Report: PLURALINGUALISM

PLURALINGUALISM

REPORT

Plurilingualism is a situation wherein a person who has competence in more than one language can switch between languages – from one language to another and vice versa – according to the circumstances at hand for the purpose of coping with a social matter. There is a distinction between plurilingualism and multilingualism. Multilingualism, on the other hand, is connected to situations wherein multiple languages exist side-by-side in a society but are utilized separately. A consequence of plurilingualism is pluricultural competence. In general, people who are identified as plurilinguals had contact with foreign languages through educational institutions, however the education system plays only a small role in the linguistic competence of these individuals.

Pluralingualism is defined in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages in the following way:

“Pluralingualism is the ability to use languages for the purposes of communication and to take part in intercultural interaction, where a person, viewed as a social agent, has proficiency of varying degrees, in several languages, and experience of several cultures. This is not seen as the superposition or juxtaposition of distinct competences, but rather as the existence of a complex or even composite competence on which the user may draw.” (Council of Europe, 2001:168)

Pluralingualism refers to the full linguistic repertoire of the individual, including their mother tongue or first language.

Pluralingualism develops throughout life: individuals may acquire new languages and lose old ones at different points in their lives for different purposes and needs.

To illustrate the meaning of pluralingualism, here follows a description of the linguistic repertoire which an adult European who has completed secondary education might be expected to have at a given point in time:

• A national language spoken and written according to the standard norms of the country acquired in the education system,

• A variety of the first language spoken according to the norms of the region and/or generation to which he/she belongs,

• A regional or minority language he/she speaks and/or writes where appropriate as well as the national language,

• One or more foreign languages understood, but not necessarily spoken, to a basic level as a consequence of education and/or experience of media and/or tourism,

• Another foreign language mastered to a higher level with ability to speak and write.