Bilingualism is it good? Or is it bad?

[ninety]

In Hong Kong we have English and Chinese as the official languages, though usually only the more privileged/those who come from top schools speak English at a decent, conversational level.

I myself find that multilingualism is a great thing. In fact, I can speak four languages: my mother tongues, which I consider to be English and Chinese (Cantonese), Spanish, which I've been learning since Year 7, and Japanese, which I learnt through my interest in Japanese culture. And if you consider Mandarin to be separate from Cantonese, I actually speak five languages.

Of course there'll be some loss of culture for those who are bilingual, but tend to speak more in one language over the other. Although I'm ethically Chinese, sometimes even I can't totally relate to my friends who speak only Chinese. But I think that the ability to speak a second language just opens you to so much more in this world. It's certainly been my experience, anyway, on the internet. For example, when I'm using Google, I start off by searching in English. If I can't find the results I'm looking for, I'll try again in a different language. More often than not, by using this method I'm able to find what I need.

Another benefit is that I'm now able to guess the meaning of sentences in Italian and Portuguese, because of the similarity of the Romantic languages.

Also, there are many concepts that are exclusive to one language. For example, there's 'saudade' in Portuguese, which roughly means 'a sense of longing' (not that I can speak Portuguese). When you grasp a new language and you begin to understand the culture, all these new concepts appear. Initially, you can't relate to them, but over time they grow onto you. When I first started learning Japanese, I found the whole hierarchy of respect in Japanese society quite difficult to understand, but now I'm pretty happy with it. It almost seems natural to me, in a way.

The only thing that annoys me about being multilingual is that sometimes when I want to say something in a particular language, the relevant vocab comes up in another language and I'm momentarily lost for words... Sometimes the listener also speaks that language and it's okay, but other times when he/she doesn't I end up stuttering a bit... Though these days I find that this isn't such a big problem in conversations, but when I'm writing essays. I end up staring at my piece of paper/the computer screen, trying to articulate that one word

Argh, sorry for the long ramble!

Wow! Being bilingual is one thing, especially if you are bilingual in very similar languages (like swedish and danish for example) but WOW you speak English AND Mandarin fluently? Wow that is SUCH a dream. You truly get the best from both worlds. My ultimate dream is to learn Mandarin or Cantonese - However I doubt I will ever achieve a fluent level due to my age. Usually people don't become amazingly fluent in any language 100% unless they learn the languages before the age of 12. Or at least that's what I've heard. Damn, though! I could turn green from envy. Lucky lucky lucky! English and Chinese are most likely the most important languages to understand and speak. I bet you're very rare!! Which language did you learn first?

Yeah, when I think of the fact that I can speak these languages, I feel so blessed because they're among some of the most common languages in the world. Well, I guess I might be a particular case because of the combination of languages I can speak, but I'm sure there are a lot of similar people in the world.

I think I kind of learnt English and Chinese simultaneously. We speak both languages in our household so I consider both of them to be my mother tongues.

And it's never too late to become fluent in a new language, as long as you're willing to learn! It's true that your cognitive and linguistic abilities kind of 'settle down' after childhood, but it doesn't mean that you can't become fluent in a new language if you pick it up now. It might take longer to become fluent depending on your aptitude and how much you practice, but nothing's impossible. I only started learning Japanese at age 12~13 and now I can speak it fine at age 17. Oh, a good real-life example that just came to mind is Colin Firth. He only started learning Italian in his thirties when he started dating this Italian lady (who he later married), and now he speaks it fluently!

[ShootingStars]

Bilingualism is great! As is diversity! Through a language you gain new insight into cultures and are able to connect and communicate on another level with people. Think about how most of Europe has one currency. Would it not be easier to have one language too? But that would destroy the culture, the pride etc. Language is a strong asset to have and it should be encouraged!

[blindpet]

This debate came up when I was in IB, it depends partly on the cognitive capacity of the person, sometimes it can go badly but if the person is able it has many benefits. I was told about research that suggests bilingualism makes people more balanced in their brain hemispheres (usually one hemisphere is dominant) and maybe this can lead bilinguals to being more well-rounded individuals in terms of skills.

[TurtleR]

I think that bilingualism is very important in today's society, especially considering the fact that we are becoming more accepting of other cultures. But I believe that people should be more accepting of the people that try and speak their languages. I know that there are many people that feel insulted when their language is not spoken properly (I once went to Montreal, a very bilingual city, but my friend told me I should speak English because some people may get offended if I speak french and make a mistake). It can be hard to learn a language, and a lot of people don't have the native accent, nor the knowledge of certain phrases or expressions not usually taught.

