monoglottism

Guest   Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:15 pm GMT
I would like to know to what extent one can call another a monoglot. I'm fluent in only one language, but I consider myself able to speak French and Spanish to a reasonably advanced standard. Does monoglottism cover those who only speak one language without speaking any others at all, and/or those who are fluent in only one but are near-fluent in others?
monoglot   Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:44 pm GMT
I would say that someone is either monolingual, bilingual, trilingual, etc. (or possible alingual if they have autism, etc.).

I'd say someone is bilingual (or multilingual) if they feel comfortable and confident in two (or more) languages. This would require near-native fluency in all the languages.

BTW -- There's a proud US tradition of monolingualism, and I can proudly claim to be monolingual. :)
Guest   Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:57 pm GMT
Polyglots are compound beings made up of polymerized monoglots.