LANGUAGE BARRIER

'Language barrier' is a figurative phrase used primarily to indicate the difficulties faced when people who have no language in common attempt to communicate with each other. It may also be used in other contexts.

Contents

Language barrier and communication

Auxiliary languages as a solution

Other uses of "language barrier"

Misconceptions about "language barrier"

References

See also

External links

Language barrier and communication

Typically, little communication occurs unless one or both parties learns a new language, which requires an investment of time and effort. People traveling abroad often encounter a language barrier. English speakers, in particular, sometimes visit European countries with insufficient preparation and are surprised to find that most local residents have little knowledge of English.
People who come to a new country at an adult age, when language learning is a cumbersome process, can have particular difficulty "overcoming the language barrier". Similar difficulties occur at multinational meetings, where translation services can be costly, hard to obtain, and prone to error.

Auxiliary languages as a solution

Since the late 1800s, auxiliary languages have been available to help overcome the language barrier. These languages were traditionally written or ''constructed'' by a person or group. Originally, the idea was that two people who wanted to communicate could learn an auxiliary language with little difficulty and could use this language to speak or write to each other.
In the first half of the twentieth century, a second approach to auxiliary languages emerged: that there was no need to construct an auxiliary language, because the most widely spoken languages already had many words in common. These words could be developed into a simple language. People in many countries would understand this language when they read or heard it, because its words also occurred in their own languages.
This approach addressed a perceived limitation of the available auxiliary languages: the need to convince others to learn them before communication could take place. The newer auxiliary languages could also be used to learn ethnic languages quickly and to better understand one's own language.
Examples of traditional auxiliary languages, sometimes called ''schematic languages'', are Esperanto, Ido, and Volapük. Examples of the newer approach, sometimes called ''naturalistic languages'', are Interlingua, Occidental, and Latino Sine Flexione. Only Esperanto and Interlingua are widely used today, although Ido is also in use.

Other uses of "language barrier"

★ SIL discusses "language as a major barrier to literacy" when a speaker's language is unwritten.^[1]

Misconceptions about "language barrier"

It is sometimes assumed that when multiple languages exist in a setting, there must therefore be multiple language barriers. Multilingual societies generally have lingua francas and traditions of its members learning more than one language, an adaptation which while not entirely removing barriers of understanding belies the notion of impassable language barriers.

References

1. http://www.sil.org/literacy/lit90/mothtong.htm SIL, "Mother Tongues: Breaking the Language Barrier"

See also

★ Multilingualism

★ International auxiliary language

External links

★ An Interlingua website

★ An Esperanto website

★ An Ido website