Читать книгу The Mysteries of Bilingualism. Unresolved Issues онлайн

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Since the turn of the century, those who use fluency or proficiency as the main criterion have been much less demanding of bilinguals. They are aware that the majority of bilinguals do not have equal proficiency in their languages, many have an accent in at least one of their languages, and many acquired their other language(s) at different points in life, and not just as children. They use their languages for different purposes, in different domains of life, to accomplish different things and so their level of proficiency in a language depends on their need for that language (Grosjean 2013).

This is starting to be reflected in the definitions proposed. For example, Luna, Ringberg, and Peracchio (2008) state that bilingualism is the “ability to communicate relatively well – including the ability to speak, understand, read, and write – in two different languages.” And De Houwer (2019) actually goes all the way to simply accepting an ability to comprehend two languages. She defines a bilingual interlocutor as “a person who is in principle able to understand two (or more) language varieties at levels that are minimally appropriate for a given life stage.” Finally, some researchers have decided to remain neutral on the topic of fluency. Thus, Li Wei (2007), states that a bilingual is “someone with the possession of two languages,” and similarly Dewaele, Housen and Li Wei (2003) write that bilingualism is “the presence of two or more languages.”