Multilingualism

A draft of air as cold as the air on the Alps, blew on Arabella’s sleeping parents. Shivering, Arabella’s sleepy mother rolled out of bed, turned off the air conditioner, and opened the windows. Opening the curtains and looking out the window past the sweet-smelling tree, Arabella’s mother is instantly reminded by the red, white, and blue decorations that are plastered all over the neighborhood that today is the 4rth of July, America’s Independence day. Arabella’s father arises and tiptoes downstairs to cook breakfast: blueberry waffles, eggs, bacon, and coffee. Arabella’s mother begins to get ready for the day when Arabella’s happy gurgling catches her attention. Bouncing Arabella on one arm like a sack of potatoes, Arabella’s mother quickly applies her sunblock, and goes downstairs to the kitchen. Giving a hurried but sincere kiss on her husband’s cheek, she dashes to the living room, sets down a play mat, and brings Arabella her favorite toy, an octopus that lights up and sings. Grandma and Grandpa, hungry for their food and not quite accustomed to the time difference, are determined to cherish and spend every moment of their visit with 11 month old Arabella. Around her, they act like clowns.

Smiling at her parents, Arabella’s mother comes and tells her parents that breakfast is ready and helps them leave. Delicately grabbing the cool marble surface with her short chubby fingers, Arabella heaves herself up to stand on both legs with the strength of a body builder. Moving from furniture to furniture, Arabella awkwardly navigates around the house with determined concentration. Making silly faces to make Arabella giggle and smile, Arabella’s mother suddenly stops and her mouth opens up to a big smile. Her excitement is evident through her voice as she yells, “ Mom. Mom. Look! Arabella is walking!” Quickly looking over, both Arabella’s parents and her grandparents excitedly watch as 11 month old Arabella takes her first foot steps on her own, marking a milestone in her life and everyone’s around her.

Two months prior, in a similar fashion, Arabella began to speak her first words. Under the influence of her parents, she spoke a mixture of Korean as well as English, soaking up different vocabulary words and using them interchangeably. Around the home, Arabella had no problem calling an object by its Korean or English name.

Then, one day, wearing a purple polka dotted t-shirt with yellow socks, Arabella said, “ My grandma and me and mom went to the baek-haw-jum.” Confused, her teacher asked her what a ‘baek-hwa jeom’ was and frustrated that she could not be understood, Arabella simply burst into tears. From this short episode of a language barrier, Arabella’s language diversity was quite evident.

Overseas, it is quite common to find children who are not confident in one language but who rather speak a mix of several different languages.

Multilingualism will most likely be a key aspect of these people’s lives, especially Arabella’s.

And multilingualism will be beneficial for many people’s lives, especially Arabella’s. Multilingualism is becoming more common in society as people are connecting all over the world. As time and technology change, the language development of generations is also changing leading to an even wider variety of peoples.