Comments on: What Does it Mean to Be Bilingual?

By: Miguel Angel

Miguel Angel — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 15:49:27 +0000

I came to the USA when I was eight years old in the early eighties. Not having a background in English at all, it very quickly became evident that learning to speak fluent English was going to be a real chore. My father taught us not to mix English and Spanish in the same sentence because that was the wrong way of becoming bilingual. Back then I didn’t understand why as many, many of my friends were speaking what is known as Spanglish. What my father did for us was amazing. We learned to separate both languages and we were able to learned both languages at an amazing rate and level of fluency. Nowadays when I’m speaking English, people have no idea that I’m able to speak Spanish and vice versa.As i was advancing through school, I did not take bilingual classes as I very quickly realized that bilingual education would put Latino kids in disadvantage vis-a-vis our Anglo counterpart. (The same holds true today.) When I entered the six grade, I started to wonder why all the Anglo kids had better grades and were in higher level courses. It wasn’t their level of intelligence as many would have us believe, it was actually their mastery of English language. So, in my six-grade-level-mind, I began to think that the school system was overtly discriminating against the Latino kid. Perhaps I was wrong for thinking along those lines but I needed to act quickly before I became accustom to the system. I pleaded my counselor to allow me to take all my courses in regular English and take one Spanish course per semester. It worked out perfectly. English became my “native” language very quickly and , as a plus, now I’m able to read, write, and speak Spanish like a native speaker. Being bilingual has been a blessing. Not only do I speak two languages, but I am able to see the world from two different perspectives.

By the way, you mentioned that you were mostly raised in South America (Perú, México and Argentina), you are so lucky. But, with all due respect, Mexico is still part of the North America.

By: Marcy

Marcy — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:46:33 +0000

I was raised bilingual as a child. I was born in Chile to an American mother and Chilean father. We spoke Spanish all around us, but then also went to a bilingual American school where most of our classes were in English.

At the age of 11 we moved to the US. I was mostly fluent in English, but in my efforts to integrate I unfortunately lost most opportunities to speak Spanish, and thus my then 5th-grade level Spanish has hardly been used over the past 18 years.

I consider myself Bilingual– I see bilingualism as being able to communicate and hold a conversation in a different language. This is different from being fluent. I am no longer quite fluent in Spanish, though I do ok. I’ve also since become somewhat proficient in French, thanks to 18 months spent in Switzerland.

One of my most pressing concerns now as a mother to my 21 month old son is that I want so badly to raise him to be bi- or even tri- (or more) lingual. I’m just not quite sure how to do it. I speak to him some in Spanish, but I know it won’t be enough, so I hope to find Spanish immersion schools for him when he’s older.
.-= Marcy´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: I could seriously eat him up sometimes =-.

By: Li

Li — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:40:43 +0000

I really enjoyed this post! To answer your question, I consider myself Bilingual. I can speak, read and write in both English and Spanish. However, my ability in English exceeds my ability in Spanish. What does that mean? Well, for example, I would not feel comfortable presenting a legal argument in Spanish… but with a little preparation, it would certainly be possible. So does that merely make me proficient in Spanish as opposed to Bilingual? I don’t think so. Whether someone is Bilingual may be a subjective term. Generally, individuals who speak any language may be well versed or have a limited vocabulary – even if they only speak one language. So I think it’s ok to say you’re Bilingual, even if you don’t quite have a “business vocabulary” in both languages.

I don’t have children, but my mother tried to expose me to as much culture as possible. I would translate for my grandmother, and as a child I had a love for language. I remember reading from my mother’s college French text book. I would run around the house yelling, “Je t’aime! Je t’aime!” (“I love you! I love you!” in French). I also studied French for three years, and learned to speak, write and read it (however, I am severely out of practice). My knowledge of Spanish and French also made Italian easier for me to understand.

I think it’s important to go beyond English and open doors for yourself as well as your children. Language is a tool. Why not fill up our tool box?

~Li

By: Aiza

Aiza — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:03:34 +0000

I have come across the same situation as you, being ask which do I prefer English or Spanish. In this day in age, I think teaching our children the foundation to both languages will be of great benefit to them in the future. I personally appreciate my parents teaching us both languages it has been an advantage that much wish they had. I am currently living in Panama where they have required and implemented that English be a second language in all the schools. To graduate college you must pass an English exit exam. Many people disagree with this here, not seeing what advantage it will bring to their children. My son is 3 years old he is being taught both languages for now, eventually we will introduce our third language which is Italian. I want him to have the same benefits and advantages that I have had being Bilingual(Trilingual).

Aiza

By: livesimplylovestrongly

livesimplylovestrongly — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:32:21 +0000

I was raised in a suburban area that was monolingual and monocultural. In high school, I was able to meet people that spoke Spanish and had a strong desire to travel. The more I travelled and spoke Spanish, I more interested I became. Who knows when, but eventually it became an integral part of who I am. Not only another language, but also another culture came into my life. I can't imagine my children not speaking/reading/writing either language. They are both part of who we are as a family! .-= livesimplylovestrongly´s last blog ..Planting Garlic and Shallots =-.