Frosina Krushkarovska

Multilingualism – helping people build homes

An old biblical story tells us about a remarkable venture of mankind at the very

beginning of its history – the building of the Tower of Babel. The Tower of Babel was supposed

to be the most impressive achievement of man, his exceeding of himself, a monument of the

unity of all people who were eager to build toward the heights of their potential. According to the

story, that is when the biblical God decided to confuse their language – suddenly each individual

started talking differently. The people that until that moment were united as one failed to

understand each other anymore, so they became strangers and spread across the world. That is

the story of how different languages were created.

Anthropologically speaking, man has always created stories in order to explain the world.

Seeing the incredible variety of languages, cultures and worldviews around him he has used his

intuition and wisdom to find an answer for it. It is interesting that different versions of the same

basic storyline found in the biblical tale of the Tower of Babel can be found in cultures all

around the world. This means that in every attempt to explain the differences between separate

groups of people, the answer that the wise storyteller unravels is about the common root – the

single group from which man dispersed across the world.

However, does this story produced by the global collective wisdom, mean that people are

condemned since their origin not to understand each other? Are we supposed to live separately in

mutual silence? What I wonder is, what if we have wrongly interpreted the message? What if, in

the story, the biblical God differentiated languages not in order to break people apart, but on the

contrary, to make us look more attentively into each other’s eyes, to put an end to the shallow
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communication and make an effort to understand each other more deeply, finding out something

new about ourselves and others. What if it wasn’t a curse but, rather, a blessing?

Today, battles between languages are raging in many countries around the world. Some

of them are quiet, and some of them explosive. Fights for domination, repression,

acknowledgement of rights, liberation - in Ukraine, Belgium, Ireland… Language is emotion.

That is why it seems to be difficult to remain objective and rational when it comes to language,

even when actions may lead to endangerment of normal and peaceful everyday life. In the

meantime, while some languages are struggling to dominate, others are quietly suffocating.

In order to be a citizen of the world one has to start from one’s own home. If our homes

project the principles of multiculturalism and multilingualism they will be the seeds from which

the whole world will take shape and grow. I wake up every morning hearing church bells, and

during my faculty lectures I hear the singing coming from the mosque in the Old Bazaar. I never

let myself ignore them, and I understand both intuitively. Both share the same message for

everyone that hears them. I remember well the very first time I felt the effect of globalization in

its entirety. It was during my stay in a country on the opposite side of the world, among a set of

people I expected to find distant and incomprehensible. But when my beloved English rolled a

bridge between us, a pianist from Nigeria and a chemist from Indonesia became my closest

friends. I found it absolutely magical. The English helped us decode our thoughts. Afterwards,

our minds and hearts opened up on their own. It was а small world that we constructed, and it

became clear that the whole world was contained in language.

Multilingualism has always existed as an essential condition for the healthy functioning

of societies. Today, in light of the new global changes the necessity for its omnipresence is
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stronger than ever. The world population is in constant regrouping and the world map of people’s

movement looks like a network of synapses that shine in excitement at contact. In 2015 the

number of international migrants reached 244 million.1 This figure includes people who have

migrated for number of reasons – to escape instability, to avoid disaster, to pursue happiness.2

Unfortunately, many often arrive to the new country unprepared for the transition that they have

to make. Actually, there is always a certain degree of disorientation, limited communication and

confusion, because very often these migrants collide with a system they can’t navigate. They are

confronted with a language that may sound strange to them, and a culture that may seem

illogical. To build a new home is more than finding an address, more than knowing where the

supermarket is, or finding a job to support one self. Building a home means having favorite

places and favorite people, confidently working on one’s professional development, looking to

engage oneself in strengthening the community. That requires establishing active connections

with the community, communication and exchange. Therefore, it is necessary that authorities

“remove any major obstacles” for the migrants “to learn the official language of his/her country

of residence to the level of academic fluency”3

Immigrants are not the only ones faced with barriers to multilingual education, but also

everyone that is highly likely to be excluded from the education system because of poverty,

religion, ethnicity, gender or because they belong to a minority language group. These

individuals often aren’t skillful in the national or official language of the country. Girls and

1
Boelt, W. (2013). 232 million international migrants living abroad worldwide–new UN global migration statistics
reveal.
2
Adams P. (2015, May 28) Migration: Are more people on the move than ever before?:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-32912867
3
British Council (2012). Language rich Europe: Multilingualism for stable and prosperous societies. Research
publication “Language Rich Europe–Trends in Policies and Practices for Multilingualism in Europe p.4 : www.
language-rich. eu.
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women often make up the majority of these groups.4 Gender discrimination is especially present

in rural areas where traditional values are held and the economic standards are low. Raised in

remote settlements, with limited contact with the rest of the community, these women often don’t

even have the basic knowledge of the official language, which puts them in a seriously

disadvantaged position – socially, professionally and personally. Learning the official language

empowers them and gives them a tool for making their own informed decisions. For them

language is a vast land of opportunities. It transforms their perception of the broader context in

which they function and enhances their awareness of their own position in society.

