Bilingualism = Biculturalism? Reflections on the relationship between language and culture

Bilingualism = Biculturalism? Reflections on the relationship between language and culture
Luxembourg has three officially recognized national languages (French, German, and Luxembourgish); at least two of these are used in everyday interactions by Luxembourgers and the non-resident population. A series of empirical studies using quantitative as well as qualitative methodology tested the relationship between bilingualism and biculturalism. The first study (N = 99 students) addressed tri-lingual Luxembourg nationals. The results of this quantitative study showed that the vast majority of the Luxembourg participants consider themselves to be multi- or bilingual, though they report to feel monocultural. The qualitative findings obtained in this study indicate that language was considered to be a necessary, but not sufficient condition for multiculturalism. In line with other research on biculturalism, the results showed that biculturalism requires cultural immersion to take place. Furthermore, for those who feel bicultural, language is considered a prime for cultural frame switching. This implies that the language prompts the cultural frame switching and the switching between languages does not require conscious efforts. This difference of perception of language as a cultural prime as opposed to language as a means of communication was also confirmed in a study among adolescents (N = 204) and a study among adults (N = 504). Implications are discussed for increasingly diverse, multi-lingual societies.