Lopez 1

Sean Lopez

Whitney Gilchirist

ENC 2135-16

2 April 2017

Research Paper

Bilingualism: The Key to Effectiveness in Law Enforcement

Language is one of the most important skills we as people learn in our life time, though

its something we generally dont think about all too often. The ability to communicant with each

other and express our own individual ideas with anyone is so critical to our modern day world

that our society would collapse without it. Communication is how the world functions and how

the world solves problems as well as getting work done. People are always communicating with

each other all around the world making it seem like anyone from anywhere can talk to anyone.

But people seem to forget the huge obvious fact that truly limits our interactions with each other,

there are multiple languages.

When people are born, they learn the language of the region or culture they will grow up

in, this is how we truly learn languages but it is only one language out there. There are so many

languages in the world that having most people only learn one language is actually putting those

people at a disadvantage in life. Language can be a unifying bridge or a barrier between people.

When everyone knows the language being spoken, everything runs smoothly and everyone can

understand each other. When people dont know the language being spoken, the language barrier

takes hold. People can be discouraged to go out and interact with other people if there is the

language barrier. This barrier can lead to many problems in life and definitely hinder proper

communications amongst the world. It is one of the biggest problems in world communications
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that we face today. With this being said, there are those people in the world that learn multiple

languages and can fluently speak those languages.

Bilingualism is a skill that only a few can achieve normally. Not everybody can

successfully learning another language but those who do gain access to so much more

opportunities in life People who learn even just two languages have whole new worlds opened to

them. It allows those people to effectively communicate with two different population groups,

two different languages effectively doubles the pool of people one can assist. This is why it is

imperative that services like governmental services be done by bilingual people who can

effectively communicate with a much larger range of people than a person who only speaks one

language.

Even though some countries in the world have official languages it is never the only

spoken language. The U.S is a shining example of a country that doesnt have an official

language because there are so many different kinds of people living here, all with different

languages from around the world. A country as big as the U.S should know that its population

cant in any way possible only speak one language. The government cant therefore only

function using just one language, the need to use other languages becomes a more prevalent issue

(Hoffman). Government agencies and services can work even more efficiently if they took into

account the language barriers in the interaction part of their jobs. The government jobs that

would benefit the most from the focus on hiring bilingual people would be police departments.

Law enforcement is the governments most direct interaction with its people. It is here

where the barrier really shows as police officers cant get needed information from the people

that need them (Lehman). It can also happen the other way too, the people who called the police

officers for help would not be able to tell the officers what they need. Knowing even just two
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languages is a huge help for officers and would make their jobs easier to manage when they can

effectively communicate with people. Knowing multiple languages is the key to making

government interactions with people easier because it can open the door of clean, clear, and

efficient communication.

We all learn our first language when we are just little kids, primarily learning it from our

parents but exactly how does this process work in the brain? Why does this process happen so

easily when we are so young but prove to be more difficult when we are adults? Humans have

evolved so much with language as a critical part of our lives there are brain areas specifically

designed for interpreting and using language. The brain has two main areas where language

comprehension and the ability to speak a language are housed, the Wernickes area and the

Brocas area respectively (Ardila, 113). Back in the 18th-19th centuries, these areas were

discovered and led to a huge interest in these areas by the scientific community. Case studies

were done to help understand the purpose of these regions of the brain. Studies conducted by

Broca and Wernicke, hence the names of the areas today, studied people who have suffered brain

injuries and seem to exhibit problems in recognizing and speaking in the languages they were

fluent in before their accidents. In their studies, both case studies showed that problems

associated with recognition and understanding spoken language is linked to an area in the left

hemisphere where the posterior frontal lobe, the upper segment of the temporal lobe, and the

insula meet (Ardila, 113). This held true for a long time until the 20th century as more research

and new equipment became available. According to new studies conducted by Alfredo Ardila and

Jeffrey R Binder, with their respected teams, there may be more areas in the brain that have a

major involvement in language overall.

