{ "id": 16058, "date": "2019-09-13T17:10:19", "date_gmt": "2019-09-13T15:10:19", "guid": { "rendered": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/?p=16058" }, "modified": "2019-09-13T17:10:19", "modified_gmt": "2019-09-13T15:10:19", "slug": "migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion", "status": "publish", "type": "post", "link": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/", "title": { "rendered": "Migration and Multilingualism: Encouraging diverse linguistic inclusion" }, "content": { "rendered": "
\"\"<\/figure>
\n

As an officially multilingual country, something that\u2019s plainly evident when you walk the streets of Brussels: it\u2019s not uncommon to hear Turkish or Arabic spoken, maybe with a bit of a French fusion. This years UNESCO\u2019s International Literacy Day<\/a> celebrated on September 8 Focused on the theme of \u201cLiteracy and Multilingualism,\u201d and brought us to re-think what it means to be multilingual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a major European city such as Brussels, most people expect individuals who live in these urban centres to be multilingual.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But could the same be expected of those who live outside of Europe in places that are not urban centres? Would you expect the same from a young man living in a small village in Afghanistan? Would you expect him to also be multilingual?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most likely, he knows at least two languages, perhaps Pashto and Dari (which is a version of Farsi). Perhaps he enjoys watching Bollywood movies, so he\u2019s also picked up on some Urdu. Perhaps he is Muslim, so he\u2019s been taught to read in Modern Standard Arabic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With just those skills, he can communicate with about half a billion people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Say he leaves Afghanistan and picks up some English from other people on his way to Europe\u2014that\u2019s about 1.5 billion more people. One day he arrives to Belgium and studies French \u2013 220 million more people, for a total of about 2.2 billion people that he can communicate with around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many people can say that\u2014I certainly can\u2019t; with my trilingualism (English, French and Greek) I barely scratch the 1.7 billion people mark. As an American, I\u2019m also a bit of a rare breed in term of language capacity, the same cannot be said about the many multi-lingual Europeans\u2014our volunteers for SB Espoir alone speak 18 different languages. Every day in the office at SB<\/a>,  we\u2019re not only French and English speakers, my colleagues are expressing themselves in their mother tongue of Spanish, Portuguese or Arabic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For SB Espoir, we maintain this value and try to celebrate the multi-lingualism during our activities with the young people, girls and women who live in Red Cross and Fedasil accommodation centres in Brussels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we mostly speak English and French, we also try to engage in workshops in Dari, Spanish, Kurdish or Arabic, for example\u2014particularly for the centres where individuals have just arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We realize that out of the world of languages, French and English are just a small sliver. However, we still encourage learning French and Flemish as additional languages that are useful for integration in the Belgian culture and assets to enter to work stream to adapt and take part in this new country because there\u2019s nothing like being able to express yourself with the perfect phrase that\u2019s unique to a language.<\/p>", "protected": false }, "excerpt": { "rendered": "

As an officially multilingual country, something that\u2019s plainly evident when you walk the streets of Brussels: it\u2019s not uncommon to hear Turkish or Arabic spoken, maybe with a bit of a French fusion. This years UNESCO\u2019s International Literacy Day celebrated on September 8 Focused on the theme of \u201cLiteracy and Multilingualism,\u201d and brought us to re-think what […]<\/p>", "protected": false }, "author": 162, "featured_media": 16059, "comment_status": "open", "ping_status": "closed", "sticky": false, "template": "", "format": "standard", "meta": { "_et_pb_use_builder": "", "_et_pb_old_content": "", "_et_gb_content_width": "", "footnotes": "" }, "categories": [ 55 ], "tags": [], "class_list": [ "post-16058", "post", "type-post", "status-publish", "format-standard", "has-post-thumbnail", "hentry", "category-press-releases" ], "yoast_head": "\nMigration and Multilingualism: Encouraging diverse linguistic inclusion - SBO - D\u00e9veloppement Durable & Aide Humanitaire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Migration and Multilingualism: Encouraging diverse linguistic inclusion - SBO - D\u00e9veloppement Durable & Aide Humanitaire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As an officially multilingual country, something that\u2019s plainly evident when you walk the streets of Brussels: it\u2019s not uncommon to hear Turkish or Arabic spoken, maybe with a bit of a French fusion. This years UNESCO\u2019s International Literacy Day celebrated on September 8 Focused on the theme of \u201cLiteracy and Multilingualism,\u201d and brought us to re-think what […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SBO - D\u00e9veloppement Durable & Aide Humanitaire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-13T15:10:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/SEPT-12-Migration-and-miltilingualism-768x768-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/\",\"name\":\"Migration and Multilingualism: Encouraging diverse linguistic inclusion - SBO - D\u00e9veloppement Durable & Aide Humanitaire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/SEPT-12-Migration-and-miltilingualism-768x768-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-13T15:10:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/#\/schema\/person\/798cbdc4f79ea3b1324971e880f7317d\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/SEPT-12-Migration-and-miltilingualism-768x768-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/SEPT-12-Migration-and-miltilingualism-768x768-1.png\",\"width\":768,\"height\":768},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/\",\"name\":\"SBO - D\u00e9veloppement Durable & Aide Humanitaire\",\"description\":\"Give Hope\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/#\/schema\/person\/798cbdc4f79ea3b1324971e880f7317d\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63861348f82d85942901b19542593f8585b87f5bd53fd3c961e6defc2462d6ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63861348f82d85942901b19542593f8585b87f5bd53fd3c961e6defc2462d6ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->", "yoast_head_json": { "title": "Migration and Multilingualism: Encouraging diverse linguistic inclusion - SBO - D\u00e9veloppement Durable & Aide Humanitaire", "robots": { "index": "index", "follow": "follow", "max-snippet": "max-snippet:-1", "max-image-preview": "max-image-preview:large", "max-video-preview": "max-video-preview:-1" }, "canonical": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/", "og_locale": "en_US", "og_type": "article", "og_title": "Migration and Multilingualism: Encouraging diverse linguistic inclusion - SBO - D\u00e9veloppement Durable & Aide Humanitaire", "og_description": "As an officially multilingual country, something that\u2019s plainly evident when you walk the streets of Brussels: it\u2019s not uncommon to hear Turkish or Arabic spoken, maybe with a bit of a French fusion. This years UNESCO\u2019s International Literacy Day celebrated on September 8 Focused on the theme of \u201cLiteracy and Multilingualism,\u201d and brought us to re-think what […]", "og_url": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/", "og_site_name": "SBO - D\u00e9veloppement Durable & Aide Humanitaire", "article_published_time": "2019-09-13T15:10:19+00:00", "og_image": [ { "width": 768, "height": 768, "url": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/SEPT-12-Migration-and-miltilingualism-768x768-1.png", "type": "image\/png" } ], "author": "admin", "twitter_card": "summary_large_image", "twitter_misc": { "Written by": "admin", "Est. reading time": "2 minutes" }, "schema": { "@context": "https:\/\/schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/", "url": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/", "name": "Migration and Multilingualism: Encouraging diverse linguistic inclusion - SBO - D\u00e9veloppement Durable & Aide Humanitaire", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/#website" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/#primaryimage" }, "image": { "@id": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/#primaryimage" }, "thumbnailUrl": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/SEPT-12-Migration-and-miltilingualism-768x768-1.png", "datePublished": "2019-09-13T15:10:19+00:00", "author": { "@id": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/#\/schema\/person\/798cbdc4f79ea3b1324971e880f7317d" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "potentialAction": [ { "@type": "ReadAction", "target": [ "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/" ] } ] }, { "@type": "ImageObject", "inLanguage": "en-US", "@id": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/migration-and-multilingualism-encouraging-diverse-linguistic-inclusion\/#primaryimage", "url": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/SEPT-12-Migration-and-miltilingualism-768x768-1.png", "contentUrl": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/SEPT-12-Migration-and-miltilingualism-768x768-1.png", "width": 768, "height": 768 }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/#website", "url": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/", "name": "SBO - D\u00e9veloppement Durable & Aide Humanitaire", "description": "Give Hope", "potentialAction": [ { "@type": "SearchAction", "target": { "@type": "EntryPoint", "urlTemplate": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/?s={search_term_string}" }, "query-input": { "@type": "PropertyValueSpecification", "valueRequired": true, "valueName": "search_term_string" } } ], "inLanguage": "en-US" }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/#\/schema\/person\/798cbdc4f79ea3b1324971e880f7317d", "name": "admin", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "inLanguage": "en-US", "@id": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/", "url": "https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63861348f82d85942901b19542593f8585b87f5bd53fd3c961e6defc2462d6ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g", "contentUrl": "https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/63861348f82d85942901b19542593f8585b87f5bd53fd3c961e6defc2462d6ac?s=96&d=mm&r=g", "caption": "admin" }, "sameAs": [ "https:\/\/sboverseas.org" ], "url": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/author\/admin\/" } ] } }, "_links": { "self": [ { "href": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16058", "targetHints": { "allow": [ "GET" ] } } ], "collection": [ { "href": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts" } ], "about": [ { "href": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post" } ], "author": [ { "embeddable": true, "href": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/162" } ], "replies": [ { "embeddable": true, "href": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16058" } ], "version-history": [ { "count": 0, "href": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16058\/revisions" } ], "wp:featuredmedia": [ { "embeddable": true, "href": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16059" } ], "wp:attachment": [ { "href": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16058" } ], "wp:term": [ { "taxonomy": "category", "embeddable": true, "href": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16058" }, { "taxonomy": "post_tag", "embeddable": true, "href": "https:\/\/sboverseas.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16058" } ], "curies": [ { "name": "wp", "href": "https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}", "templated": true } ] } }