Multilinguals are ...?
Overview
Multilinguals, those of us who use more than one language in everyday life, are... gifted semilinguals who are dominant in no mother tongue, for example? Apparently so, judging by the ways people keep talking about them. This is the first book that discusses, in light-hearted lay terms, the reasons behind the beliefs and myths about multilinguals that allow you to fill the blank in its title with almost any label and get away with it. Drawing on solid academic research, the book provides keys to the origin and endurance of the many intriguing names that multilinguals have been called, starting with the master-key to them all. The conclusion is that any oddities assigned to multilinguals are due to the language that is used to talk about them, not to multilingual behaviour itself. The book is abundantly illustrated and includes many cartoons. It is written for the general public, families, teachers, policy-makers, clinicians, and anyone who ever wondered about multilingualism, but is targeted exclusively at multilingual or monolingual readers (of English).
Do we know what multilinguals are?
Multilinguals use several languages in everyday life. Most people around the world are multilinguals, although they arouse attitudes ranging from awe at their giftedness or unusual intelligence to fear that they lack competence in any one language.
This is the first book which discusses, in lay terms, the reasons behind the beliefs and myths traditionally associated with multilinguals. It is written for the general public and is relevant for families, teachers, speech-language clinicians, and anyone who ever wondered about multilingualism. The style is light, often witty, but founded on a thorough knowledge of solid academic research on this subject. The book is abundantly illustrated and includes many cartoons.