Introducing the ideas of linguistics to a younger audience
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 15:29:00 GMT
First there was Babel and now, alongside, there is Lingo, which is aimed at youngsters of later primary school and earlier secondary school age
A LIVELY new magazine edited by experts at the University of Huddersfield aims to excite young children about the nuts and bolts of language and speech. It could also lend weight to a growing campaign for linguistics to become an A-level subject in its own right.
Lesley Jeffries and Dan McIntyre (pictured below), who are professors in the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages at the University, were co-creators of the popular language magazine, Babel. First published in 2012, it has reached its 13th edition and now has a global readership.“We discovered that Babel was popular with school teachers as well as the wider public and this made us realise that introducing the ideas of linguistics to a younger age group would be a good idea,” said Professor Jeffries.
So she and Professor McIntyre devised a companion magazine aimed at schoolchildren, named Lingo. A pilot edition – in print and electronic form – earned excellent feedback and now Issue Two is on the market.
Packed with puzzles and brain teasers, the new edition includes articles on consonants and vowels, the differences between American and British English, the unusual origins of various words for toilet, an investigation into the number of languages in the world – 7,102 on one estimate – and how to be a mind-reader by using your language skills. There is also the start of a series titled The Complete and Utter History of English (Without the Boring Bits), plus a wide range of other exciting features.
The magazine is mostly written by an in-house University of Huddersfield team, including the two professors and their assistant editor Hazel Price, who is a PhD candidate and Research Information and Communications Officer for the Institute for Applied Linguistics.
The main target readership is youngsters of later primary school and earlier secondary school age. The fact that learning a second language is now mandatory from primary school upwards is another factor that makes Lingo relevant, said Professor Jeffries.
“There is a need for material not just in the languages that they are learning, but which creates awareness how languages do things differently,” she added. “Both our magazines were welcomed very warmly at the Language Show Live at Olympia recently.”
The new magazine is deliberately designed to be bright and colourful, influenced by the children’s comics of earlier generations.
“We all remember that feeling of excitement as a child when your comic came through the door!” said Professor Jeffries.
Linguistics A-level
It is currently possible to study linguistics as a component of English A-level, but there is a mounting argument that the subject deserves to be a course in its own right. This would then aid the teaching of the subject at university level, because lecturers would have to devote less time to the introductory basics, said Professor Jeffries. It is hoped that Lingo will help advance the case by stimulating interest at an earlier age.
Professor Jeffries firmly believes that there is an appetite among lively-minded children for knowledge about linguistics. “People are interested in the subject in the same way that they are interested in history. Everyone speaks, and everyone is interested in language.”
And in the world beyond education, linguistic skills can be vital, argues Professor Jeffries, who has carried out research on language and conflict.
“People need to be more aware of how language works when they are trying to resolve conflict as it might enable them to avoid it in the first place.”
- Lingo is published once every school term. For more information and subscriptions, visit http://lingozine.com/ or write to Lingo Magazine, School of Music, Humanities and Media, West Building, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK.
