Despite our immense technological and scientific progress throughout history, we humans are still found wanting in several fields, one of them being the means by which we communicate with each other, i.e. language. This resulted in the evolution of common beliefs, i.e. myths about language and linguistics which, unfortunately, have led us even further astray in this field. The purpose of this mahara portfolio is to present 3 of these commonly held myths, to explain how they developed and then, through evidence and examples, to prove that they have no holding in reality. 

myth 1: written language is superior to spoken language

There are about 7,000 languages around the world (Anderson, 2010) and each of them in turn is spoken in different dialects, i.e. a way of speaking that is unique to an area of a country or to a certain social group or class. However, despite this diversity, it is often assumed that a language’s most “correct” form is the one found in books, newspapers etc. This is due to the fact that throughout human history, language has always been written according to the dialect of the elite socio-economical classes of society, i.e. monarchs, the nobility, the rich and the clergy. Since these groups held political power, prestige and wealth, it led to the belief that their dialect is the most “appropriate” way to speak and therefore the only one “worthy” to be written, whilst all the other dialects were considered too “incorrect”, “uncivilised” or “vulgar”. However, according to Hall, Smith & Wicaksono (Mapping Applied Linguistics, 2011), the myth that the language found in print is the most “correct” form of a language is simply wrong. Humans acquire their mother language at childhood through contact with their parents, that is, by listening to and copying the way their parents speak. After all, no baby just sits down, takes a book and starts learning grammar. And since each family speaks in a different way, each person learns to speak a different variety of his/her language. In the United Kingdom, for example, the standard variety of English is called “Received Pronunciation” (RP). However, only 2% of the UK’s population are RP native speakers. (British Library, n.d.)

Myth 2: People who speak two languages are confused

Bilinguals, i.e. people who are capable of speaking two languages, are often perceived as having difficulties interacting with other people. This myth originates from the misconception that the brain is a storage room, with enough space only for one language (Hall, Smith, & Wicaksono, 2011). However, the idea of the brain as a finite container is not true, since, if one were to simply research the internet or read a history book, one would find countless polyglots (people who have mastered several languages) who have become famous and successful. For example, Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603) was, in addition to her native English, fluent in French, Italian, Latin and Greek (Campbell, 2007). Moreover, when members of a bilingual community speak to each other, they often code-switch (the ability to combine in real-time elements of multiple languages into a fluent utterance). To regular people, it might seem as if bilinguals don’t know fully either of the languages they speak and thus mix them up. However, Hall, Smith & Wicaksono (2011) claim that if one closely observes bilinguals code-switching, one will discover that the switching follows “highly systematic constraints that are consistent with core principles of both grammatical systems and do not happen because of ‘incompetence’ in one or both of the languages” (Mapping Applied Linguistics, p. 11). For example, having been a British colony until 1997, Hong Kong’s residents can speak and understand English, in addition to their local Chinese dialect, i.e. Cantonese. Consequently, code-switching in English and Cantonese is very common in Hong Kong, especially among young people and in the entertainment industry (TV shows, movies etc.).

Myth 3: A nation has, or should have, one language

It is a commonly held belief that citizens of a country speak one language, while people not from that country, i.e. foreigners, speak a different language. According to Hall, Smith & Wicaksono, this misconception takes its roots in the rise of the nation-state in Europe in the 19^th century. During that time, European rulers have employed language as a “policy tool” in order to centralise power in their respective countries and to better control and administrate their overseas colonies (Mapping Applied Linguistics, 2011). However, there are countless examples around the world that debunk this myth that countries are monolingual. For example, it is often assumed that all British speak only English, but, according to the 2011 population census of England and Wales, almost 20% of the population of Wales speaks Welsh (Office for National Statistics, 2013). Further debunking this myth is the fact that some countries share the same language. For example, although English is the national language of the English people, due to the spread of the British Empire from the 17^th century to the beginning of the 20^th century, it has become the native language of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, all of them being former British colonies.

In conclusion, this mahara portfolio has succeeded in proving that:

• Written language is not superior to spoken language
• People who speak two languages are not confused
• A nation does not have, or should not have one language.

There are many other false beliefs that have been proven wrong and are slowly losing their hold in how regular people regard language. Consequently, people are starting to understand linguistics better and how languages operate. 

Anderson, S. R. (2010). How many languages are there in the world? Retrieved from Linguistic Society of America: http://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/how-many-languages-are-there-world

British Library. (n.d.). Received Pronunciation. Retrieved from British Library: http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/find-out-more/received-pronunciation/

Campbell, H. (2007, February 9). Elizabeth I. Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-I

Hall, C. J., Smith, P. H., & Wicaksono, R. (2011). Mapping Applied Linguistics. Abingdon: Routledge.

Mark, J. J. (2011, April 28). Writing. Retrieved from Ancient History Encyclopedia: http://www.ancient.eu/writing/

Office for National Statistics. (2013, March 4). Language in England and Wales: 2011. Retrieved from Office for National Statistics: http://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/articles/languageinenglandandwales/2013-03-04#welsh-language

Shin, S. J. (2013). Bilingualism in Schools and Society: Language, Identity, and Policy. New York City: Routledge.