"Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers."
The study of individuals who are fluent in more than one language and the effects of bilingualism on cognition and cultural identity.
Language acquisition: The study of how individuals acquire one or more languages.
Bilingualism and cognitive development: The impact of bilingualism on cognitive abilities.
Code-switching: The phenomenon of switching between languages or dialects in a single conversation.
Sociolinguistics and language contact: The study of how languages interact in societies where multiple languages are spoken.
Language attrition: The gradual loss of a language as it becomes less frequently used and eventually forgotten.
Language planning and policy: The ways in which governments and other organizations manage language use and promote multilingualism.
Language revitalization: The efforts to revive and promote endangered languages.
Heritage language education: Teaching and maintaining a language in individuals who have a familial or cultural connection to it.
Linguistic relativity: The theory that language shapes the way we think about and understand the world around us.
Theoretical models of bilingualism: The various theories that attempt to explain and describe bilingualism and multilingualism.
Balanced Bilingualism: Refers to individuals who have equal fluency and proficiency in their two languages. They are often able to use both languages interchangeably in various contexts.
Compound Bilingualism: Describes individuals who develop a second language within a different cultural setting. By doing so, the individual has to learn the new language while being exposed to new cultural and social norms.
Covert Bilingualism: Individuals who are bilingual, but this is not overtly expressed in their communication, they may not reveal it until necessary.
Dominant Bilingualism: Individuals who are fluent in two languages but are dominant in one of them. They typically use one language more frequently and may prefer it over the other in specific settings.
Early Bilingualism: Refers to children raised in a bilingual environment from an early age. They typically develop fluency in both languages simultaneously.
Incipient Bilingualism: Occurs when individuals begin to learn a second language, but they haven't yet reached fluency.
Individual Bilingualism: Describes individuals who learn two languages by themselves, without any external assistance or support.
Simultaneous Bilingualism: Describes individuals who acquire both languages at the same time, usually during their early childhood years.
Late Bilingualism: Occurs when individuals learn a second language in adulthood or later in life, after their first language has already been established.
Subtractive Bilingualism: Refers to individuals who learn a second language but become less proficient in their first language as a result. This type of bilingualism can be a result of social, economic, or educational factors.
Sequential Bilingualism: Refers to individuals who learn a second language after they have already developed proficiency in their first language. This type also often occurs in migrants who move to a new language environment.
Elite Multilingualism: Describes individuals who are highly proficient in multiple languages and frequently use them in a professional context, such as diplomats or translators.
Plurilingualism: Refers to individuals who speak more than two languages fluently, often used in the context of multilingual communities or countries.
Simultaneous Multilingualism: Describes individuals who grow up in a multilingual environment, in which they learn multiple languages simultaneously from an early age.
Sequential Multilingualism: Refers to individuals who learn multiple languages in a specific sequence, often in a educational setting, to reach higher proficiency.
"It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population."
"More than half of all Europeans claim to speak at least one language other than their mother tongue."
"But many read and write in one language."
"Multilingualism is advantageous for people wanting to participate in trade, globalization and cultural openness."
"Owing to the ease of access to information facilitated by the Internet, individuals' exposure to multiple languages has become increasingly possible."
"People who speak several languages are also called polyglots."
"Multilingual speakers have acquired and maintained at least one language during childhood, the so-called first language (L1)."
"Children acquiring two languages natively from these early years are called simultaneous bilinguals."
"It is common for young simultaneous bilinguals to be more proficient in one language than the other."
"People who speak more than one language have been reported to be better at language learning when compared to monolinguals."
"Multilingualism in computing can be considered part of a continuum between internationalization and localization."
"Due to the status of English in computing, software development nearly always uses it."
"Some commercial software is initially available in an English version, and multilingual versions, if any, may be produced as alternative options based on the English original."
"Owing to the ease of access to information facilitated by the Internet, individuals' exposure to multiple languages has become increasingly possible."
"Multilingualism is advantageous for people wanting to participate in trade, globalization and cultural openness."
"The first language (sometimes also referred to as the mother tongue) is usually acquired without formal education, by mechanisms about which scholars disagree."
"Children acquiring two languages natively from these early years are called simultaneous bilinguals."
"It is common for young simultaneous bilinguals to be more proficient in one language than the other."
"Some commercial software is initially available in an English version, and multilingual versions, if any, may be produced as alternative options based on the English original."