Join us for a webinar with
Antonella Sorace
Professor of Developmental Linguistics, University of Edinburgh
Founding Director, Bilingualism Matters
Research shows that multilingualism in any languages, regardless of their status, prestige, and worldwide diffusion, can give children and adults a range of linguistic, cognitive and social benefits.
More obviously, it enables communication among people and understanding of different cultures. Less obviously, it enhances focusing of attention, seeing both sides of an argument, and flexibly adapting to changing circumstances.
In this WebTalkUNA webinar, linguistics scholar Antonella Sorace will delve into some of the main misconceptions and facts about multilingualism over the lifespan, focusing in particular on current research on indigenous minority languages. She will then argue that more attention should be paid by researchers, educators and policy makers to children’s attitudes and perception of their minority languages.
Finally, she will suggest that the dissemination of research-based information on bilingualism in different sectors of society — especially in countries that rely on ‘privileged monolingualism’ in English — can help build firm community foundations for inter-generational language transmission, enable informed decisions about minority languages, and establish a vital connection between language policy and speakers.
Join us from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, June 3, for this webinar with Antonella Sorace, Professor of Developmental Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, in which she will demonstrate why multilingualism matters on many levels of importance for international relations.
Guest Speaker
ANTONELLA SORACE
Antonella Sorace is Professor of Developmental Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh.
She is a world leading authority in the field of bilingual language development across the lifespan, where she brings together methods from linguistics, experimental psychology, and cognitive science. She is also committed to disseminating the findings of research on bilingualism in different sectors of society.
Antonella is the founding director of the research and information center Bilingualism Matters, which currently has 27 branches in the UK, Europe, the US, Canada, the Middle East, and China.
The UN and Multilingualism
An essential factor in harmonious communication among peoples, multilingualism is of particular importance to the United Nations. By promoting tolerance, multilingualism ensures effective and increased participation of all in the Organization’s work, as well as greater effectiveness, better outcomes and more involvement.
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish are the six official languages of the United Nations. English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat and are used in day-to-day professional exchanges.