WHEN FRENCHWOMAN Isabelle O’Neill’s two sons were born, she bid them welcome in her native tongue. And subsequent trips through Irish supermarket aisles were also conducted en français, basic household items taking on a Gallic air.
Now aged 12 and 10, Isabelle’s boys speak perfect French and English at home in Carrigaline, Co Cork. They’ve “no trouble” with Irish either, outlines their mum, who’s originally from Lille in northern France.
A linguist by profession, Isabelle – living in Ireland for 14 years and married to Irishman Seán O’Neill – felt that being bilingual (and now multilingual) would benefit the two boys.
Indeed, her approach is State-approved. Údarás na Gaeltachta, the agency charged with promoting the Irish language, actively advocates bilingualism. It says children who learn two languages have “a head start” in reading and counting, and “often do better in exams later on”.
Having more than one language can also give children a sound foundation for learning a third or even fourth language, says the agency.
But Isabelle O’Neill says that, in practice, the benefits of bi- and multi-lingualism are often dismissed in Ireland.
“People were telling me all the time, ‘You need to speak to them in English, you are in an English-speaking country,’” recounts Isabelle, of speaking in French to her children.
This was irritating, she agrees, more so as teachers have been among those espousing such a message.
“I did have trouble with teachers,” confirms the Frenchwoman. She has also encountered more recent immigrants who’ve been discouraged within their local communities from raising bilingual children.
According to Isabelle, who is a member of Bilingual Forum Ireland, there is a perception that bilingual children will be academically ‘slowed’ by their language abilities. But the linguist believes children with two or more languages are particularly mentally agile. She also feels it influences their world outlook.
“Bilingual children are quicker to see the differences in the world; they are more open-minded, they accept differences more easily,” she says.
At home in Carrigaline, when Isabelle communicates directly to her sons she usually speaks in French. But when the O’Neill family gather for dinner, English is spoken (husband Seán does not speak French).
Moreover, when the family journey to France to visit Isabelle’s family, they are impressed at the boys’ language ability – their regional accent mimicking that of their mum, despite being born and raised in Ireland.
Having enjoyed such benefits within her own family, Isabelle feels the advantages of bi- and multi-lingualism need to be better communicated to educators and the general public in Ireland.
– Catherine Reilly
