What is bilingualism? The importance of speaking languages

It is easy to recognize that the phenomenon that gives 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 get along with their neighbors to negotiate, to, for example, the koine of the ancient Greece, the ability to speak several languages ​​has always been present and has been an inalienable 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 (English) and minority languages ​​but that to a greater or lesser extent are exposed to the entire world. The possibility of being bilingual today means the virtual possibility of knowing any language that exists right now anywhere on the planet..

And all this because, at some point in human evolution, the brain became so complex and malleable that it became Being able to lay 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 or dominant language, and a second language. (Speaking in a less rigorous way, it can be understood that it can also occur when there is more than one "secondary" language, or it can go on to speak of multilingualism), and it is very rare that this hierarchical distinction between languages ​​is obviated, remaining simply 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 issue. Just as some authors may argue 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 level of proficiency in speaking, understanding, reading and writing a language other than the maternal.

Types of bilingualism

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

This classification responds to the 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 from the habits, customs and contexts linked to the use of languages ​​that the same person masters, rather than from the common biological structures in all beings humans. If a language is valued more than another, has more prestige, is heard more or is simply not available communicative situations in which one of the languages ​​can be used, mastery of one of the languages ​​will end dwindling 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 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 exposures to speech. The first thing that comes up is a phonology cross language: that is, a phonology that uses a repertoire of practically the same phonemes in both languages. Then there would be the 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, affections, specific situations, etc. subconsciously. That is, it becomes a contextual tool. For this reason, for example, some people always speak Catalan in academic contexts, even though there is no written or unwritten rule that requires it. It must not be forgotten 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 makes it possible to learn new languages ​​with relative ease (one even talks about critical periods, establishing a time threshold up to which any language can be learned quickly), and this learning turn has many other advantages. The main advantage of these young learners is not only in the speed with which they can start speaking in another language: their ability to faithfully pronounce the phonemes of the secondary language is also significant in comparison to bilinguals successive

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

On the other hand, adults, when it comes to learning a language, have resources that younger children cannot have. The most obvious is cognitive ability, 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 the 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 he 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 the closest environment of her, of course), the context in which he uses each language and therefore the need linked to the use of each language. However, this type of qualitative analysis escapes the claims of most lines of research, more focused on a work or academic field defined by the asepsis and unidimensionality of the human relations.

In context

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