On 21 February 2021, Manchester will again be celebrating UNESCO International Mother Language Day (IMLD). This year’s activities will be held online to accommodate to the pandemic conditions. For the second time, they are being coordinated by the City of Literature initiative based in Manchester’s local authority. In this blog, Professor Yaron Matras, Dr Daniele […]
A tale of cities: Local diasporas hold a key to strengthening international outreach
The publication of Government guidance on social distancing saw a delay between the release of the English language version and the guidance being provided in different languages. In this blog, Professor Yaron Matras examines this disparity and suggests a new policy to prevent a similar issue arising in the future. The release of social distancing […]
Improving the census question on ‘language’ could help repair community relations and Britain’s international image post-Brexit
Yaron Matras, Professor of Linguistics, discusses the importance of changing the census question “What is your main language?” and the impact this change could have. The census question on language lacks a clear definition of what it means by ‘main language’ and forces multilingual households to select just one language. The Brexit debate includes conversations […]
The case against Linguaphobia
In the wake of Brexit, universities have a duty to promote the benefits of linguistic diversity more than ever, says Yaron Matras. Brexit represents the triumph of insularity and isolationism – that is the view shared by most of those who promote the teaching and learning of modern languages in Britain. The anti-immigration rhetoric, which […]