From CK Nayak
NEW DELHI, Dec 17: Contrary to popular demand for using mother tongue in education and official communications everywhere including in multilingual and multicultural Northeast, bilingualism has been found more beneficial than using just one language, according to a study done by the IIT Guwahati.
The groundbreaking study highlights the cognitive advantages of bilingualism particularly in the linguistically diverse region of Northeast India. The research, undertaken by IITG’s Centre for Linguistic Science and Technology and Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, delves into the cognitive processes of bilingual individuals and their ability to switch between languages.
The study, led by Dr Bidisha Som, Associate Professor in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, focused on different Naga language speaking groups, specifically bilingual individuals with Naga languages as their first language. The research team, which included Opangienla Kechu, a faculty member at Dimapur’s Testo College, examined the cognitive performance of two separate groups of unilingual and bilinguals.
The Ao-Sangtam participants, originally from Nagaland, have been immersed in a diverse cultural and linguistic environment for an extended period. In contrast, the Ao-English participants, also from Nagaland, are university students studying in various regions of India where English is the primary language.
Understanding Bilingual Impact This research aims to comprehend the impact of bilingualism and multilingualism among indigenous language speakers who are non-immigrant and non-WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic).
Dr. Som emphasizes the uniqueness of Northeast India in terms of linguistic and cultural diversity, highlighting the potential for understanding the interaction between language use and non-linguistic cognition.
Real-Life Scenarios,
Generalizability
The study adopted a novel approach by conducting experiments in real-life settings rather than a laboratory environment.
This allowed researchers to observe participants in their natural contexts, enhancing the generalizability of the findings. The research team employed translation recognition and lexical decision tasks to assess cognitive performance.
The study revealed that bilingual individuals demonstrated enhanced performance in non-verbal tasks compared to monolinguals. These tasks required various cognitive control processes, including conflict resolution, attention, shifting, updating, and working memory.
The findings support the concept of bilingual advantage, suggesting that bilingualism enhances cognitive abilities beyond language proficiency.
The IITG study underscores the cognitive benefits of bilingualism in multilingual and multicultural communities.
By examining bilingual individuals in real-life settings, the research contributes to a deeper understanding of the interaction between language use and non-linguistic cognition. The findings have implications for education, language policy, and our understanding of cognitive processes in diverse societies.
The research focused on different Naga language speaking groups and found that bilingual individuals who regularly switch between languages experience significant benefits.
Nagaland has 17 recognised major Naga tribes speaking their own languages with no officially declared common dialect and English is the official language but Nagamese — a lingua franca which is a mixture of different dialects — is used for daily conversations.
The Nagaland government in July last had urged the Centre to allow it to continue the use of English as the medium of teaching in schools instead of mother tongue as mandated by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 as the state has several tribal languages.
Northeastern India is a linguistic mosaic, with over 400 different languages spoken in the region but there is no single lingua franca.