4 ms·

knowing "two or more" languages I'm curious about your definition of 'knowing' in this instance. Fluent? Functional? Basic?

• jarek 15y ago
  The NYT article used "fluency" - I'm fine with going with that.
  • georgieporgie 15y ago
    Something like 50% of Europeans identify as speaking more than one language. Since 'speaking' is vague, and fluency is hard, I think attaining fluency in multiple languages counts as reasonably 'super' even in Europe.
    • jarek 15y ago
      Personally I'd restrict "super" status to a lot less than 20% or 30% of the population - certainly that's what the NYT article is doing. Fluency in two languages is pretty much a requirement for any but the most basic professional positions in much of Europe, and I wouldn't want to start calling every middle-level manager or accounts person "super."
      • georgieporgie 15y ago
        Personally I'd restrict "super" status to a lot less than 20% or 30% of the population Exactly. 50% of the population may identify as 'speaking' two or more languages, but I seriously doubt more than 20% of them are fluent in two or more languages. There is an enormous difference between functional and fluent.
        • jarek 15y ago
          Are we in violent agreement? If even 10% of European population are fluent in two languages, and we restrict "super" to something meaningfully specific, say top 2% of population, then fluency in two languages is not sufficient for super status in Europe.
    • _corbett 15y ago
      I live in Switzerland, most people I know speak at minimum three languages fluently, and a huge proportion 4 or 5.