Mengting H.
Hi trilinguals,
As a bilingual person who can speak two languages (English and Mandarin) quite well in Montreal, I am very jealous of you who can also communicate fluently in French. I have lost many study/job opportunities, since I am not qualified enough in French, or sometimes even in English. Sometimes, I wonder how much better my life in Montreal will be if my French can also be native-like.
Besides the jealousy part, I did some research on why you guys can speak three languages so well. Curdt-Christiansen (2009) and Van Herk (2012) both provide some possible reasons. Curdt-Christiansen’s study documents how Chinese immigrant parents in Quebec perceive and plan their children’s language learning. She finds that (1) parents’ high educational expectations and aspirations, (2) the value of speaking three languages, and (3) the unequal power relations among French, English, and Mandarin all contribute to the trilingual learning process. While Curdt-Christiansen closely examines the theoretical reasons of trilingualism, Van Herk (2012) discusses about “Elite trilingualism” (p. 181) model in European schools. It explains why European people can speak so many languages. Students’ heritage language, second language, third language, fourth language are all carefully introduced and used based on their years of schooling.
To summarize this letter, I would say trilingualism is a priceless product of socio-political-linguistic ideologies practiced at home and at school. Cherish this gift!
In you reply letter, you can answer those questions:
- What other reasons may contribute to your multilingualism?
- Any good or bad experience of being a multilingual?
From a fluent bilingual person
References
Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2009). Invisible and visible language planning: Ideological factors in the family language policy of Chinese immigrant families in Quebec, Language Policy, 8, 351-375.
Van Herk, G. (2012). What is Sociolinguistics? Chichester, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell.
