"Learn 1,000 words in a new language urges campaign"

This headline was publicised on the BBC website earlier today due to new concerns that a lack of linguistic skill in England is contributing to “a worrying divide”, separating England from Europe. This divide may be preventing England from doing trading internationally and could minimise the amount of jobs available to British people.

The figure of 1,000 words is an estimate for the minimum amount for someone to be able to sustain a simple conversation. Although it varies a lot, the native speaker tends to use 2,000 words in their everyday lexicon. This is a lot larger than the number recommended by the BBC, showing that in order to make a big difference, people need not know everything. The most important aspect of language for a novice to learn is basic grammar and simple but specialised vocabulary for the situation that the language will be required.

As quoted from their website:

“We are not expecting instant fluency. Yet if everyone were capable of at least 1,000 words in a new language, social attitudes and economic prospects would be significantly enhanced”

In 2004, the Labour government made it no longer compulsory to study a language at GCSE. Although initially there was a decline of students choosing to study languages, this pattern has now reversed.  For example the amount of GCSE entries of modern languages has increased by 16.9% since last year. But do students learn 1,000 words in a language GCSE? 60% of the examinations are in coursework form. This includes both the writing and speaking aspects, where pupils have to write a draft and then simply memorise it – showing no skill of using the language spontaneously or any real knowledge of what they are saying! For preparing for the listening/ reading exam, students learn a lot of vocabulary. However, this is a genuine question from a past paper, showing the foundation tier of GCSE Spanish:

You are going on an exchange to Barcelona. This is Ana, the person you are going to stay with.

¡ Hola !

What does Ana say?

Therefore, I think that it’s very unlikely that anyone only studying a language GCSE will be able to even ‘hold a simple conversation.’ In order to produce a generation of linguists, they need to advance their skills to A-level.  According to the article, the number of students studying French and German at A-level are in a steady decline. This could be for a range of reasons, maybe some students aren’t encouraged enough or they may not know the benefits it would bring to their future career. It could also because fewer students manage to get high grades in languages in comparison to sciences and humanities. Only 6.9% of language students achieved an A* in summer 2013, where as 8.4% managed to achieve the same grade in the sciences. This possible shows that languages are harder A-levels than other subjects, which may put some prospective students off,  since grades are often more important than the subjects studied.

To conclude, in order to eradicate the stereotype that Brits do not learn languages and to make a noticeable change within society and business, we need to encourage students to continue their studies so that they are able to communicate efficiently.

The original webpage: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-24231822

'Lost for Words' by John Humphrys

I read ‘lost for words’ since I recognised Humphrys from Radio 4. On the ‘today’ programme, I enjoy how he is keen to give his own opinion and I thought this would enhance the book as his alternative interpretations would separate this book from others I have read.  However his opinion overrides everything, so much so that he includes very little content.

An example of one of his rigid opinion was when he said that the standard of the English language is decreasing. I agree to a certain extent that we should follow certain rules in language so that others do not see our English as ‘lazy’. But, unlike Humphrys, I understand that language is always changing and should change to suit requirements.

Since his opinion is so overpowering, he seldom uses relevant examples of language. He does however link all of his points back to politics, not adding to his linguistics enquiries. He also recalls many anecdotes, which instead of relating to the language he is discussing, only brags about the famous people he has met.

Despite my negative comments, Humphrys mentions right at the start that the book is only about his opinions and therefore if you keep this in mind, along with the fact that this is not an academic or reference book, this may be the book for you.

This quote from the Guardian website sums up this book for me:

‘The grumpiest man on radio stakes his claim to the title of grumpiest pedant on Grub St.’

 

Forensic Linguistics

This is an exciting new area of linguistics, allowing lawyers and police officers to use linguistics as evidence. Language is incredibly important while deciding fair prosecution and can be used in many different ways.

1)      Forensic stylists

This is generally used to prosecute people for plagiarism.  With today’s communication technology, plagiarism is a very common crime and has a range of different levels of criminality. Plagiarism is usually detected using computer software (seen on the 12^th of August – ‘computational linguistics’). Now, the statistics given by computer programmes and linguists can present their evidence to show how many words are the same and whether with the same order/ syntax.

2)      Language and communication analysis

There are many communication centres, such as GCHQ, scattered over the entire world. Although there are strict rules about intercepting conversations in the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979, it is legal for some organisations to track and record them. Many linguists are employed to translate and write transcripts of verbal conversations of others. This gives them the opportunity to predict and catch any illegal acts all over the world.

3)      Forensic phonetics

If the same person’s speech is monitored on a few separate occasions – linguists are able to decipher more than just the apparent meaning. We can also make links between language chosen by looking at the social and regional background of the speaker.

These techniques are essential for finding justice. There are many famous examples where these procedures were very important, such as in the prosecution of David Hodgson. Another example was in 2005 Simmerson murdered his girlfriend and afterwards he sent text messages from her phone. He pretended to be Turner as he texted her daughter to convince her that she was well and he texted his own phone to give himself an alibi. Investigators linked patterns in orthographies and punctuation to letters he had sent previously with the text messages. This was significant evidence and he was found guilty. Linguistics has been used in many similar situations and it is interesting to see the importance of language. It will also be intriguing to see how forensic linguistics develops in the future.

