Is bilingual one word

What does bilingual mean?  When you hear the term “Bilingual” what do you think of? Is there a simple definition of bilingual?

Some say that bilingual means that a person is a native speaker of two languages. Others say bilingual means that someone is fluent in two languages.

There are also many who say that bilingual means simply to be able to communicate in two languages.

But, what is the true definition of being bilingual? What does bilingual really mean? And when can you actually call someone bilingual?

What is the definition of bilingual?

According to the Oxford Dictionary  the definition of bilingual is:

Bilingual as a Noun: “A person fluent in two languages”
Bilingual as an Adjective: “Speaking two languages fluently”

It really isn’t that simple, because the word “fluent” also can also mean different things to different people. And, it varies on who you speak to, or which research you read, as to how fluent someone needs to be, to be called bilingual.

Related: What does monolingual mean

How does someone become bilingual?

There are many ways someone can become bilingual.

Many people who are bilingual have acquired two languages from their early childhood.

They may have had parents who spoke two different languages with them (OPOL), or they may have lived in a community where the language spoken outside, was different to the one spoken at home. (MLAH).

Others may have been brought up with one language, and acquired another language later in life.

They may have studied the language at school, had a bilingual education, travelled, or learned for other reasons.

When can you call someone bilingual?

When you look at what it means to be bilingual, different people have different ideas on how fluent someone needs to be in the two languages they speak, to actually be considered bilingual.

“Speaking two languages fluently” is one definition. But if talk about monolinguals who speak only one language, and we consider everyone “fluent” in that language, there are many differences in the levels of “fluency.”

Sometimes the amount of education a person has received will influence the amount of vocabulary they have. Does it mean that someone less educated is less fluent in their native language?

The bilingual definition doesn’t seem so simple at all does it?

When can we call children bilingual?

Many people, including myself, call their children bilingual when they are raised to speak two languages, even if they are young and don’t yet speak those languages fluently.

After all, even a 3 year old who is bilingual, is only fluent in the languages he or she speaks, for the level of a 3 year old.

You can’t expect them to have the vocabulary of an adult at such a young age.

Also, some children learn quicker than others, some take a little more time to master both languages.

Does that mean we can still call them bilingual? Or should we wait until they have a full vocabulary?

I would think that if a child can speak their languages to the level of their peers, that those languages would be considered native, and therefore those children can be called bilingual.

However, there are some who would disagree if one language isn’t as fluent as the other.

Recommended: Balanced bilingualism: Is it possible and does it even matter?

What about reading and writing?

There is also the question of reading and writing. Does a person need to be able to speak, read and write in both languages to be called bilingual or biliterate?

Many people consider themselves bilingual if they have been brought up with two languages, even if they are not equally fluent in both, or if they can only read and write in one language.

Does that mean that we do not consider someone bilingual if they can not read in both languages, even if they are fluent speakers?

Professionals in the field say that not all bilinguals will have the same proficiency in both languages they speak anyway. In many cases, one of the languages is stronger.

Professor Francois Grosjean

Specialist in bilingualism Professor Francois Grosjean mentions in an article from his website:

“Bilinguals know their languages to the level that they need them. Some bilinguals are dominant in one languages, others do not know how to read and write one of their languages, others have only passive knowledge of a language and, finally, a small minority, have equal and perfect fluency in their languages. What is important to keep in mind is that bilinguals are very diverse, as are monolinguals”

To be bilingual means different things to different people

So, what does bilingual mean to you? Whatever your opinion, it may be different to your friends or other people you know.

How and why a person acquired their languages can influence their own, and others’ perception of the word bilingual.

While one person who was brought up in a bilingual household may not consider themselves bilingual because they feel they cannot speak both languages to the same level, another may believe they are bilingual as soon as they are able to express themselves comfortably in both languages.

While one person may not consider themselves bilingual simply because they learned a language later in life, rather than from birth, another who was brought up bilingually from birth may not consider themselves bilingual because they do not use the language anymore.

So what does bilingual mean?

There are definitions in a dictionary, and from professionals in the field, however sometimes it comes down to how a person feels being able to express themselves in both of their languages.

There are so many ways to be called bilingual. What does bilingual mean to you? What is the definition of bilingual in your opinion?

Read Next:

• Benefits of being bilingual
• What is monolingual
• What is a polyglot

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Through your English Language studies so far, you might have come across the term ‘Lingua Franca’.

A lingua franca is a language that is adopted as the common language used between speakers whose native languages are not the same. In other words, a lingua franca is a language learned by people speaking different native languages to enable them to communicate with one another.

What is bilingualism?

You can find different definitions, depending on the research. Bilingualism can be different. But there are two most popular types of bilingualism. The first is when parents speak different languages. The second is when children speak one language at home and a different one in kindergarten or at school. The popularity of bilingualism is growing due to globalisation.  

What’s essential to understand is that bilinguals do not study language as children do in a typical classroom. They “perceive” the language and the world, grow with it, as they live immersed in this language, in this linguistic, language environment. However, bilinguals usually have one dominating language, depending on what environment they are more immersed in, what language they’re more exposed to.

Peculiarities of bilingualism

Also, as it is said in The British Council research, there’s a correlation between learning languages and cognitive skills. For bilinguals, it’s much easier to learn foreign languages as they already have two language systems in their mind. The researches have shown that bilinguals concentrate and focus better on non-verbal tasks, for example, Maths. According to the researches, bilinguals are usually more creative, broad-minded and they can think out of the box. Moreover, they can look at things from different perspectives. They have better communicative skills and think broadly. In the future bilingualism open doors to studies, work, cultural development and exchange, and communication with foreigners.

Bilinguals have more potential for languages, although the same factors are important for them as for the other children: diligence, motivation, aptitude for certain languages: e.g. a child can be good at the European languages, but not at the Asian ones. When a person is bilingual, it doesn’t mean they are a polyglot, even though it often happens that they dedicate their life to languages.

Challenges of bilingualism

It’s also worth mentioning that bilinguals have a disadvantage: a bilingual child has less vocabulary in each language than a child of the same age and speaking the same language. In addition, the vocabulary depends on the context it’s learnt — for example, a home language can differ from the school one. But the total vocabulary size of all languages a child speaks is bigger.

Nowadays there’s a tendency among parents who speak a language, usually English, but they’re not native speakers: they want to “grow” bilingual children or at least create a language environment and make children “dive” into the language as deep as it’s possible. It’s an arguable topic. However, there are certain things to consider. Firstly, make sure you speak fluently and your level is Advanced or Proficient. Children have a silent period when they do not speak for a while, but they absorb everything, including parents’ mistakes, that can become fossilized mistakes in the future.

Secondly, choose a learning strategy. There’re three main strategies:

• when one parent always speaks one language, and another one — another language, no matter where they are.
• when you always use one language at home, but in kindergarten or at home a child speaks another language. For example, you speak Russian at home, and your child goes to an English school.
• when you use a language for certain activities, e.g. you watch cartoons or play games in English. However, this way is less systematic and the learning becomes sporadic.

All these strategies work, you can choose what’s more convenient for you, but what’s absolutely necessary is consistency and regularity.

Finally, always keep in mind your child’s motivation. Children need various activities, they need to speak and not just do the exercises in English. Speak, read in English, tell interesting stories, watch cartoons and movies, play board games. The more opportunities to learn a language a child has, the more effective the learning is.

If you’re able to speak two languages fluently, you can call yourself bilingual. In this age of global connectivity, many people are even multilingual and have mastered several languages. Why then is there a continuing discussion on what bilingual means? In the following, we’ll tackle the subject of native speakers, language proficiency, and even “translanguage”.

• What is Bilingualism?
• How do you become bilingual?
• Is bilingualism a question of proficiency?
• Bilingual language used as translanguage
• The benefits of being bilingual

What is Bilingualism?

Bilingual means speaking two languages fluently.

To begin, let’s take apart the word itself: the prefix “bi” signifies two, and “lingua” is the Latin word for “tongue” and “language”. Therefore a bilingual is someone who is able to speak two languages. Yet a look at the dictionary definition reveals a subtle addition.

The difference then is all in the fluency, because how fluent do you have to be for the label bilingual to apply?

How do you become bilingual?

When you are a native speaker, you can of course claim to be fluent in your mother tongue. But it is a common misconception that to be truly bilingual, you have to have acquired your second language (and additional ones) in early childhood already. Studies into language learning show that it is certainly easier to do so, but you can become bilingual later in life as well, in adolescence and in adulthood.

Certain factors might contribute to becoming bilingual, such as immigration, but also growing up in a multicultural household or neighborhood, or with a bilingual caretaker. But you can also acquire a second language through school or study alone and all by yourself.

Bilingualism occurs all around the world, at all ages and at all levels of society. For example, has an estimated 50 million bilinguals in the US. Being multilingual even in childhood is common in parts of India, and in many European countries, children learn at least one foreign language in school.

Is bilingualism a question of proficiency?

The belief exists that there is such a thing as true bilingualism where you have to have mastered both languages equally in order to call yourself bilingual. The ideal bilingual, you could argue, also has a deep understanding of history, culture, society, accent, and usage in order to understand and speak a language like a native.

The requirement of equal or total proficiency goes against how we commonly perceive bilinguals. Professor Emeritus François Grosjean in his work on bilingualism states that bilingual people know the two languages to the level that they need them to know. It is common for one language to be dominant, and biliteracy, the ability to read and write in both languages, does not have to be present.

Bilingual language used as translanguage

Translanguage happens when bilingual people combine their languages in new and creative ways to express themselves. It is not a shortcoming and doesn’t mean they have failed to master either of the two. Instead, this kind of linguistic dexterity is a sign of the deep connection and level of engagement with both languages.

However, terms like “Denglish” (Deutsch-English) or “Spanglish” (Spanish-English) can carry a derogatory connotation in the sense of a simplified mix-and-match approach to language use. The opposite is true: bilinguals are not lazy or stupid when they mix languages in this way. They borrow and switch back and forth among their repertoire to enhance their communication skills and freedom of expression as the situation requires. When talking to a monolingual, someone who only understands one language, bilingual people are capable of sticking to just that.

The benefits of being bilingual

It is also a myth that bilingual children take longer to acquire either language or suffer setbacks at school if they speak a different language at home. On the contrary, bilingualism has academic, cognitive, socio-cultural and even career advantages. Being bilingual leads to enhanced neuro-connectivity, fostering problem-solving and analytical skills as well as language learning and communication.

Multilingual people tend to exhibit a strong sense of identity and capacity to identify with others and other cultures. The greater access to culture, learning material and opportunities brings a further increase in beneficial options and chances.

If you’re bilingual, increasing your proficiency in either language furthers your already complex linguistic practices and expands your knowledge. But don’t let anyone put you down for calling yourself bilingual and not adhering to an impossible standard of fluency!

Jakob is a freelance writer in Barcelona, Spain, and his favorite books have pages all empty. As an expert storyteller, he publishes creative fiction in English and German and helps other authors shape their manuscripts into compelling stories. Thanks to an expertise in a wide range of topics such as writing, literature and productivity to marketing, travel, and technology, he produces engaging content for his clients. Apart from the escape that books offer, Jakob enjoys traveling digital nomad style and stays active with climbing and hiking. Find out more about him on his website, Twitter or on Goodreads.