Academic Paper |
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| Title: | Is multilingualism linked to a higher tolerance of ambiguity? |
| Author: | Jean-Marc Adrien Dewaele |
| Email: | click here to access email |
| Institution: | Birkbeck College, University of London |
| Author: | Li Wei |
| Institution: | University of London |
| Linguistic Field: | Language Acquisition |
| Abstract: | The present study investigates the link between multilingualism and the personality trait Tolerance of Ambiguity (TA) among 2158 mono-, bi- and multilinguals. Monolinguals and bilinguals scored significantly lower on TA compared to multilinguals. A high level of global proficiency of various languages was linked to higher TA scores. A stay abroad of more than three months was also linked to higher TA although the effect levelled off after one year. Growing up in a multilingual family had no effect on TA. These findings show that a high level of multilingualism makes individuals more at ease in dealing with ambiguity, but we acknowledge that a higher level of TA can also strengthen an individual's inclination to become multilingual. |
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This article appears in Bilingualism: Language and Cognition Vol. 16, Issue 1, which you can read on Cambridge's site or on LINGUIST . |
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