Monoglottism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monoglottism (Greek monos, "alone, solitary", + glotta, "tongue, language") or, more commonly, monolingualism or unilingualism is the condition of being able to speak only a single language. Persons living in the United States, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom are commonly stereotyped as monoglots. Persons whose native language is widespread, commonly used, culturally and economically influential, or otherwise useful, are likely to be monoglots.

Monolingual or unilingual is also said of a text, dictionary, or conversation written or conducted in only one language.

A recent Canadian study has shown that monoglots are at an disadvantage with the onset of senility compared to billingual people. [1]