Let's Dance!

Pause For Thought with the writer Adrian Plass

International Mother Language Day has celebrated linguistic diversity and multilingualism since 2000. Wonderful, but there’s not much multilingualism to celebrate in our house. Attempts to communicate in French, for instance, have been fairly disastrous.

We wanted to buy a piece of the field behind a small cottage we co-owned in Normandy. Bridget, the least awful at French, was elected to negotiate with the elderly French farmer who owned the field. I went with her.

Unfortunately, Bridget got a bit confused about the words for ‘field’ and ‘bedroom’. The result must have sounded like this:

‘Good morning. Might we purchase a small strip of your bedroom? We would erect a low fence between our section of the bedroom and yours. What is your feeling in this matter, sir?’

Few men can have been more confused and troubled than that French farmer. What did he fear we were suggesting? I don’t want to guess.

That fiasco amused us, but multilingualism, or the lack of it, can be serious. A few years ago we visited a bleak area sandwiched between Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Here, truck drivers from all over Africa are stranded for weeks by bureaucratic red tape. Lots of them are unlikely to encounter anyone who speaks their language or dialect. The excruciating loneliness often leads to depression and despair.

Here in Britain merchant seafarers who help to supply ninety-five percent of our essential imports, often arrive at our ports in a similar state, some away from home for eleven months out of twelve. They have no way of communicating with home and are often unable to speak English. I’ve been able to visit one or two of the centres provided by voluntary organisations for these needy individuals. Recreational facilities, help with contacting home and assistance from an interpreter if necessary – these all make a huge difference. Well worth supporting if you can.

Most important of all, people like these need to know someone cares. If you want to be multilingual, practice the language of love. It gets easier the more you use it, and it really is universal.