What is Bilingualism? The Importance of Speaking Languages

It is easy to recognize that the phenomenon that gives the title to this text is in vogue. These days we don’t talk about any kind of bilingualism clear.

From the small prehistoric tribes that, precisely because of their small size, needed to understand each other with their neighbors to negotiate, to, for example, the koine From ancient Greece, the ability to speak several languages ​​has always been present and has been an essential characteristic of the most primitive societies.

What is bilingualism?

The bilingualism we live in today is that of a massively globalized world, with a clearly prevailing lingua franca (English) and minority languages ​​that are exposed to the entire world to a greater or lesser extent. The possibility of being bilingual today means the virtual possibility of knowing any language that exists right now somewhere on the planet

And all this because, at some point in human evolution, the brain became so complex and moldable that it became capable of laying the foundations for a linguistic system, all its possible variants, and the ability to learn them. How is this explained?

A priori, almost all definitions of bilingualism understand that in bilingual people there is a mother tongue or dominant language, and a second language (speaking less rigorously, it can be understood that it can also occur when there is more than one “secondary” language, or go on to talk about multilingualism), and it is very rare that this hierarchical distinction between languages ​​is ignored by simply remaining in the definition of bilingualism as the ability to master two languages. Ambilingual or equilingual people are practically non-existent. Therefore, in the vast majority of cases the bilingual person will have a primary language (L1) and at least one secondary language (L2).

However, we have not yet offered a complete definition. That’s because the very conceptualization of bilingualism is a controversial topic. Just as some authors may defend that this only occurs when a person controls the grammatical structures of L1 and L2, there are also definitions of bilingualism as the ability to have a minimum competence in speaking, understanding, reading and writing a language other than one. the maternal one.

Types of bilingualism

It is useful to know the distinction between additive bilingualism and extractive bilingualism

This classification responds to cases in which one language complements the other (the first category) and to those in which one language tends to replace the other. This substitution mechanism would be explained by the habits, customs and contexts linked to the use of the languages ​​that the same person masters, rather than by the biological structures common to all human beings. If one language is more valued than another, has more prestige, is listened to more or there are simply no communicative situations in which one of the languages ​​can be used, the mastery of one of the languages ​​will end up diminishing. This process is not explained, therefore, by neuropsychological bases, but it still exists.

Another important distinction is that of simultaneous bilingualism and successive bilingualism

The first is the result of exposure to different languages ​​during very early stages of growth, even in the pre-linguistic stages of the first months of life. In the second, a language is learned when there is already a well-established primary language. These are constructs made to explain the differences in the mastery of L1 over L2, these being more evident in cases of successive bilingualism.

The development of bilingualism

The fit between the primary language and the secondary language is made from the first exposure to speech. The first thing that appears is a phonology cross-language: that is, a phonology that uses a repertoire of phonemes that is practically the same in both languages. Then there would be parallel development in terms of phonetics, morphology and syntax, and finally the awareness of bilingual ability (and, therefore, the ability to translate deliberately).

In later stages, learning the contextual use of different languages, the language is related to attitudes, affects, specific situations, etc. subconsciously. That is, it becomes a contextual tool. That is why, for example, some people always speak Catalan in academic contexts, even though there is no written or unwritten rule that requires it. We must not forget that linguistic acquisition and production is mediated by the environment, and it is in a specific context that a language is used.

The scientifically proven advantages of speaking several languages

There is scientific consensus that At younger ages there is more brain plasticity That is, the brain is more sensitive to external stimuli that produce changes in the nervous system. This plasticity allows learning new languages ​​with relative ease (there is even talk of critical periods, establishing a time threshold up to which any language can be learned quickly), and this learning in turn entails many other advantages. The main advantage of these young learners is not only the speed with which they can begin to speak in another language: their ability to faithfully pronounce the phonemes of the secondary language in comparison to successive bilinguals is also significant.

This coincides with the fact of the “unlimited range of phonemes” that newborns have. As a general rule, the closer the birth and learning of a new language are in time, the less likely it is that the ability to differentiate and produce certain phonemes used in that language has been lost.

On the other hand, adults, when learning a language, have resources that younger children cannot have. The most obvious is cognitive capacity, but also the possibility of self-motivation, deliberate learning, etc. However, beyond developmental psychology, what makes learning multiple languages ​​possible is necessity. In that sense, Both simultaneous and successive bilinguals use languages ​​in response to a given context

There are many criteria to explain and predict people’s bilingual development. From a more positivist perspective, the variable “exposure to a language” measured according to the time during which the subject is subjected to each language seems valid to us. The same occurs with the variable “language to which one has been exposed before”. However, going further we could also consider variables such as the child’s feelings for the speaker of each language (in his closest environment, of course), the context in which he uses each language and consequently the need linked to the use of each language. However, this type of qualitative analysis escapes the pretensions of most lines of research, which are more focused on a work or academic environment defined by the asepsis and unidimensionality of human relationships.

In context

The ability of the human mind to learn more than one language can be understood as both an advantage and a limitation. There is no doubt that this is an advantage in that allows the emergence of new ways of thinking, feel and even solve problems. There is even talk of advantages for the brain beyond the linguistic field. However, the ability to master languages ​​is also a limitation in a world in which knowledge and skill have become features traits that help position oneself in a competitive world always demanding new and greater skills.