANGUAGE- NATIVE LANGUAGE. 1. The language of the motherland, assimilated by the child in early childhood by imitating the adults around him. Wed foreign language. The Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia (1917) proclaimed the right of every people to be educated in their native language... A new dictionary of methodological terms and concepts (theory and practice of teaching languages)

Native language- the basic concept of psychology, demography, ethnology, linguodidactics, sociolinguistics and speech science. It is important for developing a language acquisition strategy, for finding optimal teaching methods, for studying language (speech) competence ... ... Pedagogical speech science

Native language- 1. The same as the mother tongue. The first language that a person learned from childhood (“the language of the cradle”). It usually matches the language of the parents or one of them. There are cases when a person subsequently learns another language, which becomes ... ... Dictionary of sociolinguistic terms

Native language- ♦ (ENG vernacular) (lat. vernaculus native) mother tongue of a country, region, or culture. Christians need to Holy Bible was translated into the native language of each culture. In order for the participants in the liturgy to understand what is happening, ... ... Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms

native language- A language acquired by a child in early childhood by imitating the adults around him ... Dictionary of linguistic terms

native language- a language acquired by a person in early childhood by imitating the adults around him ... Explanatory Translation Dictionary

Native language- 1. The same as the mother tongue; the first language acquired by a person since childhood (the language of the cradle), coinciding with the language of the parents or one of them. 2. Same as ethnic language. 3. The same as functionally the first language. 4. The same as ... ... General linguistics. Sociolinguistics: Dictionary-Reference

native language- 1. The same as the mother tongue; the first language acquired by a person since childhood (the language of the cradle), coinciding with the language of the parents or one of them. 2. Same as ethnic language. 3. The same as functionally the first language. 4. Same as... Dictionary of linguistic terms T.V. Foal

native language- See lingua materna ... Five-language dictionary of linguistic terms

Books

• Mother tongue and the formation of the spirit, J. L. Weisgerber. The publication of the first major work of the outstanding German linguist, the founder of modern European neo-Humboldtianism, Johann Leo Weisgerber, introduces the Russian reader to the process ...

Permanent residence in the same environment does not make it possible to fully understand what the native language means for a person. When there are no difficulties in overcoming the language barrier, few people think about the role of communication for the psychological, moral state of each individual. Sometimes only the arrival of foreigners can shake confidence and peace. Even the slightest difference in languages ​​with the inhabitants of countries makes it clear how difficult it is for a person without understanding the speech of the interlocutor.

The importance of speaking in human life

From birth, a child is instilled with knowledge and skills that will help in life. And speech is one of the most important skills that a small person masters. Remember how awkward you feel when you can’t understand what exactly a two-year-old baby wants from you. Muttering and mangling words, he struggles to convey his point of view, desire, emotions. And if it is simply difficult for adults to understand such a “conversation”, then it is sometimes even more difficult for a child. Despite all his efforts, he remained unheeded. It is from this age that it is important to form in children an understanding of what the native language means for a person, to instill a love for the word.

How to educate in your native language?

It is very important to help children learn the language. And this applies not only to the school curriculum. IN educational institutions teachers polish the basis already received by the baby, expanding lexicon, correct some errors that are present in the speech of the child and his environment. But one cannot place all hopes only on school curriculum, which is limited by scope, time and methods. Teachers are not always able to convey to their students the role of the native language in human life. Discussions, reading, watching movies, listening to songs in a relaxed home environment will be the key not only to spending time together, but also to preserving the native language.

The language of the people is a mirror of their soul, cultural heritage

Language is not only a tool for communication between different people. The meaning of the native language in human life is much deeper and more important. He is the bearer of culture, mentality, traditions and history of every nation. There are more than 6 thousand different languages ​​in the world. Some of them are similar, and representatives of neighboring countries can understand each other's speech in whole or in part, others are absolutely incomprehensible and have nothing similar to a person's native dialect. Even within the same country, different dialects can be used.

Each of them is the highlight of the region, its soul. After all, language is a reflection of the thought of both one individual person and a group of people, an entire nation. This is a defining component of national unity, uniting people who are different in spirit, way of existence, social aspects. E. Sapir's statement very characteristically describes the role of language in the formation of culture as a phenomenon and culture of an individual person: “Culture can be defined as what a given society does and thinks. Language is how people think.

