people bilingual summary days ago inquired estimates portion world human population bilingual one motive asking able shame students taking language study seriously mainstream human would exhort thank michael brody eva fernandez jussi karlgren ruth kearns informative replies insofar information topic see reference list authors point one problem question difficulty defining bilingual since people described equally proficient languages key excerpts follow romaine 1995 8 thirty times many languages countries entails sic presence bilingualism practically every country world grosjean 1982 vii estimates half world population bilingual however really precise figures number distribution speakers two languages grosjean 1982 2 interesting fact really precise statistics exist concerning number distribution speakers two languages romaine 1995 9 quotes makey 1967 11 bilingualism far exceptional problem sic affects majority world population grosjean 1982 2 quotes lewis 1976 115 bilingualism nearer normal situation people willing believe end quotations may remember asked _ principled _ estimates far tell authors say little bases reasoning behind estimates ruth kearns points estimates tend come statistics numbers languages spoken various countries statisitics population size countries remains wideopen question jussi karlgren expressed interesting hunch number languages spoken inverse correlation average schooling general population area rather take sarcastic commentary inefficacy formal language teaching taken liberty rationalizing follows schooling tends impose artificially single standard language detriment plurality languages spoken naturally references grosjean francois 1982 life two languages cambridge harvard university press lewis e g 1976 bilingualism bilingual education ancient world renaissance bilingual education international sociological perspective ed j fishman rowley mass newbury house mackey william francis 1967 bilingualism world problem le bilinguisme phenomene mondial montreal harvest house mackey w f 1976 bilinguisme et contact des langues paris klinckseick romaine suzanne 1995 2nd ed bilingualism oxford blackwell lee hartman ga5123 siucvmb siu edu department foreign languages southern illinois university carbondale il 629014521 u