ELL: bilingualism (was wsj editorial)

[Jussi Karlgren]

Scripsit Doug Whalen:
>   As for bilingual education, it is possible that I gave too much
>credence to Miller's assertion of inability to be "fluent" in two
>languages.  I just don't know if there is really enough evidence (as
>a scientist, rather than a polemicist) to say one way or the other.
>We certainly all know individuals who are phenomenally fluent in two
>or more languages, but whether more typical balanced bilinguals can
>express themselves to their fullest extent in both languages is
>something that I just don't know about.  Has this been tested
>adequately?  I think that we are after a level of competence here
>that is not usually tested except for things like college entry,

how many MONOlinguals do we know that can express themselves to their
fullest extent in their language?

linguistic competence is a relation between language and situation: while i
am fluent in some language in most situations, there are situations where i
am absolutely tongue tied in all languages i know. this, i am sure, has
very little to do with the number of languages i can work my tongue around:
the same seems to be true of the monolinguals i know.

requiring bilinguals to prove their bilinugalism by having EQUAL competence
in their languages is sort of ... unfair.

J - sort of bilingual

--
Dr. Jussi Karlgren | www.sics.se/~jussi | jussi at sics.se | SICS, Stockholm
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