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Bridging the Gap

© Robert Henderson

The world is multilingual, and it's going to stay that way. All international enterprises, and many domestic ones, have to address this challenge if they want to succeed. Much has been written on their spectacular failures. (My favourite: Coca-Cola's "Coke Adds Life" slogan, as translated into Mandarin: "Coke Brings Back Your Dead Ancestors.") There are several approaches to overcoming the language barrier. Listed in order of effectiveness:

The Apollo-Soyuz system requires each party to learn the other's language, then use it exclusively. This is both the hardest and the most effective way to overcome language differences, because it fosters cultural insight. To work, no more than two languages must be involved, and both sides must make a heavy commitment to fluency in the other language; the Apollo-Soyuz missionitself failed linguistically because NASA budgeted only 300 hours for Russian lessons. As a result, English became the mission's official language by default.

Done correctly, Apollo-Soyuz works remarkably well. West African and North American tribes have negotiated and maintained long-lasting treaties using variations of this system.

The Canadian system was Pierre Trudeau's ad hoc response to Quebec MPs' then-illegal use of French in Parliament. Prime Minister Trudeau chose to answer their questions, but in English. Controversial at the time, the Canadian system is now procedure in Commons . Members speak the official language of their choice. Colleagues are free respond in the other. Translation is available, but increasingly unnecessary as bilingualism becomes the norm among public officials.

The Canadian system is a healthy compromise where parties are in conflict, because it eliminates the perceived indignity of speaking the adversary's language. Participants need only comprehend both languages, which is much easier to achieve than full communicative competence. On the other hand, the quality of that comprehension is hard to verify. Also, like Apollo-Soyuz, the Canadian system is only efficient in bilingual situations.

Using an auxiliary language is an excellent solution, and the only one where several languages are involved. All parties become fluent in a language native to none, which then becomes the language of business. Until recently, mastery of an auxiliary preceded entry into public life in most societies. Britain's King George I communicated with his ministers in Latin because he spoke no English and they no German. Eastern Europeans drew on classical Greek, Indians on Sanskrit, East Africans on Swahili..

True auxiliaries are dead or artificial languages. Users must therefore recognise a central regulatory body, or pronunciation and structure are liable to break down. Authentic Latin pronunciation has become so rare it is now worthless as an auxiliary. Living languages, on the other hand, are poor auxiliaries because they grant native speakers an unfair advantage.