Away is good, but home is better

The easier it is to realize what the native language means for a person, the farther he is from his native home. This problem is very acutely felt by emigrants who, due to various circumstances, were forced to leave their homeland. The need for communication, which cannot be fully satisfied by speaking in a foreign dialect, pushes people to create interest groups, communities, diasporas. Very often, such communities keep centuries-old traditions much more reverently and reliably than their compatriots who do not experience difficulties of this nature.

It is very important to be able to hear, speak, understand the native language every day. In he is a kind of path that connects him with the house and loved ones. It is not for nothing that many, unable to bear the separation from their native land, suffering from nostalgia, cannot take root in a foreign land. Often the reason for this is not only the economic aspect, different mentality and habits. The impossibility of free communication in the language in which you think becomes an insurmountable obstacle on the way to permanent residence abroad.

After all, the lack of speaking practice, writing, reading can lead to forgetting, distorting even the native language, which a person has been using since birth. Of course, some everyday phrases absorbed with mother's milk will not disappear forever, but vocabulary, the ability to speak freely and without an accent may be lost. It is all the more important to try to preserve a piece of your homeland, to cherish and sing about it through the word.

Is it necessary to teach a child the native language while living abroad?

For each person, the native language is the language in which he speaks from birth, these are mothers' lullabies, the first questions and answers. However, what about children born in a foreign country for their parents, or those who moved to a new area while still a baby? How to determine which language is native to them? How do you explain the difference between the two different ways of expressing your thoughts and feelings?

The trends of the modern world are such that knowledge of several foreign languages ​​is no longer a whim or desire of parents. Most often, this is a necessity, without which in adult life it is difficult to navigate, get a good job. Psychologists and educators say that it is much easier for a child to learn a language than for an adult. At the same time, the main base is laid at a very young age, even before school. The ability of the brain to perceive information in this period of life is colossal. Children living in a bilingual country or family can freely communicate in both the common language and their native language.

It is very important for parents to pay a lot of attention to their native speech, because school, communication with peers will help the child to correctly and clearly express himself in the language necessary for life. But the complete absence or lack of practice will lead to the fact that the native language is completely erased from memory, forgotten and the invisible thread that connects a person and his homeland breaks.

How to overcome the language barrier

Often problems in communication arise due to the inability of a person to solve this problem. An extensive vocabulary, understanding of the basics of grammar, ways of constructing sentences still do not provide the opportunity for free communication. Such difficulties occur due to a lack of understanding of the spoken language. The acquisition of the necessary skills occurs only during live communication, through reading fiction, periodicals, watching movies. At the same time, it is important not to forget to improve the pronunciation of individual words and phrases. What does the native language mean for a person, will help to find out the possession of several dialects. And only by feeling the difference, you can really understand how much you love your country and its language.

Sadykova V. A., Ufa, teacher of the Tatar language

MOU secondary school No. 104 named after. M. Shaymuratova

How important is the study of the native language?

"The greatest luxury on earth is

This is the luxury of human communication.”

A. Saint-Exupery

Language is the most important means of human communication, without which the existence and development of society is impossible.

In the linguistic picture of Russia, the Tatar language has long and firmly occupied a worthy place. In the multinational Republic of Bashkortostan, along with other languages, it plays a very positive role, and therefore the upbringing of a tolerant linguistic personality today seems to be especially relevant, for which unique opportunities have been created in the republic.

I have been working as a teacher of the Tatar language at M. Shaymuratov Secondary School No. 104 since 1998. In this speech, I would like to dwell on some of the problems that are of particular concern to me.

Let's start, perhaps, with the fact that a child comes to the Tatar school, already possessing the skills and abilities of perception and generation of speech in the Tatar language. In the Russian school, in the lessons of the Tatar language, children must first be taught to listen and understand Tatar speech, despite the fact that the child is brought up in a Tatar (in urban conditions, often in a mixed) family, and then speak Tatar, since many parents, Unfortunately, they themselves do not know their native language. It is also good that today the language picture in the republic is such that many parents understand that it is necessary to know their native language. The growth of national consciousness in Lately makes people increasingly turn to folk origins, national roots. This cannot but please a society that is striving to increase the cultural level of the population, which is primarily expressed in the desire to know and understand the native language, to teach their children the native language.

