Individual Bilingualism and Collective Bilingualism
This is an unofficial translation of a speech given by Andre D'Allemagne in Montreal on March 8, 1980.
Whether it be at the individual level or at the collective level, true bilingualism is an exceptional occurrence. It does not suffice, indeed, that a person knows of uses two languages, even with if markedly done without effort, to qualify this person of bilingual. If we want to give bilingualism a description rigorous enough to be satisfactory and useful, we must consider as authentically bilingual the individual who knows and practises two languages at sensibly the same degree, and with the same spontaneousness. Such is at least, in short, the definition adopted by linguists and psychologists.
One easily conceives the abnormal character of such a situation. Since the linguistic reality is global. A language is not a simple instrument of expression and communication, which we use without incidence. It is a mold for our thoughts. As linguist Izhac Epstein explains: "Every language is characterized by the way in which in chains ideas together." Consequently the learning of a language is accompanied by the acquisition of a coherent and complete ensemble of concepts - and even values - and a representation of the world particular to the a given language. To be bilingual, that is to be a part of the concurrent universes at the same time. One can guess how such a situation can imply potential conflicts.
Therefore there is no reason to be surprised by the number of linguists and psychologists who exposed the dangers of bilingualism for an individual. One could mention, among the better known, Braunhausen and Decroly in Belgium, Wagener and Riès in Luxembourg, Epstein, Meyhoffer and Mocklie in Switzerland, Jespersen in Danemark, Saes et Hughes in Wales, Smith in the United States, Gali in Catalonia, Conka in Tchecoslovakia, Henns and Yoshioka in Germany and Japan. According to them, there are two types of conflicts among bilinguals: a psychological conflict having a negative influence on intelligence, and a linguistic conflict coming from the prohibitive influence of one language over the other. Tossed between two systems of thought and expression, the bilingual is like a traveller who would ceaselessly have to chose between two paths to reach the same destination. Such a doubling risks to provoke linguistic and psychological perturbations, that is to say on both levels of thought and expression.
If the negative ...