Words / B1

by-LINGW-uh-l/baɪˈlɪŋɡwəl/

Bilingual means using two languages well: bilingual staff; a bilingual sign; bilingual in English and Urdu. Monolingual is one language; multilingual is more than two. Fluent is about skill, not the number of languages. Do not call a two-week beginner course bilingual. In UK public services, bilingual posts are advertised with the languages named.

Meaning

Able to speak two languages well; also written in two languages.

Examples

• “The clinic needs bilingual staff for English and Polish.”
• “The clinic advertised for bilingual nurses (English and Polish).”
• “A bilingual caption under the graph helps parents who do not read English.”

Good to know

bilingual in A and B; bilingual staff / signs. One language: monolingual. More than two: multilingual.

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