Multilingualism as Cultural Capital?

Study of Studies

Donna L. Confere

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a literature review to determine if multilingualism is cultural capital. Some economists have viewed language skills as human capital, when reviewing the impact of immigrants on employment or the participation of nations in a global economy (Budria 2014). The definition of cultural capital that will be referenced in this paper is the one provided by Pierre Bourdieu (1986) in The Forms of Capital, in the following:Cultural capital can exist in three forms: in the embodied state, i.e., in the form of long-lasting dispositions of the mind and body; in the objectified state, in the form of cultural goods (pictures, books, dictionaries, instruments, machines, etc.), which are the trace or realization of theories or critiques of these theories, problematics, etc.; and in the  institutionalized state, a form of objectification which must be set apart because, as will be seen in the case of educational qualifications, it confers entirely original properties on the cultural capital which it is presumed to guarantee (241-258).Language will be considered cultural capital in the embodied state. It is a disposition that is acquired and remains for the lifetime after being achieved. Accents and dialect can also be described as cultural capital, since both can be useful for presentation and assimilation into the culture.

If a nation is a meritocracy, if global exchange is a naturally occurring part of a free enterprise economy, and if multilingual proficiency is an advantage in such an economy as well as a determinant of cognitive ability, then students who are multilingual should have the greatest academic success and adults who are multilingual should experience economic gains. This paper will examine these phenomenon with three questions: Is there a connection between multilingualism and cognitive ability? If so, does multilingualism translate into higher grades and academic achievement? Does multilingual status have a positive impact on socioeconomic status and economic stability?

To begin this literature review, the relationship between multilingualism and cognitive ability will be evaluated. Early twentieth century research questioned if bilingual status could have any positive effect on a student. Research from the 1920s referred to the “language handicap” of bilinguals, referencing their measured deficiencies in vocabulary, articulation, and grammatical skills. Among those studies, there was no control for social class, length of time in the country, or amount of time attributed to study of the second language. Researchers tended to view bilingualism as a problem to be overcome, rather than an asset. The changes in approach to research, using controls for other factors affecting language acquisition, led to different results when comparing monolinguals to bilinguals. By the 1960s and into the 1980s, research was indicating that bilingual and multilingual students were more flexible when completing varying cognitive tasks, such as word substitution. These students were also able to use semantic cues when determining answers, whereas monolingual students tended to rely on phonemic cues. Studies showed that multilingual students were able to determine language rules (metalinguistic awareness) and make corrections to errors at a higher rate than monolingual students (Hakuta & Diaz 1985).

An attempt by Hakuta & Diaz (1985) to determine if the latter results could be replicated was successful. Hakuta and Diaz attempted their research with a more random sampling of students, a blind study in which the experimenter is not aware of the language status of the subject, and an attempt to determine if the study is measuring the impact of multilingualism on cognition, rather than the impact of intelligence on language-learning. This study presented evidence, using tests of bilingualism and cognitive ability, that bilingualism has a positive impact on cognition, as the subjects with the greatest measured degree of bilingualism, had a marked degree of cognitive ability. There is no clear explanation of why this happens, as some predict that language acquisition requires higher-order thinking or greater metacognition, as children must consider and compare language rules as they translate or learn new languages. Finally, it

should be noted that the languages measured for this study were English and Spanish, and so the complexity of the languages being measured in a study of multilingualism must be considered.

A discussion of multilingualism and cognition must include the impact on cognition for people of an elder generation. The term cognitive reserve refers to the ability to function at high levels, even as damage occurs to the brain, including natural occurring states, such as old age. A study discussed by Kave et al (2008), reviewed the impact of multilingualism on cognitive abilities in old age. The study, conducted in Israel, determined that subjects identified as bilingual, trilingual, or multilingual had better cognition in old age (ranging from 75 to 94 years old) and that subjects who were stronger in a language other than their mother tongue scored higher in cognitive abilities than those who were stronger in their first language. This study controlled for level of education and whether the languages other than the first language were learned in an academic environment or through informal means.

In practical terms, second language acquisition, which has been shown to have a positive impact on cognition, could thus have a positive impact on grades. Grades are significant as they are official transcripts of students’ academic activity. Many studies on this connection contradict each other, with some identifying a positive correlation between multilingualism and grade point average, while others find a negative correlation between the two. Kovalik (2012) used a survey method to determine if a correlation exists between the number of languages in which a student was fluent and grade point average. The study had several issues. The self-reporting of the subjects indicated that only twelve percent of respondents were fluent in more than one language. Because of the inadequate sample, results would indicate that being multilingual has a negative correlation with grade point average. Other factors, such as social class or medical conditions were not controlled for, and therefore, the results are questionable.

Other recent European studies have found that bilingual students had greater strength in memory, abstract reasoning, as well as attention, even when living in poverty (Engel de Abrou 2012). Similar studies in Greece found a positive correlation of multilingual abilities and executive functioning, but no differences in terms of social language (Antoniou 2012). Further research has found a connection between interpersonal communication and conflict resolution and fluency in more than one language (Doshi 2012). In tests of working memory, multilingual subjects were able to code switch more quickly than monolingual test subjects (Doshi 2012). Other research has proven that people who are proficient in more than one language are flexible in word choice, easily moving from one language to the next, and in determining if a string of letters qualify as a word, even when the terms presented may even be non-words (Linck 2014). Other studies of language acquisition have found that when controlling for the number of languages in which proficiency has been acquired, lessens the impact of educational attainment as a factor in being multilingual (Budria 2014).

Having reviewed the literature as it relates to second language acquisition and cognition, as well as noting the unavailable literature regarding academic performance in concrete terms, such as grade point average, the final question is of correlation of multilingualism to socioeconomic status and economic opportunity. Does bilingual and multilingual status provide cultural capital which can provide economic advantages? Do multilingual immigrants gain an advantage because of their language skills? How important is second or third language acquisition to income?

The importance of multilingualism comes into view when discussing economic objectives. Most nations are a part of a global economy that provides for the exchange of goods and services between nations. A qualitative study of university students who were multilingual, pointed to globalisation as a significant motivator for second and third language acquisition (Schnelten 2003). In this study, the subjects were college-educated, well-traveled, and could pay the expenses of formal education for languages. Some of the subjects spoke about the importance of speaking English, often rating it as their best language after

their mother tongue, even though English was their third or fourth language. The student from Switzerland acknowledged the capital that came with language acquisition, acknowledging the difference in dialect of German that she would speak with her friends, versus more formal settings. While the students discussed the importance of motivation, natural skill, and a safe environment to assist in acquiring language, the students acknowledged the job market of a global economy as an important factor in their decision to study languages (Schnelten 2003).