How can we save the Welsh language?

As we saw yesterday, there has been a vast decline of Welsh. This is worrying because it is crucial to maintain their culture and history. It is likely to be possible to save the language and possibly to revive it to its former popularity, but it would take a lot of money and work.

Firstly, language must be promoted to all Welsh inhabitants. More schools should teach more lessons in Welsh from primary school level so that students have a firm understanding of the language. Although all students up to the age of 16 must have some lessons in Welsh, I think that the age and the amount of lessons should be increased. Also, the Welsh GCSSE should be offered to all students in the British Isles.

If more school children are taught, this will boost the profile and reputation off welsh and therefore will spread positive awareness. Hopefully this would make more people learn the language, especially if they were moving to the area. But in order for them to learn, there need to be more accessible organisations to teach them.

The main problem is that although people do know the language, they do not use them socially. This is because there are many areas that are English dominated. This means that the residents would have to make an effort to recall and use the language.

I believe that if some of these things are firmly put into place, the number of Welsh speakers should increase for the 2021 census.

 

 

 

There are many different ways that you could learn Welsh yourself, including:

• Watch 'S4C Digidol' - a Welsh television programme available in britain on freeview.

• Buy an audio course to immerse yourself in the language
• Search your local community for a Welsh teaching society or school
• Follow Learn Cymraeg on facebook for regular updates

Decline of the Welsh language

Over the years, the decline of the Welsh language has been publicised widely. However, I wonder whether this was really is exaggeration to shock the public and gain government grant or genuine concern for the language. In order to decide, I have researched some key facts from surveys and censuses to see how much the language has decline and what the initial and modern causes were.

Although more that 80% of people could speak welsh in mid 1800s, according to the 1891 census, out of a population of 1.5 million, only 54.4% were able to speak the language. This is likely to be due to the industrial revolution because many Welsh speakers search for jobs in England and more non-Welsh speakers moved to Wales.
 

Twenty years after the census, there was a decrease of 10.9%, showing that already the language was in danger. If that decline continued similarly, the language would have died out completely by the 21^st century.

But this did not happen and at the next census there was only a drop of 6.7%. This hinted that the problem may not have been as serious as once thought however the worry remained, so people began to revive the language.

In 1967, the Welsh Language Act was passed. This enabled the courts and government to use Welsh much more both in written records and public administrations. In 1993, another Act was put in place which ensured that Welsh is treated equally to English in the public sector.

In theory, these changes should have boosted the language because there were more opportunities to use it. However, the figures show that between 2001 to 2011 there was a 1.8% decline. Although the decline is now more gradual, there is definitely still a problem and the language is not safe.

The cause of this continual decrease in speaking population could be slightly due to the death of speakers and migration. However, the most worrying problem is that children are reluctant to learn Welsh as a second language and any who are brought up in a welsh-speaking family learn English and are embarrassed to use the language.

These figures and reasons show that there is a massive problem. Tomorrow we will see whether it is possible and how we could save the language.

History of the Welsh Language

In order to investigate the modern Welsh language, it is integral to look back to its’ formation and early usage.

Originally the Celtic language was spoken in Great Britain, but it was split into two different groups: Gaelic and Brythonic. Gaelic was spoken in Ireland, the Isle of Man and the highlands of Scotland and Brythonic was spoken in Wales and the rest of England.  In 43AD, the Romans, who spoke Latin, invaded the UK. This caused many Latin words to be inserted into these languages and explains how many languages in the British Isles are based on Latin.

In the 400AD, Anglo Saxons colonised Britain. Their Germanic language was the predecessor of English but due to strong forces around the Welsh border, they did not settle in Wales.

Around this time, due to major differences in dialects, the Brythonic languages became distinct and became Welsh, Celtic, Cornish and Breton. Unlike the other languages, Welsh continued to thrive and develop.

Primitive Welsh (550-800AD)

The English Linguist, Kenneth H. Jackson, used medieval literature to identify how Welsh was formed. For example, he was able to use Taliesin’s poetry to show that Welsh and the other Brythonic languages were technically distinct by 550AD.

He therefore labelled this area of time ‘primitive welsh’ as it was the first sign that the languages were completely separate. However, at this is time, all of the languages were very similar and Welsh was spoken in Northern England as well as Wales.

Old Welsh (800-1000AD)

During this time, the Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of great Britian went ahead and therefore different areas of Britain rapidly began to divide. This is a likely reason to explain why Welsh, Cornish and Cumbric changed very contrastingly.

Middle Welsh (1000-1300AD)

Since this is much more recent than older stages, there is a greater record of literature during this time. For example, many of the Welsh Law manuscripts were written during this time.

Modern Welsh (1300-present)

During this era, lexicographers wrote Welsh Dictionaries. This boosted the language since literature was able to be recorded accurately. However, the industrial revolution in the 1800 century caused English workers to flood into Wales, which possibly was an initial cause of the decline of the Welsh Language.