{"id":617,"date":"2021-01-11T08:33:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T07:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.swaplanguage.com\/?p=617"},"modified":"2021-01-11T08:33:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T07:33:00","slug":"who-are-bilinguals-trilinguals-and-polyglots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.claireb.dk\/index.php\/2021\/01\/11\/who-are-bilinguals-trilinguals-and-polyglots\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is a Bilingual, Multilingual or Polyglot?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Are You Bilingual?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Updated January 11, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You might have encountered people claiming that they are bilingual or the term bilingualism, especially if you are a part of an international community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bilingual <\/em>is an individual who can communicate in two languages on a native level (or with a very high proficiency). According to Webster\u2019s dictionary, a bilingual means \u201chaving or using two languages with the fluency and characteristics of a native speaker\u201d. At the same time it may mean \u201cthe constant oral use of two languages.\u201d Oxford\u2019s dictionaries define bilinguality as \u201cspeaking two languages fluently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems rather straightforward, doesn\u2019t it? But wouldn\u2019t it make us all who have English as a second language, bilingual? Let\u2019s see what science has to say about this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Language You Speak and Think <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cYou have to THINK in English,\u201d I remember my teacher saying when I started learning my second language. \u201cTHINK in this language, and the talking will be much easier.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A piece of pretty handy advice: You see, even without knowing the scientific facts, my English teacher knew that learning a language is not only about speaking it but also about what was going on behind the scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to linguists, every language has at least two primary purposes. Firstly, it is the interpersonal communication (expressing something). Secondly, it is the cognition (thinking or meaning something). Bilingualism is, in this case, not only the ability to speak other languages but also the ability to think and create unique structures in that language. Paraphrasing your mother language into English (or your other language) is not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being bilingual-Did you know\u2026?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bilingualism and Bilinguality <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term bilingualism is commonly used to refer to communities where two languages are accepted and used by the majority of the individuals. For example, French and English in Canada. Bilinguality, on the other hand, refers to the state of an individual, stating that he or she can independently use two linguistic codes. A person speaking only one language would, therefore, be monolingual. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is essential to state that not all the theories of bilinguality require individuals to think in the second language. Yet, the recent ones do require more than simply translating from a native tongue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Polyglot Case: Speaking Twenty Different Languages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Polyglot is a person that has mastered several foreign languages. Polyglotism is a synonym to multilingualism, yet it stands for a person that has learned additional languages as a hobby. To put it simply: polyglots learn languages for the sake of learning languages. In contrast, multilingualism is usually a term for a community where more than two languages are spoken and used in everyday life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polyglotism has recently exploded in popularity, mainly because of the easy access to foreign languages via the internet. See the video below where an American teenager speaks twenty different languages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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