But there are also parents who believe that the Tatar language, although native, is not necessary to study, it does not play any role when entering universities, “we lived and did not know, and nothing”, “so many languages ​​​​are studied.” Such parents, on the one hand, can be understood. On the other hand, what about the concept of "mother tongue"? After all, we must not forget that the native language is the most important feature of the nation, it preserves and transmits from generation to generation information about the history and culture of the nation, customs and customs, has a powerful influence on ethnic self-consciousness and contributes to the preservation of the ethnos itself. Each language is part of the world cultural heritage, and therefore it is not in vain that the preservation and development of the language has become a state task.

It is known that the Tatar language is included in the Kypchak-Bulgar group of Turkic languages. There are many words of common Turkic origin in the Tatar vocabulary. People who speak Tatar well have the opportunity to communicate in Bashkir, Kazakh, Uzbek, Azerbaijani, Karachay, Turkmen, and, if desired, will be able to understand Turkish. The Tatar language is one of the 14 easily assimilated languages ​​of the world, it is understood by more than 150 million representatives of the Turkic-speaking peoples of the globe.

To avoid reluctance on the part of parents, I believe that the teacher needs to take into account all the conditions and regional characteristics and, in accordance with them, create flexible learning systems Tatar language. The content of teaching the Tatar language in the Russian school should be based on a systematic and structural approach to the selection of language material and its application for educational purposes, taking into account a comparative analysis of the phonetic, lexical and grammatical patterns of the Tatar, Russian and Bashkir languages.

In the methodological literature, the phenomenon interference is understood as a negative phenomenon that does not contribute to the acquisition of a second language and leads to countless errors. When studying the Tatar language, the structure of the studied language undergoes changes, because stronger is the influence of the Russian language on the Tatar language. According to K.Z. Zakiryanov, "the influence, due to the existing discrepancies in the system of colliding languages, in some cases turns out to be negative, interfering and interfering with the acquisition of a second language." Therefore, it is necessary to consciously manage the process of the influence of the Russian language in the study of Tatar.

Interference is more clearly and tangibly detected when unrelated languages ​​are in contact (Russian - Tatar languages), but more stable and durable when closely related languages ​​are in contact (Tatar - Bashkir languages). This fact is explained by the fact that a child who studies similar languages ​​ceases to notice minimal differences in speech in the Tatar and Bashkir languages. The weakening of control over the purity of speech undoubtedly contributes to the stable preservation of interference in the child's speech. In this regard, the teacher should always keep in mind the comparative-typological description of the contacting languages, aimed at establishing general and specific interlingual similarities and differences.

Thus, the teacher of the Tatar language needs to conduct a comparative analysis of the contacting languages ​​in the classroom,to be fluent in Tatar, Bashkir and Russian, to know the similarities and differences in the lexical system of the Russian and Tatar, Bashkir languages, to master the methods and techniques that will help him equip students with the necessary knowledge of the Tatar language, to achieve his goal. But the teacher of the Bashkir language, in turn, also needs to conduct comparative analyzes if he wants to educate a tolerant person who knows the language.

“Language is not only a means of communicating and gaining knowledge, but also an integral part of cultural identity and empowerment of both the individual and the group,” states UNESCO. Therefore, “respect for the languages ​​of persons belonging to different linguistic communities is essential for peaceful coexistence,” it says there.

It also seems to me that our scientists should recognize the fact of interference in textbooks, I would very much like many exercises to be aimed at solving this issue.

Thus, the school period is the most important period in the formation of a person, when the prerequisites for civic qualities are laid, the responsibility and ability of the child to show respect and understanding of other people are formed. Children brought up in the spirit of folk traditions are tolerant, benevolent, respect elders, love their native land, native speech, are interested in the history of generations, know and respect their national identity, have a heightened sense of patriotism and internationalism.

We must remember that knowledge of the native language helps a person to realize his roots, instills in him excellent qualities - respect, tolerance towards other languages, cultures, which is an important condition for the formation of peace and harmony between peoples.

Russian language

Each person, regardless of nationality and country of residence, has his own native language, which becomes not only an important means of communication between people, but also an aspect for understanding the world around. This is the language with which a person is associated from birth, he pronounces his first words in it, recites poetry, reads books, writes and thinks. For the Russian-speaking population, the native language is and will be Russian.

