The more I teach Swahili, the more I find new insights I hadn’t thought about before. We pick up our first language naturally and usually don’t stop to think about how we use words until we start learning another language. From a linguistic point of view, learning more than one language changes how your mind handles sound, structure, and meaning.
Have you noticed that learning a new language can change how you listen or think? As you go through the points below, think about your own experiences with learning languages.
1. Phonology (Sound System)
When you learn a new language, your brain gets better at hearing and making sounds that are new to you. You start to notice differences that people who speak only one language might miss. For example, people who know more than one language can often pick out and tell apart sounds that don’t exist in their first language.
Can you recall a time when you struggled to pronounce a word in another language? What did you do to master it?
2. Morphology (Word Formation)
You start to notice prefixes, suffixes, roots, and word endings more easily. This helps you understand how a word's meaning can change when its parts change.
Try breaking down a complex word in any language you know. What do its parts reveal about its meaning?
3. Syntax (Sentence Structure)
You start to see grammar as something flexible, not just a strict set of rules. This helps you understand how grammar works in different languages.
4. Semantics (Meaning)
You notice that words rarely translate exactly, revealing the subtle differences in meaning between languages.
Have you ever found a word in another language that didn’t have an exact translation in your own language? What was it, and how did you explain it?
5. Pragmatics (Language Use in Context)
You get better at picking up on hidden meanings and understanding the social and cultural hints in language.
Recall a moment when understanding a cultural reference or implied meaning helped you in a conversation.
6. Metalinguistic Awareness
This might be the biggest benefit: You learn to think about language itself. You start to compare how different languages are built and spot patterns more quickly. You notice similarities or differences between languages you know, which shape your perspective on language learning
Let me show you how the word
"kupiga" is used in Swahili. While it literally means "to beat" or "to hit," it has many uses. These meanings might seem confusing unless you know how words can change across languages. Here are some examples:
As you read these examples, think about verbs in your own language that have multiple meanings depending on context.
1.
kupiga simu- to make a phone call
2.
Kupiga firimbi- to blow a whistle
3.
Kupiga pasi- to iron
4.
Kupiga chafya- to sneeze
5. kupiga bei- to bargain
6.
kupiga bongo- to think deeply
7.
kupiga chenga- to avoid
8.
kupiga mswaki- to brush teeth
As you can see, "kupiga" can mean to make, blow, brush, avoid, etc. The main point is that its meaning depends heavily on context.
References:
Bialystok, Ellen. “Bilingualism: The Good, the Bad, and the Indifferent.” Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 12, no. 1 (2009): 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728908003477.
Peal, Elizabeth, and Wallace E. Lambert. “The Relation of Bilingualism to Intelligence.” Psychological Monographs: General and Applied 76, no. 27 (1962): 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0093840.
Thomas, Margaret. “Metalinguistic Awareness.” In The Routledge Handbook of Linguistics, edited by Keith Allan, 425–442. London: Routledge, 2016.
