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Dictionary:

bilingual

  (bī-lĭng'gwəl) pronunciation
adj.
    1. Using or able to use two languages, especially with equal or nearly equal fluency.
    2. Using two languages in some proportion in order to facilitate learning by students who have a native proficiency in one language and are acquiring proficiency in the other: bilingual training; bilingual education.
  2. Of, relating to, or expressed in two languages: a bilingual dictionary.
n.

A person who uses or is able to use two languages, especially with equal fluency.

bilingualism bi·lin'gual·ism n.
bilingually bi·lin'gual·ly adv.
 
 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: bilingualism

Ability to speak two languages. It may be acquired early by children in regions where most adults speak two languages (e.g., French and dialectal German in Alsace). Children may also become bilingual by learning languages in two different social settings; for example, British children in British India learned an Indian language from their nurses and family servants. A second language can also be acquired in school. Bilingualism can also refer to the use of two languages in teaching, especially to foster learning in students trying to learn a new language. Advocates of bilingual education in the U.S. argue that it speeds learning in all subjects for children who speak a foreign language at home and prevents them from being marginalized in English-language schools. Detractors counter that it hinders such children from mastering the language of the larger society and limits their opportunities for employment and higher education.

For more information on bilingualism, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: bilingualism,
ability to use two languages. Fluency in a second language requires skills in listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing, although in practice some of those skills are often considerably less developed than others. Few bilinguals are equally proficient in both languages. However, even when one language is dominant (see language acquisition), performance in the other language may be superior in certain situations—e.g., someone generally stronger in Russian than in English may find it easier to talk about baseball in English. Native speakers of two languages are sometimes called equilingual, or ambilingual, if their mastery of both languages is equal. Some bilinguals are persons who were reared by parents who each spoke a different language or who spoke a language different from the one used in school. In some countries, especially those with two or more official languages, schools encourage bilinguilism by requiring intensive study of a second language. Bilinguals sometimes exhibit code-switching, or switching from one language to the other in the middle of a conversation or even the same sentence; it may be triggered by the use of a word that is similar in both languages.

Bibliography

See G. Saunders, Bilingual Children (1988); K. Hyltenstam and L. K. Obler, ed., Bilingualism Across the Lifespan (1989).

 
Word Tutor: bilingual
pronunciation

IN BRIEF: The skill of speaking two languages.

pronunciation The ability to be bilingual is a valuable skill.

 
Translations: Translations for: Bilingual

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - tosproget, bilingval
n. - tosproget person, bilingval

Nederlands (Dutch)
tweetalig

Français (French)
adj. - bilingue
n. - bilingue

Deutsch (German)
adj. - zweisprachig
n. - zweisprachige Person

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj., -
n. - δίγλωσσος

Italiano (Italian)
bilingue

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pessoa (f) bilíngüe
adj. - bilíngüe

Русский (Russian)
двуязычный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - bilingüe
n. - bilingüe, persona que habla dos idiomas

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - tvåspråkig person
adj. - tvåspråkig

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
双语的, 通两种语言的人

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 雙語的
n. - 通兩種語言的人

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 2개 국어를 말하는[쓰여 진]
n. - 2개 국어를 하는 사람

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 2か国語を話せる人, バイリンガル
adj. - 2か国語が話せる, 2か国語による

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) متحدث بلغتين (صفه) ثنائي اللغه أو اللسان‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮דו-לשוני‬
n. - ‮דו-לשוני‬

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
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