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==In communities== {{Further|List of multilingual countries and regions}} [[File:Pola 07.jpg|thumb|339x339px|Croatian-Italian bilingual plate on a public building in [[Pula]]/Pola (Istria)]] [[File:Brussels signs.jpg|thumb|A bilingual sign in [[Brussels]], the capital of [[Belgium]]. In Brussels, both [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[French language|French]] are official languages.]] [[File:Multilingual sign in Macau.png|thumb|A [[multilingual sign]] at the [[Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Pier, Macau|Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Pier]] in [[Macau]]. At the top are [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and [[Chinese language|Chinese]], which are the [[official language]]s of Macau, while at the bottom are [[Japanese language|Japanese]] and English, which are common languages used by [[tourist]]s (English is also one of Hong Kong's two official languages).]] [[File:MultilingualismEnglishKannadaHindi.jpg|thumb|A caution message in [[English language|English]], [[Kannada language|Kannada]] and [[Hindi]] found in [[Bangalore]], India]] [[File:Trisulam railway station nameboard.JPG|thumb|The three-language ([[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[English language|English]] and [[Hindi]]) name board at the Tirusulam suburban railway station in [[Chennai]] (Madras). Almost all railway stations in India have signs like these in three or more languages (English, Hindi and the local language(s)).]] [[File:YVR intl arrivals signage 2.jpg|thumb|Multilingual sign at [[Vancouver International Airport]], international arrivals area. Text in English, French, and Chinese is a permanent feature of this sign, while the right panel of the sign is a video screen that rotates through additional languages.]] [[File:SPM A7786.jpg|thumb|Multilingual sign at an exit of [[SM Mall of Asia]] in [[Pasay]], Philippines. Three or four languages are shown: [[Japanese language|Japanese]]/[[Mandarin Chinese]] ("deguchi" or "chūkǒu", respectively), [[English language in the Philippines|English]] ("exit") and [[Korean language|Korean]] ("chulgu"). While [[Filipinos]] themselves are [[English language|anglophone]]s, such signs cater to the [[Koreans in the Philippines|growing number of Koreans]] and other [[Demographics of the Philippines|foreigners]] in the country.]] [[File:Multilingual message at a comfort room in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines.jpg|thumb|Multilingual message at a public toilet in [[Puerto Princesa]], Palawan, Philippines that prohibits foot washing. Text is written in six languages: English, [[Filipino language|Filipino]], [[Cebuano language|Cebuano]], Chinese, Korean, and [[Russian language|Russian]], from top to bottom.]] [[File:Quadrilingual Train Name written in Kannada-Hindi-Tamil-English.jpg|thumb|The name of a train found in South India written in four languages: Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, and English. Boards like this are common on trains that pass through two or more states where the languages spoken are different.]] [[File:UAE signboard.jpg|thumb|A trilingual ([[Arabic language|Arabic]], English and [[Urdu]]) sign in the [[UAE]] in the three widely spoken languages in the UAE]] Widespread multilingualism is one form of [[language contact]]. Multilingualism was common in the past: in early times, when most people were members of small language communities, it was necessary to know two or more languages for trade or any other dealings outside one's town or village, and this holds good today in places of high linguistic diversity such as [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] and [[India]]. Linguist Ekkehard Wolff estimates that 50% of the population of Africa is multilingual.<ref>Wolff, Ekkehard (2000). Language and Society. In: Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse (Eds.) ''African Languages – An Introduction'', 317. Cambridge University Press. </ref> In multilingual societies, not all speakers need to be multilingual. Some states can have multilingual policies and recognize several official languages, such as [[Official bilingualism in Canada|Canada]] (English and French). In some states, particular languages may be associated with particular regions in the state (e.g., Canada) or with particular ethnicities (e.g., Malaysia and Singapore). When all speakers are multilingual, linguists classify the community according to the functional distribution of the languages involved: * '''[[Diglossia]]''': if there is a structural-functional distribution of the languages involved, the society is termed 'diglossic'. Typical diglossic areas are those areas in [[Europe]] where a [[regional language]] is used in informal, usually oral, contexts, while the state language is used in more formal