One-Minute Lecture: Can a small nation's language be an advantage?
Some nations can get by with just one language. For us, however, the key to success is the ability to speak different languages. Merilyn Meristo, Professor of Language Didactics at Tallinn University, can a small nation's language be an advantage?
Unlike large nations, we inevitably encounter other languages in our daily lives and information space. Whether it is English, Russian, or some other language. This, however, creates a unique advantage for us.
By encountering other languages early and systematically, our brain begins to work comparatively. It creates connections and compares language structures. This, in turn, develops our metalinguistic awareness. This means the ability to compare, analyze, and understand language as a system.
Small children compare learning a new language with their mother tongue. Adults, however, begin to create connections between all previously learned languages. But language is more than a tool for communication. Language is part of our identity and a carrier of our historical memory.
By learning new languages, we also learn to notice new aspects of our own language and culture that we might not otherwise be aware of. Estonian is the language of a small nation. Knowing new languages does not make us less Estonian but helps us better understand both our own culture and the cultures of others.