BBC Learnings · Section 9

Why's it called 'mother tongue'

What languages do you speak? Well, my mother tongue is English and I

Level: B2 · 117 sentences

Transcript

  1. What languages do you speak?
  2. Well, my mother tongue is English and I
  3. also speak Spanish and French badly.
  4. It's interesting that we say mother tongue, isn't it?
  5. Like many languages, English has a number
  6. of gender-specific terms that don't refer to gender-specific ideas and concepts.
  7. And this complicated relationship between language
  8. and gender is what we'll be talking about today.
  9. But first, this week's quiz question,
  10. which is also on the topic of languages.
  11. Which of these languages is the newest?
  12. Is it... a Esperanto b Afrikaans
  13. or c Light Warlpiri?
  14. What do you think, Georgina?
  15. Well, I've only heard of two of these, Esperanto and Afrikaans,
  16. so I think I'm going to choose the other one, Light Warlpiri.
  17. purely as I've never heard of it,
  18. so I think that must be the one.
  19. OK, well we'll find out if your intuition
  20. is correct later in the programme.
  21. Professor Lera Boroditsky is a cognitive scientist who was a guest
  22. on the BBC World Service programme The Conversation.
  23. She was asked about why we use
  24. the term mother tongue in English.
  25. Different languages actually do it differently,
  26. but definitely there's a strong association between mothers as primary caregivers
  27. and people who teach us things
  28. and so there's that point of origin
  29. metaphor that applies in a lot of languages.
  30. So how does she explain the use of mother tongue, Georgina?
  31. Well, she says it's a form of metaphor.
  32. A metaphor is a way of describing something
  33. by comparing it to something else.
  34. In a metaphor, though, you don't say
  35. that something is like something else.
  36. You say that it is something else.
  37. For example, having good friends is the key to a happy life.
  38. It is indeed.
  39. In this metaphor, language is seen
  40. as coming from your primary caregiver,
  41. the person who looked after you
  42. most when you were young, and traditionally this was mothers.
  43. So this is perhaps the point of origin,
  44. the starting place of the metaphorical phrase mother tongue.
  45. Let's listen again.
  46. Different languages actually do it differently,
  47. but definitely there's a strong association between mothers as primary caregivers
  48. and people who teach us things
  49. and so there's that point of origin
  50. metaphor that applies in a lot of languages.
  51. Language is very powerful in society and culture
  52. and when it comes to gendered
  53. language it can cause some issues.
  54. Here's Lera Boroditsky again.
  55. In English of course we have some words that are gendered like
  56. actor and actress or waiter and waitress.
  57. And very commonly when there are those two gender forms,
  58. people perceive the masculine form as being a more prestigious job
  59. or a more skilled job than the feminine form.
  60. So an actor is a fancier job than an actress.
  61. A waiter is a fancier job than a waitress.
  62. And so they could then come
  63. with pay disparities and so on.
  64. So what's the subconscious difference in attitude towards,
  65. for example, an actor and actress?
  66. Well, she says that people perceive those roles differently.
  67. This means that we are aware
  68. of or believe there is a difference
  69. in the jobs because of the vocabulary.
  70. The male form is perceived to be more prestigious, more important,
  71. more respected, even though it's exactly the same job.
  72. And this attitude can lead to problems such as disparities in pay.
  73. A disparity is a difference, an inequality.
  74. And in the world of work,
  75. it can mean men getting paid
  76. more than women for the same job.
  77. Here's Professor Boroditsky again.
  78. In English, of course,
  79. we have some words that are gendered like actor
  80. and actress or waiter and waitress.
  81. And very commonly when there are those two gender forms,
  82. people perceive the masculine form as being a more prestigious
  83. job or a more skilled job.
  84. than the feminine form.
  85. So an actor is a fancier job than an actress.
  86. A waiter is a fancier job than a waitress.
  87. And so they could then come
  88. with pay disparities and so on.
  89. Okay, before we take another look at today's vocabulary,
  90. let's reveal the answer to this week's quiz.
  91. Which of these languages is the newest?
  92. Is it A, Esperanto, B, Afrikaans, or C, like Wolperi?
  93. Georgina, what did you say?
  94. I thought it had to be light-wolpery,
  95. but just because I'd never heard of it before. Well, congratulations!
  96. Your instincts were good, that is correct.
  97. So let's move on to vocabulary and look
  98. at today's words and phrases again.
  99. A primary caregiver is a person
  100. who has most responsibility for looking after someone.
  101. A point of origin is the place or time when something begins.
  102. A metaphor is a way of describing something.
  103. We can say that something is something else that has similar qualities.
  104. You're a star.
  105. Oh, thank you.
  106. No, no, I meant you're a star
  107. is an example of a metaphor.
  108. Oh, OK. Of course I knew that.
  109. Yeah, OK, if you say so.
  110. To perceive is to think of something in a particular way.
  111. We might perceive the value of different jobs based
  112. on the vocabulary used to describe them.
  113. Something prestigious is important and respected.
  114. And finally, a disparity is a difference,
  115. an inequality and is often used when talking
  116. about how men and women aren't always paid
  117. the same for the same job.