Multilingual

Multilingual refers to the use of or competence in more than one language. Multilingualism is the property of individuals, communities, or nations that regularly use two or more languages in daily life. The term is used for both personal language ability and sociolinguistic situations in which multiple languages exist within a society. It is distinct from bilingualism, a traditional term that often implied two languages, though many contexts treat bilingual as a subset of multilingual.

Individual multilingualism involves varying levels of speaking, listening, reading, and writing across languages. Societal or official multilingualism describes a country or region in which several languages have recognition or substantial use. Languages can operate in different domains—home, education, work, media, administration—and people may switch or mix languages as needed, a practice known as code-switching or translanguaging.

Acquisition and use: Multilinguals may acquire languages through family background, schooling, immigration, or deliberate study. Proficiency typically evolves across life stages and can be maintained or shifted depending on contexts and opportunities.

Policy and technology: Many regions pursue multilingual education, official language recognition, and support for minority languages to promote access and social inclusion. Digital technologies—machine translation, multilingual keyboards, and language-learning apps—facilitate communication but also raise questions about quality, equity, and representativeness.

Global aspects: Multilingualism is widespread and a defining feature of many communities worldwide, influencing education systems, media, governance, and cultural exchange. Ongoing research examines cognitive effects, social dynamics, and the sustainability of language diversity.