Bilingualism vs. Biculturalism?
BY OLENA CENTENO
Mama, am I bilingual or bicultural? Or am I both?
Bilingualism and biculturalism are related, but they are not the same thing.
Some people assume that if you raise a child to be bilingual, that child will automatically have access to another culture. While it helps, it’s not quite that easy — bilingualism is more of a door into biculturalism.
First, the definitions:
Bilingualism is the ability to communicate in two languages. It generally implies writing, reading, and speaking fluently, although the term is also sometimes applied to individuals who are only bilingual speakers, and not literate in a second language.
Biculturalism is an immersion in two distinct cultures, implying participation in traditional heritage practices like food, dress, family traditions, folklore and folk art, etc.
Speaking a heritage language is often an important part of biculturalism. However, the immersion goes beyond that. Biculturalism is often, but not always, the product of a bicultural family, usually one made from a cross-cultural marriage.
Bilingual individuals will have an easier time sampling experiences from other cultures even without a family tradition of it, however — the second language gives them access to people from that language’s culture or cultures.
Aspects of Culture Beyond Language
Here are a few of the things a bicultural individual experiences from more than one perspective, in addition to language and speech itself:
1. Food
Typical Ukrainian celebration. What is on your table?
Cultural or “heritage” dishes are generally influenced by the staples that were available wherever that particular culture and language was established.
Dining cross-culturally can be a linguistic experience — most Americans, for example, know that “con arroz” means “with rice” in Spanish, simply from the prevalence of Latin American foods in the United States.
However, it is possible to eat culturally-influenced meals without knowing any of the parent language, and many children do, particularly in households where immigrant parents or grandparents cook, but children are raised speaking the local language.
Some traditions go beyond just the kinds of food used, and affect how they are eaten as well — the difference between using chopsticks and forks, for example, or between eating omelets and other egg dishes for breakfast (United States) and for evening meals (Eastern Europe and parts of Latin America).
One of the advantages of introducing children to bicultural eating as well as language when they’re young is that it becomes less of a culture shock when they travel later in life. They’re already familiar with the traditional foods of their heritage country. And, as an added bonus, it gets them used to the idea of a varied diet in general — a good way to help discourage picky eating habits!
2. Folk Art
The broad category of “folk art” includes music, dance, folklore, and traditional cultural crafts.
Some cultures have very specific and guarded ones — Japanese flower arranging and calligraphy, for example. Others are practiced all over the world in different styles, such as pottery or even things as common as painting and stringed instruments.
Exposing a bilingual child to cultural art as well can be useful in a couple of different ways. Obviously, it gives them something to appreciate that they wouldn’t normally encounter, but it can also open up new vocabulary, and it can be very revealing about a culture as well. Something as simple as listening to a piece of music by a Russian composer and then one by a contemporary German composer gives even a casual observer a good understanding of some of the differences between the two cultures.
3. Celebrations
Children like this one, because it usually means at least twice as many holidays in the household!
Bringing in holidays from other culture is a start to explaining everything from religious plurality to the differences in calendar systems.
It’s also good motivation, especially when you can explain that Russian-speakers have their own Santa, who only brings presents for Russian-speaking children. You’ll be amazed how prolific the Russian use gets around Christmas time…
4. Jokes
Humor is very difficult to translate.
Even after years of living together, bicultural couples can struggle to understand one another’s humor. But don’t let that difficulty scare you away from it — instead, ask to have jokes explained, and work through why they’re funny in their original cultures. If you understand a culture’s humor, you’re very well-immersed!
Introducing children to multicultural humor is surprisingly easy. Most toys, books, and TV shows marketed toward kids is humor-based already. If you want to give them a grounding in another culture’s humor, just let them watch some silly cartoons — the things that culture finds amusing will become apparent very quickly. You may even learn something yourself.
5. Manners
via Bilingualism vs. Biculturalism? The Curious Case of the Japanese Brazilians.
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Bilingualism vs. Biculturalism?