The Linguist

28 The Linguist Vol/60 No/4 2021 thelinguist.uberflip.com OPINION & COMMENT Many people still believe that bilingualism (or multilingualism) can cause speech delay. Usually this is a belief held by monolingual people, whose lack of direct experience and understanding of bilingualism may bring about this misconception. However, when health and education professionals share this belief, and even recommend that families stop using one of the family languages, we are faced with a potentially damaging situation. A language delay refers to difficulties in understanding and/or using spoken language when these difficulties are unusual for children of this age. In children aged 18-30 months it is preferable to talk about 'late talkers', who may have a good understanding of language but limited spoken vocabulary for their age. Bilingual children can have a language delay, just like monolingual children, but the difficulties are not caused by bilingualism. Paediatricians and educators are rarely trained in language development and pathology, or in working with bilingual children. Therefore, they are not in a position to offer knowledgeable opinions regarding language delay. Giving up a home language will have incredibly negative consequences for the child and their family. To understand this we need some basic knowledge about how children develop language skills. The first thing that appears in babies is the communicative intention. We observe that a child has the desire to communicate; is connected with their environment, with their mother and father; is able to express their needs and emotions; and feels pleasure in interaction, in play. A baby's communication is made up of gestures, facial expressions, sounds, vocalisations, smiles and crying. Later on, they begin the babbling that becomes communicative – the jargon-state with which they practise the 'song' of the language (intonation, tone, pauses, rhythm). Finally, the first words begin to appear. Language is a skill that is acquired through social interaction with others. The young child learns to speak thanks to their relationship with their caregivers. All of this takes place in a natural, subconscious way. It happens through daily activities, interactive routines and experiences of significant value for the child, such as playing, stories and music. Imagine a child who communicates with their mother, with whom they have an emotional connection: they play, they have fun. They do all this in one language. Now imagine that the family is told to stop using this language in favour of one in which the mother is not as competent. How will the mother and child relationship be affected? Very deeply indeed. This is an important first reflection to realise that focusing on just one language is not the solution. By negatively affecting a child's emotional and developmental well-being, it may even impede language development. If the child is unable to speak to parents and grandparents in their language, this can cut them off from their roots and cultural traditions. In fact, bi/multilingualism can positively impact on children with language delay, supporting their communicative development in multiple ways. For instance, speaking more than one language has consequences for sensitivity and flexibility, such as understanding different perspectives. Research shows that bilingual children have a higher metalinguistic awareness, and better cognitive and linguistic skills, than their monolingual peers, which suggests that bilingualism fosters language development. What they learn in one language can be transferred to another. Families speaking European languages can find valuable support from the PEaCH project (bilingualfamily.eu), which I have been working on this year. It offers free resources in the 24 official languages of the European Union to empower bilingual families. The most important thing is to get back to what really matters: establishing a loving and strong bond with your child and offering them quality moments to foster interaction, communication and language. Do it by speaking in the language of your heart. Estela Bayarri is a Speech and Language Therapist and author of Helping Our Children to Speak Naturally; creciendoconlaspalabras.com TL Language delay: why giving up a language is not the solution En famille ESTELA BAYARRI © SHUTTERSTOCK

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