—Hi Richard! It’s nice to meet you! Could you please introduce yourself to the immigrant community?
—Yes. I am Richard Benton. I am a polyglot, a language lover. By profession, I am an IT Scrum Master, mainly in infrastructure, and my training is in Ancient Hebrew Linguistics and Old Testament.
—That’s impressive! I have never met a professional in this field...On your LinkedIn profile I saw that you have listed an astonishing number of languages—15! Did I see it right or should I check my eyesight?
—Was it 15? That makes me nervous! I always tend to say that I know 7 or 8 [languages], because I say that learning languages is like filling buckets with holes. As you learn some, the other ones start to empty, and you have to fill them up. They are always shifting. I know 15 languages to varying degrees: from very basic to very comfortable.
—Which are the languages that you feel very comfortable speaking?
—RussianandFrench are my best ones. I tend to useSpanish. These days I have been usingUkrainian andSerbian more. Last year myDutch was a little bit better, but it’s going down. AndGerman goes up and down...
—How does your brain function? I am speechless, really. One question: are you planning to donate your brain for scientific research? I think, that would lead to amazing discoveries...
— [laughs] You know, the thing is that I have always been interested in starting [ learning] a new language, I have never been afraid to start new languages. When I was in High School, I took French earlier, and then I wanted to add a language , so I chose German. The only other languages besides those were either Spanish and Russian. So I thought I could always learn Spanish, so I decided to do Russian. I was taking French, German and Russian simultaneously in High School. Later I was an exchange student in France. There I was taking German and Russian. So I have gotten different learning experiences. When I was in college I started learning Modern Hebrew. But I only took a few years of it. And then I stayed abroad in Kyiv. I was at the National Pedagogical Dragomanov Institute.
—I know exactly where it is! I am from Kyiv.
—Oh, were you born inKyiv?
— Yes, and lived there the first 30 years of my life. Up until I came here.
—What is your native language: Russian or Ukrainian?
—Both: Ukrainian and Russian. I am bilingual by birth. But let’s get back to the languages you have mastered! Among them I saw that you speak an extremely old language called Classic Syriac. Why and how did you learn it?
—Syriacis a dialect ofAramaic. Aramaic became the National Jewish language shorty after the time of the New Testament. It became a standard language among the Jews around 100-200 CE ( Common Era). But besides that, it was an official language of the Persian Empire. So interestingly, the Persians took it off as an imperial language. And in the 3rd or 4th century BCE ( Before Common Era) it became very widespread throughout the entire region. But it has developed in two different directions: the Jewish direction ( which was Aramaic) and Christian direction (which was Syriac). These languages used different scripts. There is a little bit of difference in these languages. Aramaic borrowed more fromHebrew, Syriac borrowed more fromGreek. But it’s the Aramaic script that we associate with Hebrew. I learned both: Aramaic and Syriac in my Ph.D. studies for doing Biblical Hebrew Linguistics.
—Your knowledge on old languages is impressive! You one of a very few Americans who know that many foreign languages. Why do you think majority of Americans feel so reluctant to learning other languages besides English? I mean, almost everyone studies Spanish in High School, but very few master it.
—I go very deep on this. I have written on this [ topic]. I used to have a blog calledLoving Language. I used to talk a lot about this. I really feel that monolingualism of the United States is what makes us Americans. I believe, it’s a part of our national ideology. I believe that someone who speaks English with an accent, but another language fluently is more suspicious to us than someone who speaks English as a native and another language less well. Bilingual education used to be very common in the United States up until the early 20st century. And then it was deliberately destroyed. You can look at see the laws that were passed. They outlawed speaking other languages besides English in schools. It was called the Siman Act in 1919. In the state of Nebraska it was illegal to speak with children in any language besides English until the 9th grade.
—Really?! I didn’t know that. Who introduced this politics of foreign language exclusion? Remind me please, who was the President at that time?
—There is a quote fromPresident Woodrow Wilson. One of the things he said was that “ Any man who carries a hyphen about with him carries a dagger that he is ready to plunge into the vitals of this Republic whenever he gets ready” [ the term hyphenated American refers to the use of a hyphen between the name of an ethnicity and the word "American" in compound nouns, e.g., as in "Irish-American".]. This misconception influenced the history of the United States by systematically destroying languages. You can look at thelanguages of the Native Americans that were deliberately destroyed...There were even punishments for speaking any language other than English in the boarding schools or reservations. The law was so strict that if children of the Native Americans went to boarding schools, they would come back home and they couldn’t speak with their own families.They were that good at systematically destroying languages through the education system. And then you look at the way that the children of immigrants don’t speak the language of their parents. It’s strange...
—It upsets me a lot, because my own 4th grader refuses to speak Ukrainian or Russian. It is easier for her to speak exclusively English. It is devastating, because my grandmother can hardly understand her now. It’s one of the concerns I have as a parent.
—Right! That’s a part of our national character. In other countries it’s not a problem to speak multiple languages at the same time. I have a friend fromGhana. She speaks her mother’s language, her father’s language, she also her grandfather’s language, and then she learned English at school. No problem! It’s not a problem to speak three or four languages, because your family members speak those languages. But it doesn’t happen in the United States. For example, inGermany you can have a third-generation Turkish family who still speakTurkish. But you won’t find it in the United States. It’s systematic in this country. When Americans see that someone is speaking other language besides English they say: “ Speak English! In America we speak English. If you don’t like it—leave!”
—What a hostile attitude to the immigrants!
—Not just hostile. Leave? Why do you have to leave? Here is an example: I am originally fromColorado. And Colorado used to be a part ofMexico. There are a lot of people there who speak Spanish. But they used to say: “ This is America. If you don’t like it —leave!”. Leave?! Where? That’s where their families are from historically. They are from Colorado! Where would they go to? They are at home!