This subject is studied in schools, starting from the first grade, and they continue to improve it throughout their lives, since any knowledge is transmitted, primarily verbally.

Fluency in Russian literary speech in oral or written form is the main task of teaching schoolchildren.

Children should learn their native language, because it is the key to the development of the individual, his education and knowledge, without language knowledge they will not be able to fully participate in public life and the development of national art and culture.

Choose your class and learn Russian online!

What gives us knowledge of the native language?

We need Russian to communicate in human society, and in order for this society to understand us, we must speak competently and express our thoughts correctly, and for this we need to study. Our communication is not limited to conversations, we learn to read, spell, retell and compose. Therefore, the Russian language needs to be improved and continued to be taught all our lives, and all the time we will learn something new about it.

• Every person is obliged to know his native language.
• Knowledge of this subject makes our people cultured and educated.
• A child who speaks expressively and competently can achieve a lot in his life.

The Russian language continues to evolve and will change over time. It borrows words from foreign languages, replenishes with various slang, but the main thing is to preserve the real literary Russian language, as I.S. Turgenev "great and mighty." That is why it is necessary to study and improve the language.

What does this give us:

• Firstly, language is a way of communicating not only with others, but also with oneself.
• Secondly, your education and your future depend on the level of his knowledge.

The school curriculum for teaching the Russian language includes such sections as:

• Development of oral speech
• Reading
• Literacy education
• Grammar learning
• Spelling

Teaching this discipline has a practical and corrective orientation, as in the process work is being done to eliminate the shortcomings of the students' speech.

Why do students need to learn Russian?

• Firstly, there is never enough language knowledge, so they need to be developed further.
• Secondly, the more a child knows, the better his prospects for the future.
• Thirdly, a person who knows his own language well can easily learn a foreign language.
• Fourth, having good communication skills, people find friends, colleagues and interlocutors easier.
• Fifth, you will enjoy reading classical Russian literature. After all, Pushkin, Lermontov, Tolstoy and other great classics should be read only in the original.
• Lack of language knowledge creates many problems and tightly locks all doors in front of us.

Therefore, it is important that every student knows his native language and then his life will become more interesting and diverse.

Training with the Knowledge Hypermarket

Interactive lessons of the Knowledge Hypermarket will help arouse the interest of modern schoolchildren in such a subject as the Russian language. With the help of a computer and online lessons, which are presented in the Knowledge Hypermarket, the study of this subject will become easy and interesting. Here you will find useful and exciting materials in the form of presentations, case studies, essays, abstracts and other useful lessons.

Make sure that the best materials on the Russian language are collected here!

That the study of foreign languages ​​is a "threat to traditions", and criticized the idea of ​​the Ministry of Education to introduce a mandatory USE in a foreign language and add a second language to the school curriculum. In the Duma, her position was supported. T&P contacted 6 experts from the fields of neuroscience, psycholinguistics, translation and social psychology to find out what is useful for learning foreign languages ​​and what its absence can turn into.

"Several languages ​​give several pictures of the world"

Even Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote that "the world of a man is what his language is." Language largely determines how we look at the world and how we perceive it. According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (the hypothesis of linguistic relativity), which is actively discussed in science today, language affects our thinking and the process of cognition. Therefore, when a person knows more than one language, he has several pictures of the world. This is an incomparably richer life. You need to learn foreign languages ​​not because it is useful for traveling - now you can get by with English - but because, penetrating into another language, you penetrate into other worlds. Why do people learn Latin, Ancient Greek, Sumerian? After all, these Sumerians, ancient Greeks and Latins are long gone. And yet, you can imagine what kind of world they lived in by studying their languages. Language proficiency is not a matter of technical well-being when you can go to the store in China and say the right words. It's not about that, it's about expanding your world.

Any training changes the brain. And when the brain learns, the number and quality of nerve connections increase in it, the efficiency of gray and white matter grows. Therefore, no matter what this brain is doing, whether it solves simple crossword puzzles, which seems to be a difficult task for a particular person, or proves complex theorems that are suitable for completely different people as mental work, it improves the brain. This is true at any age, since the neural network develops every second. The brain is always changing, even at 90. Learning foreign languages ​​in this sense is extremely efficient due to code switching. When you switch from one language to another, it is a very difficult job for the brain. And hard means good.

