The Multilingual Brain: How Indian Children Juggle Multiple Languages and Scripts 

Have you come to read about India’s young multilingual talent, which could shock the world?  According to the India Book of Records, in 2020, Kiran Karthikeya was the youngest multilingual boy from Karnataka. At the age of two years, eleven months, and nineteen days, he can speak and recognise the letters of four different languages, including Telugu, Hindi, Kannada, and English. Mahmood Akram, a 19-year-old linguistic prodigy from Chennai, stunned everyone by demonstrating his proficiency in 46 languages and his ability to read and write in 400 others. 

Children living in India are growing up listening to many languages. They may speak with parents and teachers in two different languages because English-medium schools are becoming the only mode of learning. Friends and the environment also make another language available. Some of them can write in Devanagari and Roman or mix both scripts to write on social media platforms. Growing up in India is like this, surrounded by diversity and multilingualism.

It is found to be fascinating through the lens of cognitive science. How do they manage the richness of Indian languages at a young age? This may lie in the developmental stages, how their brain adapts unknowingly since childhood. The scientific backing is discussed in this article to understand the causal links behind multiculturalism in Indian children. The role of multiple languages, cultures and a collectivistic approach is also explored to highlight the adaptability, creativity, and intelligence of Indian children. 

India’s Linguistic Treasure 

‘India is not for beginners’ is true. There are 22 official languages and 121 other languages, 270 mother tongues along with their lot of dialects (Census of India, 2011). In most of the households, families speak at least two or three languages and dialects with their children. These could include their mom’s language, an additional language, and English. Immigrants or minority communities, in particular, converse in one language and gradually transition to another language, resulting in multilingual families. This shift is called code-switching. Furthermore, Tamil, Malayalam, Devanagari, Bengali, Roman, etc, are different scripts used by many Indians while growing up. 

Read More: The Importance of Neuro-Linguistic Programming

How do Indian children adapt to such heterogeneity?

Learning a language by children is an undertaking of massive effort. The live interaction with the child is the reinforcing activity behind learning. That gives signals to neurons to activate the connectionist framework to learn language. Mirror neurons are also another way through which perceived knowledge is manifested in language production (Feldman H. M., 2019).

When children learn various languages in early childhood, the part of the brain gets activated. A significant amount of grey matter is found in the left inferior parietal cortex of multilingual children (Mechelli et al., 2004). This adaptability leads to the neural plasticity of language-related skills. This early cognitive learning may help in developing administrative function skills, concentration, memory, and mental flexibility (Bialystok et al., 2012). 

The Role of Scripts: More Than Just Writing 

Children learn to write in different scripts of languages till their primary school years. Every Indian child learns to write in two scripts, such as Roman and Devanagari. Few know, other than these two, like Urdu, Bengali, Kannada, and Telugu. All types of scripts need different sets of skills in motor activity, visual, and phonetics. 

Code-switching is a tool for inclusive interaction 

Since the British rule over us, we have adopted English in our official communication and administration (Kachru, 1983). Nowadays, English has become a language of modernisation and a tool to connect globally. It is used to establish professionalism for moving ahead in your career. However, in urban India, people also take the help of regional languages to acknowledge their roots and reach out to the community, understanding their needs. Code-switching broadens the boundaries of communication because it gives a chance to be part of an international circle, yet remains local. It enhances our social interaction (Jain, 2024) 

Read More: Importance of Social Interaction in Early Childhood Development

Challenges and opportunities in the education sector 

Apart from advantages, multilingualism also has some challenges. The social context symbolises English as superior to other Indian languages. People have made a mindset that proficiency in English is equivalent to intelligence. According to these norms, everybody is admitting their children to English-medium schools and not focusing on the benefits of other languages. Mother tongue shapes our self-identity. If children think it is less important, then it can impact their evaluation of self-related concepts. Research under the National Multilingual Education Resource Consortium came up with the facts that learning in own mother tongue improves conceptual understanding and overall learning in the course of early grades (Mohanty, 2009).

Read More: To be a Polyglot: How it affects Cognitive Processes and Identity

Parents’ responsibility toward language development 

Parental role is significant in the stages of language development. Children learn words and phrases after observing their parents; imitation takes place. Statistical components involved within these imitations, such as how many times a word appears, can influence a child’s learning (Feldman H. M., 2019). It can prove that parents’ interaction matters. Sometimes, the mother and father both have different mother tongues.

Their proactiveness shapes children’s linguistic environment. In joint families, the exposure to different languages is increased. It leads to a great learning opportunity for them. They can develop their child into a bilingual and encourage them to be multilingual. According to Byers-Heinlein & Lew-Williams, children can learn languages without any confusion. Early childhood is a good time to grasp a new language other than the mother tongue. Parents should try to converse with their children in different languages (Byers-Heinlein & Lew-Williams, 2013). Learning a language actively broadens one’s list of words and improves empathy and intelligence. 

Conclusion 

Resilience and inclusivity, these characteristics are cultivated in Indian children through the multilingual approach. The youth show amazing mental agility and emotional adaptability by knowing every component of various languages. It works positively in children’s development. Children can achieve success in future because it improves executive skills. Children who know multiple languages are becoming idealistic, as they have diverse personalities and unique thought-process. 

FAQs 

1. Why is multilingualism important in the Indian context? 

In India, many indigenous and non-indigenous languages coexist. This linguistic diversity leads to many cultural variations in identities. This reflects a pluralistic and diverse society, which can bring administrative challenges in educational, social, and legal aspects. That is why multilingualism is important in the Indian context. 

2. Do multilingual have better executive skills? 

Yes, learning many languages enhances brain development and emotional resilience. It can make a person flexible in cognitive activities and emotionally.

3. What is the power of multilingualism? 

• It can improve overall communication skills. 
• Increase cultural awareness 
• Make you empathetic 
• Improve cognitive flexibility, emotional resilience 
• It can enhance social connections and logical thinking. 
• A person can multitask.