Bilingualism is a necessity for many families

For many families, having a bilingual or trilingual child is not a choice, but a necessity. Take, for example, a child arriving in Canada with parents who speak only a minority language. In this case, the child and the family are in a situation where it is necessary to maintain their home language while learning the majority language of their host country. This would be an example of additive bilingualism.

What is additive bilingualism?

This occurs when the first language (L1), often a minority language, is supported while the second language (L2), often a majority language, is introduced (for example, our French immersion programs).

This is our goal as professionals, but navigating these situations is challenging for several reasons, especially if the first language (L1) is a minority language. Families from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds often face numerous questions and advice that devalue the home language or simply emphasize the majority language. This advice is frequently fueled by persistent myths about acquiring a second or third language, which can lead families to abandon their native language altogether. In such cases, the child could quickly find themselves in a situation of subtractive bilingualism.

What is Subtractive Bilingualism?

Each language has a sociolinguistic status. When two cultures reflect different traditions and beliefs, there may be a tendency for the language with the lower status, often the minority language, to be lost. Thus, a language considered majority (with the highest status in society) may be maintained at the expense of the language considered minority. This loss of the minority language, or L1, is called subtractive bilingualism, where a child who begins to acquire L2, often a majority language, stops developing their L1. This can have many negative consequences for the child and their family, such as:

• The child might stop using their home language (L1 – minority) and this is a question of attitude towards language, culture, and the development of their personal identity (e.g., if a teacher or educator, or anyone important in a child's life, tells them that they should speak French and not language X, language X may then be perceived negatively by the child).
• If a child reduces their use of their home language, what will happen? They will become less proficient in that language and feel less comfortable. They may therefore lose the desire to use it, and this has significant consequences for bilingualism: lack of mastery in both L1 and L2, and thus no derived cognitive benefits.
• The parent or guardian can also reduce their frequency of use of the minority language in favor of the community language. This will also have an impact on the child's language development, depending on their age and ethnolinguistic background.
• The loss of the home language also has a significant impact on family relationships, particularly when the parent communicates little or not at all in the majority language. They themselves do not master the language, and this can have serious consequences such as:
  • Inability to socialize with one's child;
  • Inability to pass on one's family customs, values, and cultural beliefs;
  • A less rich language exposure (if it is the parent who tries to speak the majority language)

Our work with parents involves informing them about second language development. We need to reassure them and create an environment conducive to learning a second language, while maintaining the child's native language. We then need to establish a plan to:

• Promote both languages
• To provide sufficient language immersion in both languages
• Increase contacts
• Don't abandon your mother tongue to facilitate the development of your second language. Remember: the higher your level in L1, the better your abilities will develop in L2.

Furthermore, being bilingual can HELP a child with a developmental language disorder as much as a typically developing child by providing them with resources in another language to facilitate communication. It is therefore crucial to consider the family's interpretation of their child's communication, and their feelings when questions arise regarding the child's language difficulties. Furthermore, Here is an article published in X that talks about the benefits of bilingualism for children with developmental disorders.

If you are a speech-language pathologist looking to train yourself on the care (assessment and intervention) of bilingual or allophone children, you can test your knowledge on this subject by taking the free quiz I created just for you.