Of course, the younger the brain, the more plastic it is, that is, the more capable of learning and changing - therefore, the earlier a person begins to study anything, the more useful it is. With respect to foreign languages, this is triple the case. This does not mean that in adulthood it is not worth or impossible to do this - just in childhood such activities are much more effective.

Canadian scientists conducted experiments showing that people who know more than one language postpone memory loss for several years due to the development of neural connections. When a person speaks several languages, his neural network works more intensively. The brain in this case will be more preserved. This postpones the theoretically possible decline in intellectual abilities, including memory loss.

Tatiana Chernigovskaya

Neurolinguist, Doctor of Philology, Doctor of Biology, Professor, St. Petersburg State University

"Rejection of languages ​​will return Russia to a state of savagery"

Knowledge foreign language affects the breadth of thinking. In addition, people who study it are much more sensitive to their native Russian language, and, accordingly, to literature. After all, the language is often taught not only for practical purposes, but also in order to read works of art or non-fiction. From foreign languages, concepts come that cannot be translated, and which do not exist in our reality, so their study significantly broadens one's horizons. It also, of course, has a positive effect on mental abilities. Languages ​​are indispensable to those involved in science, since much of the material is now not translated, and has never been fully translated.

Of course, there are people who are not very capable of foreign languages, but they are not completely incapable. Ignorance of the language limits knowledge in general - both social and scientific, and all the rest. It makes a person more limited. Over the past 20 years in Russia, people have begun to learn the language more and have become involved in a wider range of information. You definitely get a lot more information about life if you know languages.

We all exist in the same world, and a foreign language introduces us to other civilizations. These acquaintances do not occur by someone's selection: a person begins to freely navigate in what he wants to know. Translations cannot cover everything, so some things need to be known in the original. Or, say, a person who is engaged in literature will be able to compare what he read in a foreign language with what he read in Russian. This broadens his range of knowledge. And it will be the same in any field. Neither in physics, nor in computer science, nor anywhere else, everything can be mastered only through translations.

Of course, with a certain amount of effort, any text can be translated. But there are many concepts in the world that we do not have and come to Russian first in the form of barbarisms, and later become part of it and, as a result, expand it. You can take any scientific dictionary and you will see how many words we simply borrowed. It seems to us that the word "influence" has always been in Russian, but in fact it was invented by Nikolai Karamzin, and this is a tracing paper from the French "influence". If you stop for a second, you will see how many foreign words exist within Russian. For example, the word "computer". At first, such machines were called "calculating devices", but then their designation in English simply ceased to be translated. When you say "computer" instead of "computer", you spend less life on unnecessary actions. Everything can be translated, but concepts from one language constantly enter into others - first as foreign bodies, and then, if it is a necessary thing, they eat into it in a normal form.

The Russian language has absorbed a huge amount of Tatar, Turkic, Latin and Greek words. Usually we do not even suspect that some element of the language is actually a Greek loan, but in Greece, as soon as you can read the letters, you instantly begin to understand the signs. Russian drags words from everywhere. Celtic, Saxon, French, a lot of Danish and even, for sure, there are Dutch - especially if we start talking about the sailing fleet. Under Peter I, we stole from the Dutch many concepts related to shipbuilding. We simply no longer notice that these are words of foreign origin. "Atom", "Jesus Christ", "patriarch" - all these are also foreign words. If no one knew Greek or English, we simply would not have these concepts, and we would again turn into barbarians.

To stop teaching foreign languages ​​means to stop the development of Russian. The Russian language is the main field of all intellectual activity in Russia. If it is artificially limited, cut off from the world by an iron curtain, we will have a mentally retarded country. The rejection of foreign languages ​​will return Russia to a state of savagery.

Viktor Golyshev

Translator of Anglo-American literature, author of classical translations of many works

"The poverty of the language is associated with a lack of mental development"

Today, there are many studies in which magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has made it possible to see how the volume of speech-related brain formations increases when learning a second language, even in adults. This suggests that the brain, in principle, has the resources to master several languages. There are studies that have shown a significant development of cognitive (cognitive) skills in people who speak two or more languages. This is not surprising, because concepts are formed on the basis of language, and thinking is nothing but operations with concepts.

