Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The term “multilingualism” can refer to either the language use or the competence of an individual or to the language situation in an entire nation or society. However, at the individual level it is generally subsumed under “bilingualism.” This may be because, while there are probably more bilinguals in the world than monolinguals, there are not perceived to be so many people who use more than two languages habitually. There are, of course, many rich multilingual situations in the world (see, e.g., Khubchandani, 1988, on India and Søndergaard, 1991, on the Dano-German border, to cite only two researched areas). For individuals, “normative” definitions (Van Overbeke, 1972) requiring those termed bi - or multilinguals to have equal competence in the languages, to have acquired them simultaneously, or to use them in the same contexts have proved unrealistic (cf. Haugen, 1973). Thus definitions now tend to be general (“methodological” in Van Overbeke's sense). A common definition of “multilingualism” would then be – “the use of more than one language” or “competence in more than one language.” This allows for further refinement in the actual description to cover different levels of command or use of the various languages.At the societal or national level, we have to distinguish between “official” and “de facto” multilingualism. For instance, Switzerland is an officially multilingual ... log in or subscribe to read full text