Understanding Language in Contact

 When people who speak different languages live, work, or interact closely, their languages begin to influence each other. This fascinating process is known as language contact, and it plays a powerful role in how we learn, teach, and experience second languages—especially in multicultural classrooms.

The truth is that this idea has been studied for decades. In 1953, Uriel Weinreich published his groundbreaking book Language in Contact, which helped shape the way we understand bilingualism and its effects on language change and learning. Since then, researchers have explored how languages merge, borrow, and shift—depending on many social and linguistic factors.

Let’s break this down into simple, real-life concepts that you, as a bilingual teacher in training, can relate to and apply.

🧠 What Happens When Languages Meet?

Language contact doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It’s shaped by who speaks the languages, how long they’ve been in contact, and why. Several factors influence the outcome:

1. Bilingualism Factors. These include how long the contact has lasted, how similar the languages are, and how often speakers interact. For example, Spanish and Portuguese share many words and sounds, so bilinguals often move between them more smoothly.

2. Social Factors. Religion, gender, race, and age all play a role. A teenager in Bogotá might mix English slang into their Spanish more than their grandparents would.

3. Functional Factors. Institutions like schools, governments, and the media influence how languages are used. If English is used in your school’s curriculum, it will shape students’ language habits.

4. Political and Ideological Factors. Language prestige, colonial history, or national policies affect which language is seen as “better” or more valuable. English, for instance, often enjoys more status due to global power dynamics.

And here’s something important: people aren’t just passive in this process. We, the speakers, make choices. We borrow, switch, adapt—and in doing so, we shape language itself.

🧳 Common Outcomes of Language Contact

Borrowing

This is when we adopt words, phrases, or even grammar from another language. It’s something we all do without even noticing!

• Examples: "Fútbol" in Spanish (from English "football"), "croissant" in English (from French).
• Sometimes the words are translated literally, like perros calientes for “hot dogs.”

Pidgin and Creole Languages

• A pidgin is a simplified form of language used for basic communication, often in trade. It has limited vocabulary and grammar.
• When a pidgin becomes a mother tongue for new generations, it evolves into a creole. This transition is called creolization.
• The reverse process, where a creole becomes more like the dominant language, is known as decreolization.

Diglossia

Some communities speak two versions of the same language:

• One is formal (used in writing, official contexts).
• The other is informal (used in everyday life).
• Arabic is a classic example: Modern Standard Arabic is used in writing, while various dialects are spoken informally.

👥 What Is Bilingualism, Really?

The term bilingualism might sound simple, but it’s much more complex than just “speaking two languages.”

By Language Exposure

• Simultaneous bilingualism: Learning two languages from birth.
• Sequential bilingualism: Learning one language first, then the second.

By Language Skills

• Productive bilingualism: You can speak, write, listen, and read.
• Receptive bilingualism: You understand (listen/read) but don’t actively speak or write.
• Functional bilingualism: You use languages in specific contexts—like English in the classroom and Spanish at home.

By Cognitive Function

• Coordinate bilingualism: Two language systems are used separately based on context.
• Compound bilingualism: Words from two languages are linked to the same meaning.
• Subordinate bilingualism: One language dominates the other, and you interpret the second language through the first.

🔄 Code-Switching: Dancing Between Languages

You’ve probably done it yourself—changing languages mid-sentence depending on who you're talking to or what you’re trying to express. That’s code-switching.

• It’s a common, natural part of bilingual communication.
• It’s not “wrong” or “lazy”—in fact, it shows flexibility and identity.
• It reflects how languages live inside our minds as interconnected systems.

🚧 Language Interference: Helpful or Harmful?

Sometimes, knowing one language influences how you use another. This is called interference, and it can be positive or negative.

• Positive interference: Similar words or rules make learning easier (e.g., history and historia).
• Negative interference: False friends can cause confusion (e.g., actually vs. actualmente).

Even pronunciation can be affected. A Japanese speaker might say flied instead of fried because their language doesn’t distinguish between /r/ and /l/.

💡 Why This Matters in Your Classroom

As a future bilingual teacher, you’ll meet learners with diverse linguistic backgrounds. Understanding how language contact works will help you:

• Be more patient with learners’ "mistakes."
• Celebrate the richness of bilingual expression.
• Create lessons that acknowledge and build on your students’ linguistic realities.

You’re not just teaching grammar. You’re helping students navigate a world where languages live, mix, and evolve. And that’s a powerful thing.

📚 References

Weinreich, U. (1953). Languages in contact: Findings and problems. New York: Linguistic Circle of New York.

Grosjean, F. (2010). Bilingual: Life and reality. Harvard University Press.

Fishman, J. A. (1972). The sociology of language: An interdisciplinary social science approach to language in society. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.

Wardhaugh, R., & Fuller, J. M. (2021). An introduction to sociolinguistics (8th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.

Romaine, S. (2000). Language in society: An introduction to sociolinguistics (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.