Mother tongue is a key element of identity. I express all of my deepest feelings in

Macedonian – when I am excited, when I love. The аesthetics and philosophy of a nation are

subtly and ingeniously woven in language. Language mirrors a culture and changes according to

its growth. The sentence structure rearranges to embody the speaker’s system of thought, the

dictionary makes place for new words, phrases are recreated for а more lavish description of the

newly discovered world. However, mother tongues of minority groups are often not sufficiently

recognized. According to the Language Rich Europe (LRE) project, “of all the non-national

language varieties researched, immigrant languages are the least recognized, protected and/or

promoted”.5 To underestimate the meaning of one’s mother tongue, especially in an environment

where the individual or the group are insufficiently integrated, means to undervalue the history,

the culture and the values that it carries. Children’s attitudes and confidence are especially

vulnerable in these situations. The concepts of a new language can be acquired only after the

4
Somnath Mukherjee (2015) A comparative study on Multilingualism & Mother Tongue Education International
Journal of English Language, Literature and Humanities Volume III, (Issue IV) p. 425 :
http://ijellh.com/papers/2015/June/46-422-431-June-2015.pdf?x72302
5
Extra, G., & Yagmur, K. (2012). Language rich Europe: Trends in policies and practices for multilingualism in
Europe. p. 12
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stable and confident usage of the mother tongue is established. To achieve successful integration

the individual needs to be able to set the foundations of his new home in his original identity and

then build upon it, in contrast to sublimating and suppressing it under the pressure of the

dominant language and culture.

Living together should include learning from one another, a relationship where both sides

are both teachers and students. Hence, I strongly believe that not only minorities should learn the

official language, but also that their languages should be studied by the speakers of the majority

language. Learning a minority language represents an offering hand, a gesture of respect, a

passed brick in the building of a shelter. It is a gesture of support and protection of the cultural

identity and dignity of the other. It is cessation of the perception of “otherness”. Аrousing a

discussion about the socio-political situation of minorities through sincere and respectful

research of their language and culture is one of the best ways to foster dialogue and unite people.

Every language I study is my language because it shapes the society I live in.

Learning languages is an especially important tool in situations of ethnic conflict. Ethnic

conflict is a cancer of society. An important factor of it is the disconnection between ethnic

groups which leads to lack of cultural understanding. According to Stephen May, “a positive

concept of ethnicity must start with recognizing that everyone speaks from a certain place, a

certain history, a certain culture, without being limited by that position”.6 Learning a foreign

language helps to align with the interlocutor and by entering a closer, more intimate perspective

understand the other’s position. It allows “reading” the other’s story in his/her own words

without distorted translations through the prisms of stereotypes and prejudices. Encouraging

6
May, S. (2009). Critical multiculturalism and education. The Routledge international companion to multicultural
education, p.44.
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multilingual ethos leads to accepting, recognizing and exploiting linguistic diversity in order to

ensure social cohesion and avoid disintegration of society.7 Additionally, cultural pluralism

should become a starting point in creating effective policies at local, national and international

level. By understanding each other’s worldviews we can find the shared values under which we

will be able to unite.

Finally, only an abundance of books can guarantee a learning society. Production of

books (in original language and translation) is a key part of the construction of education based

on principles of multiculturalism and multilingualism where literature will be within reach for

everyone and at any time. Promoting lifelong learning is accomplished by creating opportunities

to satisfy curiosity. In order to do that, explicit policies that will stimulate the development of

culture and education are needed. In doing so, we shouldn’t forget that creativity and innovation

are the real superpowers of humanity.

To be a citizen of the world means to accept that although one is rooted in one’s original

culture, one’s overall identity is spread across the world. Through exploring we find pieces of

ourselves in the least expected places. I wouldn’t be able to fully comprehend Rumi’s

untranslatable infinity without the melodic Persian language. And how would I be able to

successfully navigate through Borges’ labyrinths if I wasn’t given clear road signs? And

although so distant from my culture they have given me immense knowledge and understanding

and have made me more complete. We need to go beyond tolerance - we need to actively support

each other. By offering kind words we offer our sincere gratitude to everyone that is making our

7
Alidou, H., & Glanz, C. (2015). Action research to improve youth and adult literacy: Empowering learners in a
multilingual world. UNESCO. Institute for Lifelong Learning. p.206
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world more interesting and better. It is through creative learning that we liberate our minds and

find ways to make the world a better home for everyone.