In multilingual families, multiple languages tend to be used on a more or less regular basis. When one (or more) languages are not used or used less for a longer period of time, it can lead to language shift, ans sometimes even language attrition and language loss.
The category game, known as Stadt–Land-Fluß in German, in Italiano si chiama nome, cose città en français c’est le jeu du baccalauréat, ou jeu du bac, ou petit bac – En español es el juego tutti frutti o también conocido como Stop, Alto el Lápiz, Chanton, Pare carrito, Autopencil, Bachillerato y Basta – y em
by Ute Limacher-Riebold and Ana Elisa Miranda What has being a multilingual family to do with how to travel light? Have you ever packed a backpack in the wrong way? Made it too heavy, causing you back pain; brought the wrong or unnecessary things, making it difficult to reach what you actually needed, quickly enough?
[updated 12 December 2023] When we use more languages either on a daily or regular basis, or across our lifespan, we might not be aware that the languages who “stand in the foreground” can shift into the background at some point. When we grow up surrounded by language yellow, blue and green[1] in the first