I tend to think of "bilingual" as speaking both "as a native would", but then, when it comes to words, I'm very strict in my standards. By that same definition, I would probably NOT be quite good enough an English speaker to count as as bilingual, even though I consider both to be "mother tongue" languages and though most other people would think I'm bilingual.
In addition to the many criteria listed for being bilingual, I would like to add two: 1) Proper pronunciation of different sets of phonemes. Take Hebrew & English- many Anglos speaking Hebrew give me the "fingernails on chalkboards" reaction. Yes we have "the same" vowels. No they don't sound at all alike. I'll be kind and say that perhaps it is enough to understand the differences, even if unable to articulate them. 2) More cultural than "pure" language - knowing that while dictionaries will translate X as Y, that this is ONLY a rough approximation. To be truly fluent /bilingual, I say understanding what these difference ARE.
no subject
In addition to the many criteria listed for being bilingual, I would like to add two:
1) Proper pronunciation of different sets of phonemes. Take Hebrew & English- many Anglos speaking Hebrew give me the "fingernails on chalkboards" reaction. Yes we have "the same" vowels. No they don't sound at all alike. I'll be kind and say that perhaps it is enough to understand the differences, even if unable to articulate them.
2) More cultural than "pure" language - knowing that while dictionaries will translate X as Y, that this is ONLY a rough approximation. To be truly fluent /bilingual, I say understanding what these difference ARE.