The criteria of being bilingual (multilingual) in languages
What is "bilingual(or multilingual)" in languages for you? I'm Japanese. Here in Japan most people speak only one language which is Japanese. But i know in a lot of countries people speak more than one languages. I mean in Japan I feel it's really difficult to be considered as bilingual because people's criteria or expectation is really high which i think the reason is Japanese is the only language they know and everyone speaks it perfectly. I speak okay English but I'm not sure if i can say I'm bilingual. How well do i have to be to say I'm bilingual? What's your opinion on being fluent or bilingual?
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Comments · 6
1
I guess B1 or B2 is a good standard, as Ylva said, to consider one "speaks a language". I tend to only claim I speak Portuguese, though, since I don't want to cause misunderstandings and prefer to use this word (speak) to refer to a higher level, like C1. I prefer to say I can "get around" in other languages many/some/most of the time.
1
For me B1 or B2 level is the requirement of "speaking a language" (as people often put it like that). What I mean with that is that you have some communication skills. They don't need to be perfect and you don't need to be fluent.
1
Now I know the other side of Japanese:))
I know for long that Japanese has a very pride in their language and maintainance is a must. I wish that my country also raised in the citizens that pride. Somehow, I know that it's also inconvenient for tourists or businesses to coordinate with. I don't know people can have a choice to be billingual or due to cultural restrictration, knowing a language is to broaden your mind not only the ability to communicate but also the way of ideals and thinking
0
It is mainly because of histoical reasons
0
There are a lot of people now here from the Southern countries (mainly from the former USSR republics) whom I can regularly see at a nearby food market. Some of them are really bilingual and can easily and naturally switch from their own language to Russian and a way back in a split of a second. They are really bilingual. I even feel a prick of a good envy to them. But some, when they speak Rissian, do it very unnaturally in a manner a native speaker will never do it. It is not a matter of accent, but even the lowerest-graded and the last apprentice of James Bond would immediately fail any of his missions with such style of talking. Of course, they are not bilingual.
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