The topic of bilingualism may seem quite easy and insignificant at first. You may have your own point of view and stick to it. However, when some people find bilingualism positive, others may consider it to be negative. That is why, the problem of points of view may arise. As a result, the problem of bilingualism becomes broader and more serious.
So, let’s find out what bilingualism really mean. It is the possessing and usage by a person of at least two languages. In particular, a bilingual person is the one who speaks two languages from the early childhood. In most cases it happens in families, where mother and father are representatives of different nationalities. For example, if mother speaks French, and father speaks English, their children will grow up in the atmosphere of bilingualism. As a result, children will freely speak both languages.
There are quite a lot of advantages of bilingualism, so let’s find out, what are the pros of bilingualism?
It will be easier for a bilingual person to learn other languages, as he already has an experience of learning to languages at once. If you have just become bilingual, you can be sure that very soon you will be able to become multilingual, as you already have the practice of learning languages.
You will need the skills of knowing languages in future. The world is constantly developing, and the people, who know many languages have more opportunities and more chances to get good job and be more successful than others.
People who possess more than one language are more social and outgoing. It is easier for them to communicate with others, because they know for sure that they will be understood.
Bilingual people are sure in themselves, they are more brave and active in social life, because they possess all the required skills and they are not afraid to show them to others.
Bilingual people have better understanding of cultural differences and peculiar properties.
Memory, as well as reading and writing skills are being perfectly developed, as you are learning many new words day by day.
As language is a perfect tool of communication, multilingual people have more chances to get the job of their dream.
It is difficult to imagine that there may be any cons, however, there are still some.
Bilingual kids have a risk to be teased by others. Other children or even grown ups may exert pressure on such kids, demanding more from them.
One more disadvantage is that people may constantly ask you for favors with translation and other requests, as you know several language and they think it will be not difficult for you to help.
It may be difficult for a bilingual or multilingual person to assimilate. The norms and pronunciation of languages is different and the person may confuse the norms of speech.
As you see, the pros and cons are incomparable, and advantages of bilingualism are much more significant, than disadvantage. It is really great to know as many languages as possible, as modern world requires this knowledge. The more you know, the more you achieve.