It has long been noticed that the poverty of the language correlates with the insufficiency of mental development. This is due primarily to the fact that, in the words of the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, "the limits of our knowledge are determined by the limits of our language." Learning languages ​​is one of the most intellectual activities of the brain. After all, this is not just a mechanical memorization of new words, but also the embedding of these words into a single system of concepts. Like any exercise, learning languages ​​keeps the brain functioning at a high level.

Second, third, etc. languages ​​clearly make the picture of the mental world richer, richer in descriptions of how things and phenomena are interconnected. Thus, each item gets more "hooks" for memorization and subsequent retrieval from memory. Memory becomes stronger, more capacious and more associative. The latter quality is especially important, since it is associations that are the basis of creativity.

Alexander Kaplan

Doctor of Biological Sciences, Psychophysiologist, Head
laboratories
neurophysiology and neurointerfaces, Moscow State University

"Languages ​​affect thought processes, memory and personality"

Learning a foreign language, like any other experience, does not go unnoticed for our consciousness and brain function. Any information that enters the brain from the outside at any moment of its activity modifies neural connections. The consciousness of a person who speaks two or more languages ​​will never be equivalent to the consciousness of a monolingual - a person who speaks only one language. Experiments that have been carried out - they are, for example, described in the works of Judith Kroll (Judith Kroll) - indicate that bilinguals automatically activate both languages ​​in their mental lexicon, even when the language situation unfolds in only one language. For example, when an English speaker hears the word "marker", in addition to English word also activates the Russian "mark" (Marian & Spivey, 2003). To avoid confusion in languages, bilinguals have to constantly "juggle" words and concepts, while suppressing information that is irrelevant to the current speech situation. Some scientists believe that this mechanism helps bilinguals develop executive functions and show greater cognitive flexibility compared to monolinguals.

The idea of ​​“bilingual cognitive superiority” first emerged in the mid-1980s and has since been developed largely under the guidance of University of Toronto psychologist Ellen Bialystok. Over the past 30 years, scientists have conducted many studies and found that bilingual children and adults are faster and better at tasks that require switching attention, solving cognitive problems. conflict situations, choice between relevant and irrelevant information. Bilingualism also affects the preservation and maintenance of cognitive functions in old age. For example, one 2010 study looked at data from 200 Alzheimer's patients and found that those who spoke multiple languages ​​experienced symptoms 5.1 years later.

Of course, the concept of the cognitive advantage of bilinguals should be treated with skepticism for the time being, because a large number of data remains outside of scientific journals, and we still do not know much about how several languages ​​“get along” in the human head, and what mechanisms are responsible for this. But the value of such linguistic knowledge is definitely very high, since languages ​​constantly interact with each other within the framework of the human cognitive system, influence thought processes and memory, and leave an imprint on personal characteristics, not to mention the sociocultural component.

Anna Lukyanchenko

Employee of the Research and Educational Laboratory of Neurolinguistics, National Research University Higher School of Economics, PhD (University of Maryland, USA)

"Without a foreign language, a person is deprived of hands"

A society in which the study of a foreign language is restricted or banned will become one-sided and dull. Languages ​​enrich each other, and without interaction with other systems, Russian will not develop. Indeed, in other languages ​​there are concepts and descriptions of phenomena that simply do not exist in our reality. Without such concepts, without these names, we will not be able to learn anything about unfamiliar or new phenomena. The cultural environment will also be cut off, so that our worldview will suffer greatly.

A person who is unable to express himself in something other than his native language, in communication is simply deprived of his hands. When he leaves somewhere, he immediately finds himself completely dependent on other people and feels helpless. He needs guides to take him everywhere, he cannot live on his own. Such a person can only find a place for himself in his native country, and as soon as he is taken out of there, he will immediately face a huge number of problems.

A person who is only familiar with one culture may become less tolerant and more suspicious and very limited. IN modern world this, of course, is rare: to be so within the same environment, you need to be born in a closed tribe in the Amazon. Most of the world's population has access to books, television, and often even the Internet, so we constantly encounter other cultures. But the question of how we are able to understand them and are ready to accept them is directly related to the study of languages. Prohibitions in this area hinder the development of culture, primarily in the country where they begin to operate.

