bilingual interactions

[Jonathan Rosa]

There is a 2007 European volume on receptive multilingualism that  
addresses this phenomenon. (I've recently been informed by my  
Sociolinguistics colleagues that "receptive" is the preferred term for  
this form of bilingualism in their camp, as "passive" seems to  
downplay the complexity of comprehension.) The aforementioned volume  
highlights two-way receptive bilingual situations, such as the one  
that you describe, as a desired model of multilingualism and  
multiculturalism that is promoted throughout Europe (notwithstanding  
increasing attacks on multiculturalism):

http://www.amazon.com/Receptive-Multilingualism-Linguistic-analyses-language/dp/9027219265

http://benjamins.com/catalog/hsm.6?sa=1

Hope this helps!

Jonathan

Jonathan Rosa, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology
Fronteras Fellow, Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino  
Studies
University of Massachusetts Amherst
jdrosa at anthro.umass.edu

On Aug 22, 2011, at 3:06 PM, Gaudio, Rudolf wrote:

> Dear colleagues:
>
> What do you/we call it when a conversation unfolds in which Speaker  
> A speaks to Speaker B in one language (X-ish), and Speaker B  
> responds in another (Y-ish)? The assumption is that both speakers  
> have at least some passive competence in the other's language.
>
> And do you know of any scholarship on this phenomenon?
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> -Rudi
>
>
>
>
> Rudolf P. Gaudio
> Associate Professor of Anthropology and Media, Society & the Arts
> Purchase College, State University of New York
> 735 Anderson Hill Rd.
> Purchase, NY 10577
>
> tel. +1 914 251 6619
> fax +1 914 251 6603
> rudolf.gaudio at purchase.edu