[cookie.dough.love]

I think that being Bilingual is great thing, or even mulitlingual. In this day and ages, society is more international, if you look at countries such as the UK and the US, the amount of languages spoken is immense. Plus you can meet new people and travel to many place without having a translator lol. To speak many languages is amazing, why hate it?

[Fani]

I'm bilingual and I feel it had benifited me in various ways.

First of all I became at a very young age familiar with speaking more than one language and thus it's easier for me to learn more foreign languages (I speak 4 besides my mother tongues).

Besides that I totally can't be a racist. It just sounds stupid since I have a dual nationality

Lastly it's just so cool to understand so many languages and don't have to learn one ab inition.

[macrofire]

It's terrible. Until one has mastered and distinguished both languages (maybe even more), that person can mix words up together, embarrass themselves or even screw up their pronunciation. It's hard enough to mix Chinese with French, I don't even want to think about putting Italian into the mix. Some European languages roll the "r" and some Asian languages use precise intonation. North American languages heavily relies on idiomatic expressions and the rest of the world is foreign to me.

I didn't realize this complication until my friends pointed out that my Chinese has developed an accent. I can't imagine any place in the Chinese language where I would roll the "r" but it somehow did. It is an embarrassment and that's only the beginning. I used to be a complete Oxford-English dictionary, but now I'm mistaking French spelling with English.

It might be hard for some people to imagine this scenario, but trust me, if you don't mix your languages together, then you're better off than me. Whatever the reason, I would prefer to stick with one language until I own another.

[gg14]

I wish I was bilingual (or multilingual)!!! I'm doing French B HL and German B SL which I love, but I'm still jealous of the people who are fluent in more than one language... I'm applying for modern languages for uni (French and Italian ab initio for a bit of a change!) and my aim is to be fluent by the end of the 4/5 years.

I didn't learn a foreign language until I was 10 when I did German for a couple of years at primary school... I wish I had started younger!! Then when I moved up to senior school I had to start French and Latin, which most other people had learnt since they were like 8! But I caught up after a year and took up German again as well and got A*s at GCSE for all 3. I've found that my languages actually help in all my subjects - my writing is so much more "precise and concise" (as the IB likes it) and obviously one language helps you with another, they are so closely related (although at the same time I don't get too mixed up, the worst I've done is said "Je voudrais une glace bitte" in my mock GCSE oral!)

But anyway back to the point... I'm never quite going to be bilingual, but I'm aiming for "near-native" fluency as the university prospectuses call it. I don't see how bilingualism can be bad, languages are such a great skill to have and if you can speak two or more as a mother tongue then you are very lucky and I AM VERY JEALOUS!!!

[vestes22]

I wish I was bilingual (or multilingual)!!! I'm doing French B HL and German B SL which I love, but I'm still jealous of the people who are fluent in more than one language... I'm applying for modern languages for uni (French and Italian ab initio for a bit of a change!) and my aim is to be fluent by the end of the 4/5 years.

I didn't learn a foreign language until I was 10 when I did German for a couple of years at primary school... I wish I had started younger!! Then when I moved up to senior school I had to start French and Latin, which most other people had learnt since they were like 8!

^That's a lot of languages learned. I feel lame. We only get to choose between either Spanish or French... And we start our freshman years? Our school is teaching us to procrastinate! Overachiever;P

[glorii]

Bilingualism is amazing!! To me, there are no negative sides to it as it broadens our vocabulary, not to mention that we see things differently, we learn so much from other cultures. It is truly rewarding. On a daily basis I speak 3 languages and I have 3 different backgrounds. To me, it has been amazing and I have learned so much from it, today I am really good with languages and I have an ear for language which I am so grateful for, I believe it is because I was exposed to 4 different languages as a child. In the world as it is today, I don't think it's beneficial to speak just one language, speaking many enlightens your life and is indeed a gift and an opportunity not to be wasted.

[gg14]

I wish I was bilingual (or multilingual)!!! I'm doing French B HL and German B SL which I love, but I'm still jealous of the people who are fluent in more than one language... I'm applying for modern languages for uni (French and Italian ab initio for a bit of a change!) and my aim is to be fluent by the end of the 4/5 years.

I didn't learn a foreign language until I was 10 when I did German for a couple of years at primary school... I wish I had started younger!! Then when I moved up to senior school I had to start French and Latin, which most other people had learnt since they were like 8!

^That's a lot of languages learned. I feel lame. We only get to choose between either Spanish or French... And we start our freshman years? Our school is teaching us to procrastinate! Overachiever;P

^ Haha well I should really be doing my Biology coursework (my least favourite subject) not discussing my love of languages!! Also seeing as quite a lot a people in my year are German but speak impeccable English I feel pretty lame too...

[Smiley Face]

It is definitely a good thing to maintain. Generally, people who find learning languages interesting are the ones that develop a sense of internationalism and believe in the importance of multiculturalism. Languages come in a package with cultural appreciation and awarness. It indeed has a great reward in the openmindness of an individual.. That's my opinion.

