The Scope of Bilingualism 

Bilingualism is a concept that is closely associated with sociolinguistics and it connotes the alternate use of languages or codes. It is an aspect of sociolinguistics that has received large patronage by scholars in the field due to the high rate bilinguals in the world today. Since the English language has become a global language, each person needs to learn their language and the English language, at least.

See also: Understanding Sociolinguistics 

Table of Content

1. What is Bilingualism?

2. What is Child Bilingualism?

3. What is Adult Bilingualism?

4. Types of Bilingualism

5. What is Vertical bilingualism!

6. What is Horizontal Bilingualism?

What is Bilingualism?

Bilingualism is a linguistic situation where a speaker knows and can use two languages or codes interchangeably or alternatively. 

A person can acquire just as much competence and proficiency in two languages as they can in one language. However, this is bound to vary based largely on the degree of exposure to the languages, and this brings us to the distinction between a child bilingual and an adult bilingual. 

What is Child Bilingualism? 

A child bilingual gets early exposure to two languages—language acquisition — and as a result of the early exposure, they acquire competence in both their mother tongue and their second language, being able to compete relatively well with native speakers in the use of the languages. This is influences by a number of factors such as having parents who speak different languages, growing up in a different speech community, and the list goes on. What matters is that a child bilingual acquires two languages early enough to have equal competence in the use of both languages—being able to use them alternatively.

See also: Code switching vs Code mixing 

What is Adult Bilingualism? 

An adult bilingual is someone that learns a second language at a later stage in their life. Adult bilinguals, unlike child bilinguals do not get early exposure to two languages but one—their mother tongue, and such, their competence in the use of their mother tongue is relatively higher than that of their second language.

This is because the adult bilingual has his foundational background in his mother tongue growing up, as well as more exposure to the language in terms of writing, reading and speaking as opposed to the use of a second language which is, most times, usually oral. Learning a second language at a later stage in ones life can often prove a difficult feat to accomplish, especially if the second language has different linguistic features from the first language in Pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.

The resulting effect of this is interference.

Languages that facilitate the learning of another language are said to have positive transfer as in the case of English and Germany which are both Indo-European languages, but those that dampen the learning of a second language are said to have negative transfer.

An adult bilingual experiences difficulty in learning a new language due to interference from his first language or mother tongue. Also, adult bilinguals are said to have strong emotions attachments to their first language, hence their loyalty to their mother tongue impedes their learning of a second language.

Types of Bilingualism

Bilingualism manifests in two ways namely; Horizontal and Vertical.

What is Horizontal Bilingualism? 

As the name implies, horizontal bilingualism is a type of bilingualism that occurs as a result of two languages having equal statuses in a particular region or speech community. It is a situation where two major languages exist with which official activities are implemented in a nation, hence it becomes a prerequisite for members of the community to learn both languages. A good example is Cameroon and Canada where both English and French languages serve as the official languages.

What is Vertical Bilingualism? 

Vertical bilingualism is a setup where two varieties of language exist in a speech community where one is accorded a higher rank or special recognition as opposed to the other. The one language accorded higher status, usually the official language in the region involved, is considered the high variety or prestige variety, while the other dialect is considered a low variant—used by the masses and in informal settings. A good example is the English language and pidgin English in Nigeria, where the English language is the official language (high variant), and the pidgin English is used by the masses and in informal contexts (low variety).

Bilingualism is an area of sociolinguistics which researchers have great interests in. It is a situation where a person knows and can use two languages as well as a situation where two languages exist in a speech community.

See also: Understanding Diglossia