HOMO BILINGUIS: VARIABILITY AS A KEY FEATURE OF A BILINGUAL PERSON’S LINGUISTIC EXPERIENCE

Today, according to UNESCO estimates, at least half of the world’s population are bilinguals, speaking two or more languages or dialects in everyday life. Consequently, the formation of competent knowledge in the field of interdisciplinary language research and the study of the phenomenon of bilingualism as a separate cognitive component through the prism of formation, age-related changes and functioning of the brain system has important applied significance. Thus, this article examines the main concepts of determining language skills in bilinguals, formulated by leading modern experts in the field of bilingualism. Over the years, the view of language as a linear and hierarchical system based on the reductionist method was replaced by chaotic thinking in the early 1960s. As a result, based on Lorenz’s chaos theory, in a complex phenomenon like second language acquisition, each variable is important in shaping an individual’s unique linguistic profile. As a result of the study, the main concepts of defining a bilingual person and principles for studying the process of formation and development of bilingualism were revealed, such as: bilingualism is a continuum (each age stage and life experience can be reflected in the formation and development of bilingualism), bilingualism is a dynamic and multidimensional phenomenon (language skills, like other cognitive abilities, are a system of interrelated variables, that is, a combination of various factors) and a bilingual is not two monolinguals (measuring the academic performance of those learning a second language based on the standards of a “native speaker” is debatable).The central conclusion of this study is the necessity to consider bilingualism as a heterogeneous phenomenon with a wide variability at the center of which is a bilingual person with individual language experience. The findings of this analysis have important implications for researchers in this field, as the diversity of approaches to understanding and assessing the linguistic abilities of bilinguals engenders considerable challenges in the review of extant literature and the comparison of research findings.

Hali tarjima qilinmagan