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The prevalence of the original areas of the Brocas area, the language production

(Ardila, 113) area, and the Wernickes area, the reception/understanding area (Ardila, 113),

still stands as the main areas of the brain associated with language. Alfredo Ardila and Jeffrey R

Binder claim that there are larger regions in the brain that encompass each area. In their studies,

they are all based on the Geschwind and associates' model and Luria's model which basically

defines the specific regions associated with certain language functions such as interpretation and

speaking by expanding on what regions of the brain are associated with the originally classified

Wernickes and Brocas areas. The Wernickes area according to the Geshwind and associates

model (Ardila, 114), the Wernickes area is linked to be the source of three major language issues

such as fluency, comprehension, and repetition. This leads to the classification that the pre-

rolandic aphasias, temporal lobe aphasias, and the perisylvian aphasias are all apart or rather now

added to what is deemed the Wernickes area. This covers the issues in the motor, sensory,

conduction, transcortical motor, subcortical motor, transcortical sensory, and subcortical sensory

parts in the brain (Ardila, 114). Under the Geshwind and associates model, this region is the

area that works as sort of a receptive (Binder, 353) area for language analysis and

identification. Whenever someone is spoken to, it is this region that tries to interpret the

language. It is here where our idea of comprehension comes from, understanding the language

we are born into is these regions stable role in the brain. This region links right into the brocas

area as well by being the other aspect of language, speaking the language. The brocas area is the

area of the brain used for expressing language, whether through speech or writing (Binder, 353).

This region is meant for executing and planning for speech, for communication in society.

Communicating is why our society can succeed as it does today, this region of the brain

evolved to specifically be tied with allowing us to express our ideas in a way that others can
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understand such as normal speech or written language. The Brocas area is where grammatical

issues and the inability to communicate effectively are born (Ardila, 144) and it is associated

with difficulty at the sentence level, particularly with sentences requiring the processing of

complex morphosyntactic structures (Nina F Dronkers, 145). With these areas now described

and studied by scientist over time, we have a better understanding in how these regions really

allow us to communicate with each other. When someone has an issue with communication via

some accident or brain damage, it is usually due to the fact these two regions have been injured

or impaired in some way. When we learn a language, these areas are programed to work and use

the current language as the basis for their function. This is the foundation for the rest of our lives

as the base language, the first language we learn is how we thus communicate with everyone

else. This process is only easy when we are young, but when we are older we tend to have a

much more difficult time trying to learn a new language. With these areas being geared to just

our original language, this could be the main reason why we cannot readily pick up a new

language (Nina F Dronkers, 150). It takes a lot longer to learn and become fluent with another

language, so it is for this reason that the effort to push for more bilingual people is deserving

more attention by the federal government to have more people who have this skill.

Bilingualism already takes up so much mental power and capacity that makes the mind

more effective at communicating with others (Nina F Dronkers, 150). With all this specialization

that takes place in the brain, those who can master more than one language have a significant

edge over people who only know one. They have a huge advantage in communication skills to

start off but they also have a prioritizing feature to them. A bilingual worker is always better than

a worker who isnt bilingual simply for the fact that they can interact and work using different

languages. Offering more flexibility with their work output in any field of work. For
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governmental work like law enforcement and other government services, the need for bilingual

workers will make their jobs overall better than dealing with the language barrier problem so

often.

Language barriers affect everyone and a perfect example of it is in Hispanic

neighborhoods all across the U.S. In these areas the majority spoken language is Spanish and the

local police departments officers are not all Spanish speakers. This already from the beginning

builds distrust in the community making the police officers jobs harder to do. This barrier

actually leads to people not calling 9-1-1 in cases of emergencies because the local police

department cannot help understand them (Lehman, 1). According to a 2014 news article by

Shereen Lehman, this language barrier in Hispanic neighborhoods leads to people being denied

aid in life threatening situation. The distrust and language barrier in Hispanic neighborhoods is a

concerning issue for the local police department. The local law enforcement is supposed to be

there to help the people in its local community, if the police cannot do that then they fail at their

job. Having the police fail their job is unacceptable, and these departments who have these

problems recognize it (Lehman, 2).

