My main language is English. I know 3 different Chinese dialects. I also learned some Japanese from High school. So what am I?
Thanks for reading.
2007-12-20 20:54:04 · 15 answers · asked by Closed 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
I was just wondering whether the dialects count separately.
2007-12-20 21:11:10 · update #1
If you speak both English and Chinese fluently, then yes. If you can speak more, then you're poly-lingual.
2007-12-20 20:56:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bilingual means two languages (the prefix Bi means 2). If you are fluent in more than two languages you would be considered a polyglot. But I'm not sure if different dialects of the same language would count as different languages.
As for the Japanese, it would depend on if you know it well enough to communicate with a native speaker.
2007-12-21 04:58:25 · answer #2 · answered by Justin H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As long as you are fluent in the other languages, you can be bilingual or even trilingual.
You sound like you're bilingual. Dialects are still in the Chinese language, and learning Japanese in h.s. doesn't make you fluent enough.
2007-12-21 18:09:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no you are consider bilingual when you know two fluent languages not dialects there is a bunch of difference between dialects and languages dialects are spoken by groups of people and a language is being spoken by a whole nation if you really know fluent Japanese you will consider bilingual>
2007-12-21 17:34:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some people think that bilingual means that you know two languages. You would certainly be considered bilingual by that definition. In fact, I would call you multilingual.
In the definition that I and many linguists use, bilingual means that the person has two NATIVE languages. I can't tell whether you fit that definition because you didn't mention when you learned Chinese.
2007-12-21 05:01:11 · answer #5 · answered by drshorty 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Bilingual
2007-12-21 04:56:43 · answer #6 · answered by Mommyx2 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What three dialects of Chinese are you referring to? Some are just differences of accent, rather than full-fledged dialects.
At the least, you'd be trilingual.
2007-12-21 04:56:30 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Ask this a chinese teacher of chinese - nobody here can answer without testing you -
I notice that many people speak very much about languages -
2007-12-21 05:02:00 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
At least bilingual, it not trilingual because of the Japanese.
Just depends on how fluent you are in each.
2007-12-21 04:57:24 · answer #9 · answered by Ashley H 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Trilingual.
2007-12-21 05:09:49 · answer #10 · answered by Snowy 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