To this day, the talk behind the global pandemic of COVID-19 is still ongoing and active. As people attempt to go back to their daily lives and society attempts to attain some form of ‘normalcy’, everyone is starting to realize that the effects of this virus are unfortunately something we are going to have to live with. There are an infinite number of individuals and overall components in society that have been impacted by this ongoing virus. An obvious effect of this pandemic has to do mainly with social interactions/speech. To further clarify, the global pandemic has impacted many factors of speech and social interactions, such as language acquisition, children’s speech, language skills, and even one’s accent or pronunciation.
Language is clearly a very crucial part of social interaction and culture, but it is also important for many reasons in life. Unfortunately, the individuals that have been impacted the most regarding social interactions and language acquisition are children. From infants to toddlers and children of all ages, the impact the pandemic has had on children is significant due to them not having exposure to social interactions. To make things even worse, masks have tremendously made it more difficult for many individuals, but especially children to understand facial expressions or word pronunciation that is illustrated by linguistic signals. In an academic journal published on The Conversation, Yvonne Wren mentions that “In school and pre-school, children may struggle to differentiate between similar sounds, such as “p” and “t”, when their teacher is wearing a mask. That can impact on a child’s speech development or their phonological awareness…”. It is quite upsetting reading and learning about how many children’s experiences of learning and socializing at such an important stage in life is being taken away. However, there are still many resources and opportunities for children to acquire such language skills if given the proper support.
In another study, the researchers focus on language acquisition and bilingualism regarding the impact both skills have on neuroplastic changes in the brain. Jonathan Beken who is one of the researchers from the academic journal titled “Early bilingualism, language attainment, and brain development” provided a significant amount of details and information on what cellular changes or neuroplastic changes occur in the brain when an individual is exposed to an experience or a specific environment such as a bilingual environment. Interestingly enough, it was noted that “At the microscopic level, an enriched bilingual environment during the neonatal period may result in a cascade of biochemical events that increase production of the cellular substrates that regulate neuroplasticity…” (Berker et al.). However, something to evaluate and consider is how the pandemic has restricted newborns/children from social interactions and language.
The list of skills and factors that the global pandemic has impacted keeps growing, and as the time goes on, researchers are beginning to notice the effects. As mentioned earlier, masks imposed another barrier for language comprehension such as simply speaking to another person. The way words are said must be carefully pronounced and emphasized for the other person to hear or interpret correctly. A journal published in Nature titled “Has the pandemic changed the way we communicate” by David Westgarth, mentions that “Research shows high-frequency sounds are reduced by 12 dBs when wearing an N95 mask…They muffle sounds, and with more than half of the face covered, it is more difficult to decipher facial expressions.” Now more than ever, understanding what other people are saying can be difficult, especially if a person has an accent, but it is imperative for people to do their best during times like these to speak as clearly as possible.
Overall, there have been lots of setbacks and adjustments made to our daily lives. Noticing the effects of the pandemic is imperative so that people and society can immediately confront any arising problems or changes that can negatively impact our lives, either socially or physically. Another quite surprising finding indicated from a linguist at the University of Munich known as Jonathan Harrington from an article published on the Miami Herald is that isolation during the pandemic could have potentially impacted one’s language accent depending on the environment one is isolated in. It is important to note that there are still numerous ongoing studies and many researchers that are investigating the effects that this pandemic has had on people’s speech skills, social interactions, and language acquisition. As society begins to stride toward ‘normalcy’ and people resume back to their daily routines, it is crucial to ensure that the wellbeing of oneself and others involved in one’s life are supported so that the impact of the global pandemic on individuals is not significant.
Works Cited
Berken, Jonathan A., et al. “Early Bilingualism, Language Attainment, and Brain Development.” Neuropsychologia, vol. 98, 2017, pp. 220–227., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.08.031.
Camero, Katie. “Can Covid-19 Isolation Change How You Speak ... - Miami Herald.” Miami Herald, 2022, https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article242209391.html.
Westgarth, David. “Has the Pandemic Changed the Way We Communicate?” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 9 Aug. 2021, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41404-021-0845-x.
Wren, Yvonne. “How Lockdown Has Affected Children's Speech – and What Parents Can Do to Help.” The Conversation, 28 Feb. 2022, https://theconversation.com/how-lockdown-has-affected-childrens-speech-and-what-parents-can-do-to-help-160886.
No comments:
Post a Comment