Multilingualism

There are an estimated 7,000 languages around the world, and experts think being a polyglot – someone who speaks more than one language - is good for us. So where in the world is multilingualism flourishing? And what are the social, emotional and cognitive benefits of speaking multiple languages? Whether it’s Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Irish, French, Kashmiri, Pedi, Swazi or Afrikaans - should we all start learning a new one?

We hear from an organisation supporting multilingualism among children in Ireland. And we learn about the twelve official languages - and many more - being used every day in South Africa.

Guests: Suzanne McCarthy from the organisation Mother Tongues, and social linguist Dr Lorato Mokwena.

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