Defining Bilingualism

Bilingualism is not new, and people have been speaking more than one language since ancient times. Despite the world’s bilinguals being the majority, a definition of the term “bilingualism” lacks universal consensus and the language sciences and related disciplines have developed multiple descriptions and interpretations throughout the last century (Hamers & Blanc, 2000). In order for an all-encompassing definition to be established, factors such as the age of language acquisition and the domains of use (Bialystok, 2015; Grosjean, 2014; Li, 2000), which all influence bilingualism must be considered. Whilst this bilingual diversity has restricted the establishment of a clear definition, we are left to ask ourselves how can we measure bilingual competence if there is no clear definition? With so many factors influencing a bilingual is it even possible for a definition to be developed? This is a major area which remains a challenge to the field as bilingualism scholars call for measurement tools to be developed in order to make research more uniform and reliable (The Authors, 2011).departmental bulletin pape