According to an article by Allan Hoffman, the demand for foreign language skills is at

an all time high as being able to speak multiple languages in law enforcement is definitely an

asset (Hoffman, 1). In Hoffmans article, he explains how having bilingual or multi-lingual

people in law enforcement is needed across the country, having Spanish being the most

important language to have. It is important to have languages incorporated into law enforcement

because they are used in: assisting crime victims, interviewing witnesses, fielding emergency

calls, listening to wiretaps, conducting community outreach programs (Hoffman, 1). Having
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these key functions work beyond the language barrier will lead to more efficient work done by

law enforcement.

In a study conducted by Svetlana Denisova, exposing and teaching police officers and

law enforcement workers the realities of multiple languages in a work place great widens ones

awareness to the issues of trying to serve people with different languages. Denisova states:

This approach leads to the formation of a qualitatively new attitude towards both

educational and actual, and professional (potential) activity used in the teaching process

of foreign language activity in situational modelling. (195).

This means that exposure to the use of foreign language activity in their work place brings a

greater realization and respect in the minds of officers, making them know that being able to

understand languages would be a huge benefit to the jobs they do. Language is such a crucial

aspect to serving a community of people. To truly conduct police work, the community and the

local law enforcement must be able to work together, trusting each other. When the language

barrier is no longer a hindering factor, trust can begin to develop and communities will be safer

and more at ease with its law enforcement, knowing that they can now rely on them.

In conclusion, communication is key to efficient work in all areas simply for the fact that

being able to communicate with more people and use our brains natural power of understanding

and expression allows for more productivity to be accomplished. Bilingualism allows for better

productivity when dealing with people to people communications, making it ideal for law

enforcement work. With so much brain power dedicated to our language skills, they should be

improved upon by encouraging the hiring or more bilingual people in law enforcement. With

more bilingual people in law enforcement, the interaction between the police departments and
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their communities will improve law enforcement work significantly since the community can

trust and rely on the departments that can understand them.

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Work Cited

Ardila, Alfredo, Byron Bernal, and Monica Rosselli. "How Localized are Language Brain

Areas? A Review of Brodmann Areas Involvement in Oral Language." Archives of

clinical neuropsychology 31.1 (2): 122; 122. Print.

Associated Press. Police Departments seeking more bilingual cops. NBCNEWS.com, 26

February. 2017, http://www.nbcnews.com/id/35822392/ns/us_news-

crime_and_courts/t/police-departments-seeking-more-bilingual-cops/#.WLNykPkrJPY

Binder, Jeffrey R., et al. "Human Brain Language Areas Identified by Functional Magnetic

Resonance Imaging." Journal of Neuroscience, vol. 17, no. 1, 1997, pp. 353-362.

Blandino, D.M., Rivardo, M.G. & Zbur, S.L. J Police Crim Psych (2010) 25: 43.

doi:10.1007/s11896-009-9051-1

Dronkers, Nina F., et al. "Lesion Analysis of the Brain Areas Involved in Language

Comprehension." Cognition, vol. 92, no. 1, 2004, pp. 145-

177doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2003.11.002.

Cho, Yong Won, et al. "Age-Related Differences in the Brain Areas Outside the Classical

Language Areas among Adults using Category Decision Task." Brain and language 120.3

(2012): 372-80. Print.

Denisova, Svetlana. "Situational Modelling in Teaching a Foreign Language to Law

Enforcement Officers." Internal Security, vol. 4, no. 1, 2012, pp. 195-200 Social Science

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url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1314741689?accountid=4840.

Hoffman, Allan. Wanted in Law Enforcement: Foreign-Language Skills. Monster.com, 26

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February. 2017, https://www.monster.com/career-advice/article/bilingual-skills-in-law-

enforcement

Lehman, Shereen. Language barriers and fear of police may prevent minority 911 calls.

Reuters, 25 February. 2017, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-minorities-cpr-

idUSKBN0K414U20141226

M&aring, et al. "Growth of Language-Related Brain Areas After Foreign Language Learning."

NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) 63.1 (2012): 240; 240. Print.