Basic questions: Am I mul-ti-lin-gual? Am I "endangered species" as a multilingual? Am I polyglot as well?!
You will notice a recurring word on this website. Actually, you’ve already read it in its title. Yes, yes, that long one, mul-ti-lin-guals. And maybe you’re wondering if these articles are for you. “Am I a multilingual?“, you’re probably asking yourself. And to your surprise, there are high chances you are one.
Let’s see. Can you understand a foreign language even on a basic level? Do you listen to e.g. interviews or watch movies in a language that is not your native one? Can you speak both a dialect and the standard language? Is the answer YES to any of the questions above? If so, congratulations, you’re a multilingual!
Look around and answer these questions in relation to the people you know. Count for how many of them you answer NO to all of these questions. You end up with a surprisingly low number, right?
If you prefer to listen to this article instead of reading it, I recorded it for you at the end of this page.
A long and sophisticated word like multilinguals defines a large group of people who, no matter where they are located in the world, can speak or understand several languages at least on a beginner’s level. The definitions for multilinguals vary and some of them include speakers of dialects as well, as dialects are regarded in this case as separate languages, given their particular phonetic and grammar features.
Shortly, a multilingual is a person who is able to use several languages.
Here are some academic definitions of closely related concepts such as the multilingual competency and multilingualism:
“Multilingual competency is the capacity to use several languages appropriately and effectively for communication in oral or written language“.
(Cenoz & Genesee 1998 cited in Hoffmann & Ytsma 2004, page 17 – see full references in the end of the article).
“Multilingualism is the ability of societies, institutions, groups and individuals to engage, on a regular basis, with more than one language in their day-to-day lives“.
European Commission (2009). Final report: High level group on multilingualism – see full reference in the end of the article).
And since we’re at it, I made a short list of synonyms, antonyms and further related concepts that might be useful to you. On May 7th, 2020, I turned to the Cambridge online dictionary for easily understandable definitions of the chosen concepts.
‣ polyglot – often used as a synonym for “multilingual” (here defined as a noun): someone who can speak or use several different languages.
‣ monolingual – often used as an antonym for “multilingual” (here defined as an adjective): using one language as the main language. It may be used also as a noun, e.g. when referring to a person who uses one language.
‣ bilingual (here defined as an adjective): able to speak or use two languages. It may be used also as a noun, e.g. when referring to a person who can use two languages.
‣ native language: the first language that you learn.
‣ second language: a language that a person can speak that is not the first language they learnt naturally as a child.
Although multilingualism may still be considered nowadays as exceptional and geographically restricted to metropoles and countries with several official languages, it is a globally spread phenomenon for more than half of the population (an exact percentage is difficult to be calculated, considering that the number of world languages is still under debate). This means that multilingual speakers outnumber the monolinguals – see how I could guess that there are good chances you’re a multilingual?
Migration has, of course, something to do with this wide spread. But that is also nothing new, as opening a history book easily reminds us. Therefore I see no reason why people who have migrated themselves or are born in families that migrated are still regarded as something exceptional. Actually, when I learnt for the first time about these facts, I was disappointed that I’m not so special after all! But once I told my ego to check that history book again, I felt comfort in knowing that the struggles I was facing as a multilingual are shared by so many others.
This creates a wide range of possibilities to learn from each other and make our lives with several languages easier. We don’t necessarily have to use fancy terms to describe ourselves, but it may be helpful to know which community we can turn to for advice. And thus to no longer see our multilingualism as something particular and to learn to be proud about it, as special or as ordinary as it may be.
Yours confidently,
Corina
Full references for the sources cited in this article:
Cenoz, J. & Genesee, F. (eds.). (1998). Beyond Bilingualism: Multilingualism and Multilingual Education. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Hoffmann, C., & Ytsma, J. (2004). Trilingualism in family, school, and community. Bilingual education and bilingualism: Vol. 43. Clevedon, Buffalo, Toronto, Sydney: Multilingual Matters.
European Commission (2009). Final report: High level group on multilingualism. Luxembourg: European Communities. Retrieved from https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/b0a1339f-f181-4de5-abd3-130180f177c7 on May 12th, 2020.