—I hope that with new White House Administration the attitude towards immigrants and multilingual people will improve...
—It can improve but I think it’s a part of our character. There are still debates whether it’s good for Spanish speaking kids to be taught in Spanish at school. That’s a debate...From psychological and educational experience we know that it’s not bad for kids at all! They grow up multilingual.
—You know, a lot of people believe that in order for children to fully integrate into the American society, American culture, they must know English. Spanish is great, but it’s still viewed upon as a secondary language, while English stays primary.
—This is two things. First of all, who is afraid that the kids are not going to learn English? Is your child having any trouble?
—It’s a very common fear in immigrant parents. I was very concerned that my daughter would not do good at school, because when she came here, she didn’t know a word in English. And although other immigrants assured me that any child absorbs English like a sponge, I wanted her to master it as soon as possible.
—That’s the way it works. It’s the first thing. The second thing is that’s a part of the system we haven’t set up. If you don’t speak English, supposedly, you are going to suffer in this country. I have never seen it happen! Show me an example of a child who was brought up, born in the US, and by the time they were ready to get a job, couldn’t speak English well enough to get along in their job. Show me the example! It has never happened! [ laughs].
—Then I wonder why don’t we change this system of “linguistic racism”? Why the belief that English is the only key to a successful life is so strong?
—It’s because there is a concern that the multilingual people will not become “fully American”. It’s a part of our national ideology. For instance, when you become an American citizen, you have to give up loyalty to other countries, including your homeland. And a foreign language shows loyalty to another country. This is on a popular level. I have a friend who was sitting in a bar, and he was talking to his friend in Spanish. And some stranger came up to him and said: “ Why are you speaking Spanish?”
—No way!
—In 1970-1980s there was a rule that if guests of restaurants or bars were Spanish speakers, they would be seated at the back. And the employees turned up the music, so that other people couldn’t hear them. All because they were afraid that Spanish speakers might be talking about them. Eventually, such policies were considered illegal. But this is what we do! And now, explain the logic of this: if you are afraid they are speaking about you in Spanish, then the way you deal with it is you put them at the back and turn up the music. They could still talk about you [ laughs].
—I thought you would say: “ If you are afraid they are talking about you in Spanish, then simply learn Spanish, and you will know exactly what they are talking about!”
—That’s really funny! In other societies you just learn a language. It’s only an empire mindset that says: “You must speak the language of the empire and you must forget other languages”.
—This is a very complicated issue. It needs to be studied in more details. Anyway, how do people react when they find out that you are a polyglot?
—Usually people say: “You must be smart!”. I always think it’s funny, because there are plenty of 5 year olds polyglots in the world. So you don’t have to be smart, but they assume I am smart. Learning languages is more about passion and time for me. I like learning community languages [ Richard is currently working on the book about community languages], I like learning the languages of the people who live close by. I found out that one of my neighbors is from Cambodia, and I have learned how to say “hello” in his language. He appreciated it. Does it make me a polyglot? I don’t know. But he was just happy, it was nice for him to hear it. When I speak littleSomali or littleOromo( here, in the Twin Cities, they are very common languages). People enjoy it. It’s just funny to see a white guy speaking those languages. For me, it is a playful way to make a connection with a person in a new way. Reactions of people also depend on where they come from too! Arabs are less impressed by polyglots, then Russians are, because a lot of Arabs are, in fact, polyglots. In addition toArabic, they learn how to speak French and English at school. Not to mention that formal Arabic is very different from spoken Arabic, it’s like learningOld Slavonic. It’s hard. So for those people it is not a big deal to speak multiple languages. I find that Westerners tend to be more impressed by polyglots than non-Westerners. Sadly, people who are not Westerners are delighted that a Westerner would bother learning another language.
—What are the keys of learning a foreign language and keeping it in active usage?
—I think— simply using it, simply speaking. There is an idea that everyone is supposed to speak like a native. You are supposed to speak [English] like you were born here. Well, in the history of the United States there have been millions and millions of people who spoke English not as a native and who were fine. They spoke well, they got through their lives, they could express whatever they wanted to. It was fine. So I don’t think you have to sound like a native. Now, people who will shame you if you don’t speak like a native—that’s the problem. They will go: “What? I can’t understand you! I don’t know what you are saying!”
—That is so disrespectful! After such a remark, a person will shut down, and will not want to ever open their mouth again!
—Correct. The warning I have is that you will, likely, experience disrespect as a non-native English speaker in the United States. You just have to keep working and keep on speaking. Know in yourself, that you have something that other people don’t have to offer, that you speak English, and, on top of it, you speak at least another language fluently. Whenever anyone tries to shame you, remember that you speak another language fluently, and it’s a helpful thing. Your native language connects you with your family, your ancestors. So never forget that. From that core in your heart, then speak English, simply use it. Try new things, meet new people.
—Can learning languages be fun?
—I think it is fun, because it allows ways to connect with different kinds of people. It gives you a way of learning about a new mentality. It allows you a different way of learning the world. I have a daughter. She is studying in the university in theNetherlands. And she is taking Twentieth Century History class there. She really enjoys it, because she is learning history from a different point of view. In the same way, when you learn another language, you can learn a different way of looking at the world and understanding it better. Every culture, every language has good ideas. And when you open yourself to them and you learn more, it makes you better!
P.S. In addition to all his professional accomplishments and interests, Richard is also a Board Member of Green Card Voices—a Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization connecting immigrants and their communities through multimedia storytelling. To learn more visit their website: