Bilingualism 1

1. Bilingualism 1 • Everybody knows what bilingual means; yet…as soon as we start trying to define the concept precisely, things get very complicated. This is not just hair splitting: if bilingualism is complex, it is because it is directly related to complex issues (Riley, 1986: 31).

2. Three Questions • What is a bilingual society? • Where can they be found? • What are the functions of and attitudes toward languages in bilingual societies?

3. What is bilingualism?

4. No one speaks the whole of a language • ‘Stubs to can wall penetration welds’ are? • ‘Injury and tort’ • A ‘treble top’

5. Recognizing languages as different tools • There are many definitions • None is satisfactory

6. One • The mastery of two or more languages—bilingualism or multilingualism—is a special skill. Bilingualism and multilingualism are relative terms since individuals vary greatly in types and degrees of language proficiency (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1965).

7. Two • Bilingualism is native-like control of two languages…Of course, one cannot define a degree of perfection at which a good foreign speaker becomes a bilingual: the distinction is relative (L. Bloomfield, 1933).

8. Three • Bilingualism is understood…to begin at the point where the speaker of one language can produce complete, meaningful utterances in the other language (E. Haugen, 1953)

9. Two Issues • Bilingual individuals are part of a society • --contact between speakers • The relative nature of bilingualism • --degrees of bilingualism

10. Relative competence versusrelative use. • He speaks Swedish and Italian equally well. • He speaks Swedish and Italian everyday.

11. Where can we find bilingual societies? • Where there is contact between linguistic groups: ---political, economic (Examples: Mexico, USA) • Historical and political changes: ---changing borders, (example: Alsace, France) • Widespread bilingualism: Swahili, Tanzania

12. Monolingual and bilingual countries • Half the population • Contradicts unilingualism absolute link to national and individual identity • Official bilingualism does not indicate high percentage of bilinguals and vise versa. • Examples: France and Tanzania versus Canada and Belgian

13. What are the functions of and attitudes toward languages in bilingual societies? • Diaglossia: (Ferguson , 1959) --- high form and low form ----urban (Madina, Ghana) or rural (New Guinea) ---trades and occupations

14. Example of Diaglossia: Paraguay • Two languages spoken: Spanish and Guarani • Choice of language determined by context • Joan Rubin’s four contextual factors: 1. Location of interaction 2. Degree of formality 3. Degree of intimacy 4. Seriousness of discourse

15. Decline of Indigenous languages in bilingual communities Chorti Maya (Mexico) • Proximity to dominant language • Political and economic factors • Upward social mobility

16. Summary • Bilingualism is difficult to define ----depending of the purpose of the particular language use • More than half of the population is bilingual ---monolingualism versus bilingualism • The functions of and attitudes of languages in depend on social contexts ---diaglossia: High and low form: depend on context