situations. [[Frisia]] (with [[Frisian languages|Frisian]] and [[German language|German]] or [[Dutch language|Dutch]]) and [[Lusatia]] (with [[Sorbian languages|Sorbian]] and German) are well-known examples. Some writers limit diglossia to situations where the languages are closely related and could be considered dialects of each other. This can also be observed in Scotland where, in formal situations, [[English language|English]] is used. However, in informal situations in many areas, [[Scots language|Scots]] is the preferred language of choice. A similar phenomenon is also observed in Arabic-speaking regions. The effects of diglossia can be seen in the difference between written Arabic ([[Modern Standard Arabic]]) and colloquial Arabic. However, as time has passed, Arabic speakers have developed what some have deemed "Middle Arabic" or "Common Arabic", somewhere between the two extremes. Because of this diversification of the language, the concept of spectroglossia<ref>M.H. Bakalla (1984), ''Arabic Culture Through Its Language and Literature'', Kegan Paul International, London, {{ISBN|978-0-7103-0027-0}}</ref> has been suggested. * {{anchor|ambilingualism}}'''Ambilingualism''': a region is called ambilingual if this functional distribution is not observed. In a typical ambilingual area it is nearly impossible to predict which language will be used in a given setting. True ambilingualism is rare. Ambilingual tendencies can be found in small states with multiple heritages, like [[Multilingualism in Luxembourg|Luxembourg]], which has a combined Franco-Germanic heritage, or [[Malaysia]] and [[Singapore]], which fuse the cultures of [[Ethnic Malays|Malays]], [[Chinese people]], and [[Indian people|Indian]]s, as well as in communities with high rates of deafness, like [[Martha's Vineyard]], where historically most inhabitants spoke both [[Martha's Vineyard Sign Language]] and English, or southern Israel, where locals tend to speak both [[Al-Sayyid Bedouin Sign Language]] and Arabic or Hebrew. Ambilingualism also can manifest in specific regions of larger states that have both a dominant state language (be it ''de jure'' or ''de facto'') and a protected minority language that is limited in terms of the distribution of speakers within the country. This tendency is especially pronounced when, even though the local language is widely spoken, there is a reasonable assumption that all citizens speak the predominant state tongue (e.g., English in Quebec vs. all of Canada; Spanish in Catalonia vs. all of Spain). This phenomenon can also occur in border regions with many cross-border contacts. * '''Bipart-lingualism''': if more than one language can be heard in a small area, but the large majority of speakers are monolinguals, who have little contact with speakers from neighboring ethnic groups, an area is called 'bipart-lingual'. An example of this is the [[Balkans]]. Note that the terms given above all refer to situations describing only two languages. In cases of an unspecified number of languages, the terms '''polyglossia''', '''omnilingualism''', and '''multipart-lingualism''' are more appropriate. [[Christoffer Taxell#Taxell's Paradox|Taxell's paradox]] refers to the notion that monolingual solutions are essential to the realization of functional bilingualism, with multilingual solutions ultimately leading to monolingualism. The theory is based on the observation of the [[Swedish language|Swedish]] language in [[Finland]] in environments such as schools is subordinated to the majority language [[Finnish language|Finnish]] for practical and social reasons, despite the positive characteristics associated with mutual language learning.<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Valkonen |first=Eero |date=2020 |title=En- eller tvåspråkiga lösningar?: diskursanalys om användning av begreppet 'den taxellska paradoxen' i Vasabladets debattinlägg 2013–2018 |trans-title=Monolingual or bilingual solutions?: discourse analysis on the use of the term 'Taxell's paradox' in Vasabladet's debates 2013–2018 |degree=Bachelor |url=https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/71802 |language=sv |access-date=17 May 2022 |archive-date=9 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809045356/https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/71802 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Finnilä |first=Heidi |title=Taxell om sin paradox |trans-title=About Taxell's paradox |date=12 September 2014<!-- it was first published 16 May 2013, but it was updated 12 September 2014 --> |url=https://svenska.yle.fi/a/7-615859 |access-date=2022-05-17 |newspaper=[[yle]] |language=sv |archive-date=17 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517071658/https://svenska.yle.fi/a/7-615859 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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