2018

BILINGUALISM.

SUBMITTED TO PROF DR.MUHAMMAD SIDDIQUE.

SUBMITTED BY RUQIYYA ABDUL QAYYUM.
INTRODUCTION:
Bilingualism is a concept of linguistics that hightlights a person who knows more
then one languages.Bilingualism is a universal concept in today’s world ; that is ,
every next person knows more then one languages, since there are many
incentives witrh the concept prevailing and increasing with the passage of time.

WHAT IS BILINGUALISM?
Bilingualism is the existence of two different languages within the speech
repertoire of either an individual or a society. By speech repertoire, we mean the
totality of languages, dialects and their superposed social and cultural variants
that an individual possesses. We can liken speech repertoire to the brain, memory
or linguistic store that harbors all the languages and the varieties of languages in
individual possesses.

FORM OF BILINGUALISM:
There are basically two forms of bilingualism. These are societal bilingualism and
individual bilingualism. Let us see what each of these forms of bilingualism refers
to…

 SOCIETAL BILINGUALISM:
When a society has two different languages existing within it and the two
languages are assigned similar or different functions within it, then there is
societal bilingualism or we can say such society is bilingual.
  Examples of Bilingual Societies:
 Canada.
The Canadian society, which acknowledges and uses French and English, assigns
functions to the two languages. It uses both, French and English as official
languages and languages of interaction. That is, the society uses both languages
as lingua franca and national languages.

 Nigeria.
Nigeria is also an example of a bilingual society which assigns different roles to
both the official language and the regional languages. English has the role of
official language while the regional languages have the roles of interaction.

 INDIVIDUAL BILINGUALISM:
An individual is bilingual when they have two languages in their repertoire.

 TYPES OF INDIVIDUAL BILINGUALISM:

There are three forms of individual bilingualism. These are coordinate,
subordinate and incipient bilingualism.
COORDINATE.

SUBORDINATE.

INCIPIENT.

 Coordinate Bilingualism.
Coordinate bilingualism occurs when an individual has or possess the ability to
use or speak the two languages proficiently. Such an individual is a coordinate
bilingual.
  Subordinate Bilingualism.
An individual is a subordinate bilingual when they are proficient in one of the two
languages. This language in which they are proficient is usually the mother
tongue; then they can speak the other language, but not with great proficiency as
the other language.

 Incipient Bilingualism.
An individual who is bilingual and bilingual is just able to use one of the two
languages proficiently and this is usually the mother, An incipient but with a
partial understanding of the other language.

 CAUSES OF BILINGUALISM:
There are many factors that could be responsible for the occurrence of
bilingualism. Some of them include the following:

1) An edge in the job market.

Being bilingual can be a significant for career. It provides students with numerous
opportunities and open the way of success for them.

2) A fatter retirement account.

Since bilinguals have the potential to earn more than monolinguals within in their
respective professions, the “language bonus” can translate to more retirement
scale.

3) A better understanding of your native language.

Our first language comes to us so naturally that we don’t often think deeply about
its organization. “When we’re able to compare two languages,” Lichtman says,
“you learn that there are other possible ways of doing things, such as structuring
a sentence or expressing tense. So, ultimately, you gain a better understanding of
how your first language is constructed.”
4) More fulfilling travel experiences.
Being bilingual makes travel easier and more exciting and allows for more
personal interactions. “You can get much deeper into the places you visit if you
know the language, otherwise, you’re just a tourist.”

5) Other languages come easier.

Once you learn a second language, learning the third or fourth is easier.

6) A global perspective.
Learning another language raises the awareness that other countries and groups
of people do things differently. “When you acquire a new language, you don’t just
learn vocabulary. You learn to put that language in the context of a different
culture.”

7) A bigger brain.
The brain calisthenics associated with using two or more languages have a visible
effect. So bilingual brains look and work differently than monolingual brains.
Bilinguals have better executive function—basically, an easier time switching
between tasks and filtering out unnecessary information. And research has
demonstrated that students who study a foreign language perform better in other
subject areas. “What’s really exciting is that you don’t have to be bilingual from
birth.”

8) Broader education options.

Knowing a second language expands study and mind horizon because some
programs have language requirements. That’s also true of many Ph.D. programs,
so speaking a second languages provides an edge when applying for graduate
school. Students note that bilingualism also opens access to new sources of
information, including foreign language speakers and literature and research
articles that aren’t published in English.
9) Newfound meaning.
The saying “lost in translation” is reality. “Some ideas and words that occur in one
language are difficult to express in another language”. For example, English
cannot easily express levels of respect found in languages such as Korean or
Japanese.

10) Colonialism/ Annexation.

Colonialism and annexation was one of the causes of for learning second language
in order to earn bread, for instance English language in subcontinent.

11) War.

Learning second language was essential for soldiers in the era of war, for instance
world war one and two. Learning second language helped them to betray their
enemies if they were caught.

12) Migration.
This breeds refugees, and in order to survive the refugees were bound to learn
the language of the required country. For example Afghanistan refugees in
Pakistan.

 EFFECTS OF BILINGUALISM:
Bilingualism has some effects which can either be positive or negative. Let us begin with the positive
effects…

 Positive effects.
 It facilitates tourism.
 It helps in job acquisition.
 Bilingualism enriches the individual’s speech repertoire.
 It aids participation in democracy.
 It helps sporting activities.

 Negative effects.
 It erodes the culture of the people; a bilingual is also bicultural.
  Interference and transference. Interference can occur at lexical
(borrowing), semantic, phonological levels
 Linguistic Incompetence. It makes people subordinate or incipient
bilinguals.

CONCLUSION:
Bilingualism universally accepted phenomena, is spreading as sunlight spreads in
the morning .People becoming bilingual in the domain of communication in order
to pursue all the benefits rested with the prevailing concept. Though it has been
accepted by majority of the world population but one should never forget that
there are always a root causes of everything, similarly bilingualism also have it.