Bilingualism
I have brought my child up bilingual with German since birth. I have no connection to Germany at all; I simply did it because know the neurological benefits of the mind learning to process through multiple languages. (As a music teacher I know that music is also just another language, but a language of ‘blobs’ rather than squiggles which we call ‘letters’!)
As English speakers born into the privileged position of English being the current primary world language, we have come to expect the rest of humanity to come to us, and speak our language. Whilst it is true that English has become very much the business language of the world, no doubt because it is easier to learn than most other languages, this does infer a certain lack of motivation and particularly ‘entitlement attitude’ across the English speaking population.
My friend circle, whether it be in my personal life, business acquaintances or clients, consists mainly of non-native English speakers, bi/tri-linguals. As a result of thinking in a multi-lingual fashion, such people are generally more open and flexible minded and have more confidence to step and think outside of their comfort zone (having been brought up stepping into another culture and language from a very young age). My experience is that being bilingual generally is synonymous with people having less fear, less limitations on what they can and cannot do, less anxiety and less sense of separation from other people in their day to day lives, in comparison to monolinguals.
Having several words for one object/action frees our mind from over-conceptualisation, whilst having to think in varying word orders, flitting back and forth as we swap between languages helps to break up the rigidity which so often leads us to feeling separate from all things and people and ultimately towards an anxious and resistant state of being. Bilinguals generally appear to perceive less boundaries, see less obstacles and have a more fluid way of Being, whilst being generally more open to change.
I myself was born here on this tiny island, into this English-speaking privilege, but I do not think of myself as English or even British; only from time to time for practical reasons when applying for a passport etc! I consider myself only as Human (and actually even less of a label than that most of the time, but that is a depth reserved for my Spiritual Teaching website rather than here!)
Bilingualism is a way of ‘us’ making an effort to meet other cultures rather than taking the entitled stance of expecting everyone to speak our own language. If we forge a ‘Oneness attitude’ as humanity and work as ‘One World, One Family’, we move only towards kindness and away from discrimination, conflict and ultimately, war. All making for a more Peaceful world. If all humans were in touch with their Oneness of Being which lies underneath the surface persona of each apparent separate ‘individual’, there would be no more conflict on any level of society, and we would instead, have a Peaceful world.
Our idea that we are all separate from one another is the root cause of conflict and until that is seen clearly and addressed, conflicts between individuals, within families, between religions, and wars between nations will continue to rage.
Reaching outside of our privileged English-speaking-box in which we have become very comfortable and embracing Bilingualism, is an important signal towards other nations of our willingness to share and connect.
Bilingual Activities Coming in 2024
I aim to open up this space with non-English language tuition over the next couple of years via teachers who are open to and embrace Awakened Learning Principles of teaching.
Bilingual Book Swap
An extension to the Highland Toy Swap, the Bilingual Book Swap aims to help families bringing their children up bilingually to access non-English books locally and for free. Such books are often very difficult to source in the UK and often must be bought from Amazon from the country where the language where the language is spoken incurring postage costs for each individual book sent. Our Highland Library Service is first class, but does not extend to an adequate selection of non-English books.
I aim to promote Gaelic as a local language and German as the language I speak with my son. Please vote in our poll below to request other languages and I will endeavour to bring such books into circulation over the next couple of years.
