Bilingual and Multilingual - Revision history

Satj at 13:49, 26 June 2018

2018-06-26T13:49:38Z

Satj at 13:48, 26 June 2018

2018-06-26T13:48:11Z

Satj at 13:47, 26 June 2018

2018-06-26T13:47:51Z

Satj at 13:47, 26 June 2018

2018-06-26T13:47:29Z

Satj: /* Multilingual */

2018-06-26T13:34:18Z

Multilingual

Satj: /* Bilingual */

2018-06-26T13:27:29Z

Bilingual

Satj at 13:25, 26 June 2018

2018-06-26T13:25:44Z

Satj: Created page with "Bilingual and Multilingual are two extremely important concepts in understanding South African culture (See also '''Multi-cultural''') =Bilingual= The usual di..."

2018-06-26T13:24:52Z

Created page with "Bilingual and Multilingual are two extremely important concepts in understanding South African culture (See also '''Multi-cultural''') =Bilingual= The usual di..."

New page

[[Bilingual]] and [[Multilingual]] are two extremely important concepts in understanding South African culture

(See also '''[[Multi-cultural]]''')

=Bilingual=

The usual dictionary definition of '''bilingual''' is "speaking two languages fluently" (or "a person able to speak two languages fluently", "an organization employing two languages for communicative purposes", "a literary work written in two languages", etc.). However, in South Africa, for most of the 20th century, the term would specifically be used to indicate "speaking '''English and [[Afrikaans]]''' fluently", or in the case of organizations, schools and literary works, etc. "utilizing both English and [[Afrikaans]]".

In the late 20th century, and particularly after 1994, the special use of the term has become problematic, though it is still used in this way by some members of the older generation. With 11 official languages recognized in the country, [[bilingual]] has apparently now regained its original meaning of "able to speak any two languages fluently". Indeed the concept of [[multilingual]] and [[multilingualism]] has become an equally - if not more - important point of debate.

== [[Multilingual]] ==

== Sources ==

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bilingual

== Return to ==

Return to [[The South African Context/General Terminology and Thematic Entries]]

Return to [[South African Theatre/Terminology and Thematic Entries]]

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← Older revision		Revision as of 13:49, 26 June 2018
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−	=[[Bilingualism]]=	+	==[[Bilingualism]]==

	The usual dictionary definition of '''bilingual''' is "speaking two languages fluently" (or "a person able to speak two languages fluently", "an organization employing two languages for communicative purposes", "a literary work written in two languages", etc.). However, in South Africa, for most of the 20th century, the terms bilingual and bilingualism would specifically be used to indicate "speaking '''English and [[Afrikaans]]''' fluently", or in the case of organizations, schools and literary works, etc. "utilizing both English and [[Afrikaans]]".		The usual dictionary definition of '''bilingual''' is "speaking two languages fluently" (or "a person able to speak two languages fluently", "an organization employing two languages for communicative purposes", "a literary work written in two languages", etc.). However, in South Africa, for most of the 20th century, the terms bilingual and bilingualism would specifically be used to indicate "speaking '''English and [[Afrikaans]]''' fluently", or in the case of organizations, schools and literary works, etc. "utilizing both English and [[Afrikaans]]".

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:48, 26 June 2018
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−	[[Bilingual]] and [[Multilingual]] are two extremely important concepts in understanding South African culture	+	The concepts [[Bilingual]] and [[Multilingual]] are two extremely important concepts in understanding South African culture

	(See also [[Culture]] and '''[[Multicultural]]''')		(See also [[Culture]] and '''[[Multicultural]]''')

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 [[Bilingual]] and [[Multilingual]] are two extremely important concepts in understanding South African culture
-(See also '''[[Multicultural]]''')
+(See also [[Culture]] and '''[[Multicultural]]''')
 == [[Multilingualism]] ==

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 (See also '''[[Multicultural]]''')
-=Bilingual=
+== [[Multilingualism]] ==
-The usual dictionary definition of '''bilingual''' is "speaking two languages fluently" (or "a person able to speak two languages fluently", "an organization employing two languages for communicative purposes", "a literary work written in two languages", etc.). However, in South Africa, for most of the 20th century, the term would specifically be used to indicate "speaking '''English and [[Afrikaans]]''' fluently", or in the case of organizations, schools and literary works, etc. "utilizing both English and [[Afrikaans]]".
+The website ''Smart Words''[http://www.smart-words.org/bilingualism.html] actually has an interesting outline of the complexity of this issue: "Bilingualism (or more generally: Multilingualism) is the phenomenon of speaking and understanding two or more languages. The term can refer to individuals (individual bilingualism) as well as to an entire society (social bilingualism).
-In the late 20th century, and particularly after 1994, the special use of the term has become problematic, though it is still used in this way by some members of the older generation.
+Multilingualism is likewise defined by Wikipedia[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilingualism] as "the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers", however in South Africa there is a clear distinction made between .
-With  11 official languages recognized in the country since 1994, [[bilingual]] has apparently now regained its original meaning of "able to speak any two languages fluently". Indeed the concept of [[multilingual]] and [[multilingualism]] has become an equally - if not more - important point of debate.
+Under colonial rule of course, only the European languages of the colonialists (Dutch, English, French, German, Portuguese, etc.) - and later the Germanic derivative [[Afrikaans]] -  were recognized as national languages in the various colonies. Hence the term bilingualism gained a particular meaning in most countries, especially so in South Africa.
-== [[Multilingual]] ==
+=[[Bilingualism]]=
-Multilingualism is defined by Wikipedia[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilingualism] as "the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers", however in South Africa there is a clear distinction made between .
+The usual dictionary definition of '''bilingual''' is "speaking two languages fluently" (or "a person able to speak two languages fluently", "an organization employing two languages for communicative purposes", "a literary work written in two languages", etc.). However, in South Africa, for most of the 20th century, the terms bilingual and bilingualism would specifically be used to indicate "speaking '''English and [[Afrikaans]]''' fluently", or in the case of organizations, schools and literary works, etc. "utilizing both English and [[Afrikaans]]".
-Southern Africa, like much of Africa has always had many spoken languages and there have always been people able to speak and understand two or more languages with varying degrees of fluency. This was particularly true of workers living in the cities and of white farmers living in rural areas.
+In the late 20th century, and particularly after 1994, the special use of the term has become problematic, though it is still used in this way by some members of the older generation.
-However, only the European languages (Dutch, English)  and the Germanic derivative Afrikaans were recognized as national languages.
+With  11 official languages recognized in the country since 1994, [[bilingual]] has apparently now regained its original meaning of "able to speak any two languages fluently". Indeed the concept of [[multilingual]] and [[multilingualism]] has become an equally - if not more - important point of debate.
 == Sources ==
 http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bilingual
 == Return to ==

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 == [[Multilingual]] ==
-Southern Africa, like much of Africa has always had many spoken languages
+Multilingualism is defined by Wikipedia[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilingualism] as "the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers", however in South Africa there is a clear distinction made between .
 == Sources ==