Editing Multilingualism (section)

==Interaction between speakers of different languages==
Whenever two people meet, negotiations take place. If they want to express solidarity and sympathy, they tend to seek common features in their behavior. If speakers wish to express distance towards or even dislike of the person they are speaking to, the reverse is true, and differences are sought. This mechanism also extends to language, as described by the [[communication accommodation theory]].

Some multilingual people use [[code-switching]], which involves swapping between languages. In many cases, code-switching allows speakers to participate in more than one cultural group or environment. Code-switching may also function as a strategy where proficiency is lacking. Such strategies are common if the vocabulary of one of the languages is not very elaborated for certain fields, or if the speakers have not developed proficiency in certain lexical domains, as in the case of immigrant languages.

This code-switching appears in many forms. If a speaker has a positive attitude towards both languages and towards code-switching, many switches can be found, even within the same sentence.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Poplack Shana | author-link = Shana Poplack | year = 1980 | title = Sometimes I'll start a sentence in Spanish y termino en español": toward a typology of code-switching | journal = Linguistics | volume = 18 | issue = 7/8| pages = 581–618 | doi = 10.1515/ling.1980.18.7-8.581 | hdl = 10315/2506 | s2cid = 201699959 | hdl-access = free }}</ref> If however, the speaker is reluctant to use code-switching, as in the case of a lack of proficiency, he might knowingly or unknowingly try to camouflage his attempt by converting elements of one language into elements of the other language through [[calque|calquing]]. This results in speakers using terms like ''courrier noir'' (literally, mail that is black) in French, instead of the proper word for [[blackmail]] in French, ''chantage''.

Sometimes [[pidgin]]s develop. A pidgin is a fusion of two or more languages that is grammatically simplified but can be understood by native speakers of any of the original languages. Some pidgins develop into "real" [[creole language]]s (such as [[Papiamento]] in [[Curaçao]] or [[Singlish]] in [[Singapore]]), while others simply evolve into [[slang]]s or [[jargon]]s (such as [[Helsinki slang]], which remains more or less [[mutually intelligible]] with standard Finnish and Swedish).{{Clarify|date=July 2014}} In other cases, prolonged influence of languages on each other may have the effect of changing one or both of them to the point a new, non-creole language is born. For example, many linguists believe that the [[Occitan language]] and the [[Catalan language]] were formed because a population speaking a single Occitano-Romance language was divided by the political spheres of influence of France and Spain, respectively. [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] is a complex blend of [[Middle High German]] with [[Hebrew]] and also has borrowings from Slavic languages.

Bilingual interaction can even take place without speakers switching between languages or fusing them together. In certain areas, it is not uncommon for speakers to use a different language within the same conversation. This phenomenon is found, amongst other places, in [[Scandinavia]]. Most speakers of [[Swedish language|Swedish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] and [[Danish language|Danish]] can communicate with each other speaking their respective languages, while few can speak both (people used to these situations often adjust their language, avoiding words that are not found in the other language or that can be misunderstood). Using different languages is usually called [[non-convergent discourse]], a term introduced by the [[Dutch people|Dutch]] linguist Reitze Jonkman.{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}} To a certain extent, this situation also exists between [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]], although everyday contact is fairly rare because of the distance between the two respective communities. Another example is the former state of [[Czechoslovakia]], where two closely related and mutually intelligible languages ([[Czech language|Czech]] and [[Slovak language|Slovak]]) were in common use. Most Czechs and Slovaks understand both languages, although they would use only one of them (their respective mother tongue) when speaking. For example, in Czechoslovakia, it was common to hear two people talking on television each speaking a different language without any difficulty understanding each other. This bilingualism still exists nowadays, although it has started to deteriorate since Czechoslovakia split up.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Musilová | first1=Květa | chapter=Vývojové tendence v komunikaci Čechů a Slováků po rozdělení ČSFR | trans-chapter=Developmental trends in communication between Czechs and Slovaks after the division of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic | editor-last=Lotko | editor-first=Edvard | editor-last2=Fiala | editor-first2=Jiří. | editor-last3=Hádková | editor-first3=Marie | title=České, polské a slovenské jazykové a literární souvislosti: sborník referátů z mezinárodního odborného semináře uspořádaného u příležitosti sedmdesátin prof. PhDr. Edvarda Lotka, CSc., na filozofické fakultě univerzity Palackého v Olomouci dne 20. února 2002 | trans-title=Czech, Polish and Slovak linguistic and literary contexts: a collection of papers from an international professional seminar organized on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Prof. Edvard Lotek PhD CSc, At the Faculty of Arts of Palacký University in Olomouc on 20 February 2002 | publisher=Palacký University | publication-place=Olomouc | date=2003 | isbn=80-244-0628-4 | oclc=84662327 | language=cs |pages=223–229 }}</ref>

<gallery>
File:Wakkanai Russian sign.jpg|Japanese, English, and Russian sign in Northern Japan
File:Chengde summer palace writings.jpg|Mongolian, Chagatai, Chinese, Tibetan, and Manchu sign in Chengde, China
File:Languages of Israel.jpeg|A sign at the Israeli [[Ministry of Interior (Israel)|Ministry of Interior]] and [[Ministry of Aliyah and Integration|Ministry of Immigration and Absorption]] in Haifa in 2009 uses Hebrew, Arabic, English, and Russian
File:Protected place sign, Fort Canning Park, Singapore - 20081203.jpg|A multilingual sign in Singapore's four official languages: English, Chinese, Tamil, and Malay
File:Trilingual road sign in India.png|Urdu, Hindi, and English on a road sign in India
File:Tifinagh writing.JPG|A sign in Morocco uses Arabic, Berber (written in [[Tifinagh]]), and French
</gallery>