Читать книгу The Mysteries of Bilingualism. Unresolved Issues онлайн

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I insist on two or more languages in my definition as some people use more than two languages regularly. If one wants to be specific regarding a particular person, one can specify exactly how many languages they use on a regular basis by using words like “trilingual,” “quadrilingual,” “quintilingual,” etc. As for the word, “multilingual,” many prefer to use “bilingual,” as “multilingual” is mainly used to characterize societies or countries (e.g., Switzerland is a multilingual country). In addition, at least in Western societies, the majority of bilinguals only use two languages regularly, reinforcing the bi- in bilingual even though they may know several others. For example, I know some Italian, Spanish, American Sign Language, and even Latin, but I only use English and French on a regular basis. Thus, in terms of language use, I am only bilingual. Finally, dialects is in the definition I propose, and it is starting to appear in others too, as in some parts of the world (e.g., Italy, Switzerland, Arabic-speaking countries, etc.), dialects are a linguistic reality and people can be bilingual in a majority language and a dialect. They can also be trilingual in a national language, and in two dialects, for example. A final point should be made regarding emphasizing language use in definitions. I have found that it allows many people who live with two or more languages to accept their bilingualism and be proud of who they are. This they could not do when fluency – often equal fluency – in two or more languages was the main criterion for identifying oneself as bilingual.