[alexis0123]

Bilingualism is a good thing to me because my french teacher is always talking about how the IB examiners will love it when you talk about french culture and other things in France. So to me, what I'm basically hearing is that in IB we have to learn basically a whole different culture and the language behind it. Also, many people who are bilingual, trilingual, and even multilingual, can get very high paying jobs. I don't really think that if you use the language that you learn more than your native language, that you start to forget your native language; just constantly speak both once you become fluent in the language that you are learning.

[macrofire]

Bilingualism only benefits those with mastery over both languages. We are still learning a language (unless you're Chinese and are taking IB Chinese along with other Chinese courses >.>) in the foreign language department. Until we have a sufficient mastery over that topic, we can't access all those troves of information that are accessible by that language.

Take the example of Canadians; there are plenty of bilingual Canadians, but are they all at the same proficiency level? What level of proficiency is sufficient to be considered bilingual?

Mastery over a language isn't a two-year course. Just because you know the rules, you still have to understand the culture of that language. Learning other languages is useful mainly because we can understand another culture through that language.

To say that bilingualism is good is to compel people (because it's good everyone wants it) to learn two languages. There is a load of travail behind that compelling force that can drive many to ruin. Many are already learning the language of maths, sciences etc. that another cultural language would likely overload us. Not everyone can learn that language.

Don't get me wrong. Bilingualism is beneficial, but not necessarily "good". Sooner or later, there will be an expectation that everyone can speak two languages (this world is globalizing after all, and the ability to speak multiple languages can do many things, such as getting "very high paying jobs" (alexis0123).

So what do you guys think?

[stevens579]

The only thing that I think is bad is that we are forced to learn a foreign language that we can't speak fluently and will probably forget after graduation.

Unless you are like me and is taking a language that I speak (Chinese)

I am Chinese-American, born in the US and I definitely consider myself more American then Chinese, but alas, my skin color/Asian look classify me as Chinese.

[Vincent1416]

I have a question relating to this. What is the need of identifying oneself as a person from a specific nation, race etc...I personally view bilingualism as a benefit. As often said in my country where more than a 100 nationalities is resident, speaking more than one language is a passport in everything, for travelling, job opportunities etc...On my part, I don't even know 'where I'm from'. I'm a bit Indian, Mauritian, and French. I now live in a French/Dutch Island, speak and write French and English and know some Spanish. Who am I? I think I'm just another citizen of this world .

[opus92fan]

I wish I was bilingual. I wish I could speak French more fluently. Canada is supposed to be a bilingual country, but our French-speaking population is essentially limited to the province Quebec, and Quebec wants to separate (whole other debate). There are not many French speaking people in the other provinces. Some schools offer a French immersion programme where students take all of their classes in French, however from what I was told it's not quite "real" French. When I go to Quebec to try practice my French, they ignore me and respond in English.

In Canada, being bilingual in English and French really doesn't help you that much. It's a nice thing to be able to put on resumes, but overall useless, except for applying for jobs in Quebec or in the federal government where they might expect it.

My above statement was mainly the practicality of bilingualism in my country. Regardless of whether you become bilingual or use your second language, I believe learning another language(s) is very beneficial. You will learn a lot about grammar, sentence structure, etc. that you take for granted in your native language. This can assist in a better understading of your first langage, and language in general.

I don't think learning another language is a complete waste of time, but its practicality within Canada is limited.

However, from what I understand from my travels to Europe, most Europeans can speak (or at least understand) 2-3 or more languages, which makes communication with people from other countries, such as tourists, easier. For people who want to travel the world and communicate with people in other countries, knowing a second language is very beneficial.

[FRdupuis]

Being bilingual has its perks. In Canada, it's a great thing to have on a resume, and I'm pretty sure it's a requirement for most government jobs. Also, it's a way to explore new culture. You have an advantage over someone that is not bilingual (depending on the situation to some extent). It also helps when traveling abroad. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. It helps that in Canada, French is pushed in our education system a lot.

[Victorious]

I'm not bilingual but actually trilingual. I speak three languages fluently - English, Kutchi and Swahili. All together I know seven languages. The three other ones I just mentioned are inclusive. I believe it's a fairly good thing to be bilingual. It allows you to attain various opportunities. For example I wanted to become hieroglyphist? And I needed to know three languages - all compulsory and those were English, Arabic and German. I have no idea why I needed German but eh. It also shows that you're embracing other people's cultures.

[krystinawashereXD]

What kind of question is this? O.o

Being bilingual actually is better for you; it helps you get better jobs, and you can communicate with different people.

If it was bad to be bilingual, we wouldn't have to learn a second language in the IB!