Bilingualism rocks!

I still remember the day when I was swinging in the lush park. My legs pumped vigorously, and the cool breeze kept sweeping my hair off my face and back into my eyes. With every push, the rusty swing sang in my ears. I was flying! Then I heard my mother say, “You have to start learning English soon!” 

My legs froze, my body slumped, and the swing screeched as it came to the inevitable equilibrium position at the very bottom of its joyful arc. “No!” I thought. “Not another extra class that will take away from my time to play.” I was already taking ballet classes and piano lessons. And I said, “I don’t wanna”.  

My mother replied, “But you have to learn English if you want to go to conferences and present. And not feel embarrassed or inadequate”.

What?! Conferences, presenting? What was my mother thinking? (Hint: she was a professor). I was only 9-years-old at the time. And really, the prospect of boring conference presentations was absolutely the last thing on my mind. My only dream was to be a ballerina. And ballerinas express themselves through movement, not language!

Not an auspicious beginning of my road toward bilingualism, you might think. And it wasn’t.  But I was fortunate to get an amazing private teacher in English, Mrs. Dobrovolska. She was Bulgarian but had a degree in English. I was exposed to the standard foreign language instruction by a non-native speaker that is still common around the word. So, forget about any high expectations of good accent in English.  

But Mrs. Dobrovolska was an eccentric, amusing, and hugely inspiring person. She would fold her legs under her body when she sat on her wingback chair in her living room and told me stories, mainly of her travels in England. She did not force me to recite grammar rules or to memorize words. Instead, she asked me to read books in English and retell them to her, either orally or in writing. That was hard! But it was fun! One of the books I remember was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. I love chocolate and, of course, I loved the book too! The little books by Beatrix Potter were another favourite choice. How could you not love Squirrel Nutkin!?

In the context of Mrs. Dobrovolska’s classes, I discovered my love of languages and a strong propensity to learn them. And that alone is what carried me through on my road toward bilingualism. As you can tell, I did not become a ballerina after all.

But hold on, not everyone has to have a Mrs. Dobrovolska, although it wouldn’t hurt, in order to learn languages well. There are many ways to get inspired, and you just have to find the one that works for you.

Definition of bilingualism

But first, who is considered to be bilingual? 

Often I hear people say that they are not bilingual because they speak a second language not very well. Usually, those are the people who have taken some French or Spanish in high-school and find it hard to put a sentence together by the time they are in college. But guess what? You are a bilingual! Maybe not a very fluent one, or balanced as we call it in the field, but you aren’t a monolingual either.

Let me explain.  The term “bilingual” comes from Latin, where bi means “two”, and lingua means “tongue” or “language”, i.e., two-tongued or with two languages. The term does not imply anything about degree of proficiency in either language.  But researchers have tackled the issue in various ways depending on the goals of their research. As a result, who is considered to be bilingual can be determined based on where they fall on a continuum.

On one end of the continuum are those individuals who have had a minor exposure to a second language and may not necessarily speak it or even understand much of it. And on the other end of the continuum are individuals who typically speak two languages at levels indistinguishable from those of native spears and are equally good in both languages. Let’s face it! Those type of bilinguals, on the high end of the spectrum, are quite rare. So, contrary to what many people believe, these highly proficient speakers are not the only ones to be considered bilingual.

A commonly agreed-upon definition of bilingualism is to describe someone who is able to communicate successfully in two (or more) languages according to her needs and according to the situation in which he has to use the language. In other words, if you are able to get the baker in Provence to sell you the crusty and still warm bread that you want, or you can tell your friend in Osaka that you want to visit her and she invites you to come, then you are communicating successfully.

But think about the many times that you have gotten the wrong bread, or were given the cold shoulder from your friend. Or the even more likely scenario when you went to the supermarket and picked the plastic-wrapped bread from the shelf yourself or never told your friend in Osaka that you want to visit her. You probably did that just because you thought your language skills in French or Japanese were not good enough.

And I hear you! If you are an English speaker, then you likely get replies in English, no matter how hard you try to speak the other language. But keep trying! People love it.

Factors leading to bilingualism

Well then, what in the first place makes us choose to be bilingual? Or in other words, what inspires us?

• First, because bilingualism rocks, of course! But, seriously, learning new languages is hugely enriching. I find people who can easily switch from one language to another and sound comfortable and eloquent in each to be very cool. But then, I admit it. I am a language geek, so I can’t expect others to be similarly impressed. But if you are reading this blog, then you must have a little bit of the “language geek” in you too.

• Another reason why people choose to be bilingual, or to learn another language, is because their parents gave them no choice. But sometimes, just like in my case, as a result of my mother forcing me to take the English lessons (for the wrong reasons, but never mind), I then went on to learn three other languages, only because I wanted to. Now as an academic, I have lost count of all the conferences that I have attended and presented at over the years. Boy, was my mother right! And like my mother, often parents choose to send their children to language classes for the wrong reasons, or not for the best reasons. And this is a topic, the advantages of being bilingual, which I covered in a later post.

• People choose to learn a new language for socio-cultural reasons. For example, both my kids, who are hardly kids anymore, have high desire to learn Bulgarian now. (No, I did not teach them Bulgarian when they were younger, a choice I have come to regret). They want to learn it because they want to connect with their relatives back in Bulgaria, especially those who do not speak another language. They want to read books by Bulgarian authors. But with the exception of only one, Under the Yoke by Ivan Vazov, no other books have been translated in English or any other languages. But I have not checked. And regardless, the translation is not nearly as rich and authentic as if you were to read the book in Bulgarian. My kids are eager to connect with their current family, their family history, with a part of who they are today.

• And people learn languages for pragmatic reasons, because they want to travel and be able to speak with the local people in a way that makes everyone comfortable. Ask any Italian, and they will tell you that the cappuccinos in America or not as good as in Italy. Ask any Chinese, and they will tell you that the Chinese food outside of China is not the same. The point is that you won’t get a truly authentic experience unless you speak the language of the local community. Use English and you are likely to find someone who can understand you and get you what you need. Use the local language, and the person is likely to smile and even invite you in her home to show you pictures of her grandchildren.

This reminds me of my mother’s favourite joke that she used to tell so well and fairly often. It is very Bulgarian, that is, like all humour is heavily dependent on knowing the culture, but I will try:

“Vute and Pendo live in a small village in Bulgaria and spend most of their days working in the fields. It is noon on a hot summer day, and they have reclined under an oak tree next to a road. Their donkey is grazing at the thorny bush nearby. They have just had lunch and are taking a short siesta before getting back to work.  

A shiny black SUV appears in the distance, and as it approaches them, it stops. A man in a sharp business suit and dark sunglasses comes out of the SUV and shouts in English toward Vute and Pendo. ‘Excuse me, is this the road to Greece?’ 

Vute sits up and shrugs. The businessman then shouts again, this time in French, ‘Excusez-moi, est-ce la route à la Grèce?’ Vute scratches his head and pokes Pendo with his elbow. Pendo sits up too. The businessman asks again, this time in German, and again in Spanish, and each time both men shrug. Finally, the exasperated businessman gets back in his car and drives off.  

Pendo turns toward Vute. ‘Hey, Vute, we need to start learning foreign languages.’

‘Why?’ Vute asks. ‘When he knew so many, did it help him any?’ ”

Yes, speaking languages is like having keys that open new doors . . . Unless Vute and Pendo happen to be guarding the doors. And aren’t you curious to find out what’s behind each door?

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My next topic on this blog will be about individuals who are bilingual not by choice but by necessity, such as immigrants in North American.  Stay tuned!