Lilia Brinis

social psychologist

“A person who has been forcibly limited to his native language and native culture will be deprived of the opportunity to understand the world around him”

Absolutely all scientific studies of linguists and psychologists unequivocally indicate that the more languages ​​a person knows, the higher his intellectual level and the better his ability to adapt to the world around him and all his cognitive abilities. The reverse has never been observed. Talk about the fact that learning foreign languages ​​can be harmful has no scientific basis. It is clear why such conversations arise: the authors of such ideas do not like the values ​​\u200b\u200bthat stand behind the languages ​​they study. But fighting values ​​is one thing, fighting learning languages ​​is another. This is the wrong way.

A person who has been forcibly limited to his native language and native culture will be deprived of the opportunity to understand the world around him, since language is the key to the perception of a foreign culture. It's like forcing someone to look exclusively at black and white instead of color photographs. The world is diverse, and this is expressed in how different languages ​​are. A person can be deprived of this diversity if he closes the way to their study.

According to the general opinion of all researchers, the earlier we start learning a language, the easier and with less stress it is acquired. In childhood, a person has mechanisms in his head that allow him to master his native language. After six or seven years, these mechanisms fade away. In an adult, they are practically absent. Therefore, when a child begins to learn a foreign language, he does it effortlessly: classes are quite easy for him, and there are special techniques that help children with this. If we miss this deadline, it will be difficult to start as an adult.

It's not that foreign languages ​​are taught so well in our schools - that's out of the question. Why teach them even worse? Among the statements of Irina Yarovaya was a rhetorical question: “Citizens of which country will we educate?”. This question is very easy to answer. By teaching children foreign languages, we will educate the citizens of a modern, strong, competitive country.

Russian, like any major language, has interacted a lot with other languages ​​in its history. From the time of the very first literary monuments and the very first stages of its formation, we see traces of extremely diverse influences. For example, we observe a very early Germanic influence - the so-called Gothic borrowings. The simplest, primordial Russian words: “hut”, “bread”, “glass”, “letter” are very early Germanisms that entered the Russian language even in pre-literate times. There are also a number of Scandinavian borrowings. Greek had a very strong influence on Russian, which was associated with the adoption of Christianity - however, Greek vocabulary turned out to be not only ecclesiastical, but also everyday. For example, “notebook”, “beetroot” or “sail” are all ancient Greekisms. Then a powerful stream of Turkisms poured into Russian, although their influence should not be overestimated. Many important areas were affected by them: in particular, the administrative and financial sphere. Say, such words as "money", "customs", "label", "treasury" are Turkisms. There is also a mass of everyday vocabulary: “caftan”, “cap” and others. Then came the Petrine era, and with it came a huge stream of elements from Western European languages. At first these were Dutch words, then German and French, and a little later English. The Age of Enlightenment also brought us many German and French words: “role”, “boulevard”, “piano”, “bridgehead”, “scar” and hundreds of others.

We are used to these words and often do not even realize that they are borrowings. I am not talking about such words as “izba”, which are many hundreds of years old, but who would suspect a foreign word in the less ancient Turkism “hearth” or in the more recent “scar”? This is an absolutely natural process, the language is enriched with the help of borrowings and improves its ability to reflect the world around. From this point of view, there are no problems here - only people with deep complexes can have problems.

Borrowing is not a threat to tradition. It is rather strange to speak of language in these terms. Threats to language are quite different, if they come across it at all, and they lie far apart. There is no need to be afraid of borrowings, and it is pointless to fight them. Language is a natural phenomenon that is difficult to control and manage. We can’t cancel, say, the dative case, can we? In the same way, it would be very difficult to ban a word and instill another in its place. Similar attempts have been made in the past, but their effect has been negligible.

People who describe the study of foreign languages ​​as a threat to tradition are likely to be afraid of the values ​​associated with the culture that expresses itself through these languages. This is a substitution of concepts. A person himself is able to figure out whether these values ​​suit him or not. Why decide for him? In itself, learning a foreign language does not change our consciousness in the way that the authors of such initiatives think. It's just that a person has a choice. He himself can judge everything, having access to texts and other people. In itself, study only develops the intellect, just as physical exercise develops muscles and strengthens health. Depriving a person of access to learning a foreign language, especially in childhood, is like depriving him of movement or color vision. This is a stupid forced impoverishment of spiritual development, not motivated by anything. It is very sad if these ideas prevail.

Vladimir Plungyan

Linguist, specialist in typology and grammatical theory, author of Why Languages ​​Are So Different