Comments on: English dominates at German camp in USA

By: Christof Demont-Heinrich

Christof Demont-Heinrich — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 15:03:11 +0000

In reply to Amy. Thank you Amy :-)

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 04:45:43 +0000

Christof, did you see this article in the New York Times awhile back? http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/education/edlife/german-in-a-multicultural-world.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

By: Christof Demont-Heinrich

Christof Demont-Heinrich — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 15:44:28 +0000

In reply to Idris.

Thank you for your comment. You are right, at least judging based on my own experience trying to raise English-German bilingual children in the USA. I wish I knew more about societies in which large numbers of people actually live multilingualism on a regular, everyday basis. Perhaps those of us stuck in societies such as American society where the everyday expectation for the majority of people is that multilingualism will not be lived on an everyday basis anywhere outside of the private home domain and who would like to see this change could learn something valuable from those societies in which multilingualism is actually lived, and practiced, every day, across life domains, and not relegated — one might even say banished — to the home/private domain.

By: Idris

Idris — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 19:07:15 +0000

It is difficult to maintain a high degree of multilingualism in large societies with a high level of communication and integration between people. An individual can probably work hard enough to become bilingual or multilingual, but it is not easy at all for him/her to create the kind of environment conducive to ‘living’ a second or third language. Therefore, you will have to keep investing even more in your children’s education if you wish for them to ‘live’ in German as much as they are living in English.

By: Victoria

Victoria — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 07:07:20 +0000

Is that is what you’re doing, Christof? I’ve just been doing a quick search about that as well and found on the German Federal Foreign Office webiste that more than 270 Million Euro are spent on supporting the German language abroad, particularly on German international schools. http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/sid_2721F02016655E72F52B1C5E28404C53/DE/Aussenpolitik/KulturDialog/Sprache/DeutscheSprache_node.html#doc334940bodyText1 These are then recognised as private schools and get even more funding from local governments. Anythings else, for example early childhood education, does not get any support – neither from Germany nor from local agencies. Support for the German language on a public level starts at the school level only – quite contrary to what is supposed to achieve best results according to research findings.(Note: by that I’m not even implying a critival period…)

By: Christof Demont-Heinrich

Christof Demont-Heinrich — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 15:34:20 +0000

In reply to Ingrid Piller. True -- and, as you know, I'd like to begin systematically looking at this question, the official promotion and maintenance of German in the USA by Germany :-)

By: Ingrid Piller

Ingrid Piller — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 10:11:17 +0000

Thanks, Christoph! In addition to an American socialization, I think you’ve also got to blame German 😉 … as you know the language has been less well maintained in recent decades and in Anglophone environments than most other migrant languages …