This paper concerns the meaning and use of complex linguistic skills in social life, including in the professional sphere. After an introduction based on theories of language as ‘capital’ and data about Poles’ current language skills, the author presents her own research. The object of the study was to examine the social value of multilingualism in contemporary Poland by comparing the views of students, employers, and language-service providers. The research involved questionnaires, expert interviews, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of employment advertisements. On the basis of the results, it can be stated that the value of multilingualism is variously interpreted depending on the appraising entity. Poland is not, at least at present, a market for homo poliglottus, as multilingualism would appear to be underappreciated.

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of maternal and paternal languages on the development of a bilingual child’s language. It is assumed that a mother’s language has the greatest influence on a child’s language. In addition, maternal language is responsible for the largest part of the variety in the language children understand and use as well as the development of bilingualism. We also believe that fathers influence the language of a home and mothers influence the language of a child. In our analysis, the focus is on the quantity and quality of exposure to the given languages, the pattern of language used by parents, the language of formal instruction and the style of parentchild interaction. Over one hundred and fifty case studies were under examination depicting various language constellations, such as e.g. Polish and English, Polish and Russian, Polish and German, Polish and Ukrainian, Polish and Belarusian, Polish and Italian. Hence, with this paper we hope to be able to better understand cross-linguistic influence on bilingual speakers.

The concept of 'diversity' is embedded in the learning and teaching of Italian as a second language, and increasingly emerges in everyday school life. By presenting an educational pathway designed and implemented within a multi-class context, the contribution seeks to highlight how the appreciation of linguistic heterogeneity, in a multi-ethnic group with varying abilities, can be transformed from a problem into a resource.

The article attempts to consider issues related to the presence of various language varieties in Croatian literature – general/standard (native and foreign), regional (dialects, regiolects), social (sociolects). Focusing primarily on artistic narrative prose, the author tries to show how the heritage of centuries‑old multilingualism in the culture of Croatia translated into various stylistic phenomena, how it evolves and what consequences it may have not only for the language itself, but also for cultural phenomena. Thanks to this approach, an attempt is made to highlight the circumstances related to the choice of the Shtokavian dialect as the literary language in the 19th century.

Becoming more and more a multidisciplinary domain of study, the development of research in second language acquisition, and even more visibly in multilingualism, has moved away from its sole focus on cognitive aspects to social-affective dimensions. Consequently, research in these areas makes more extensive use of research methodology characteristic of social sciences. The focus on identity brings together issues of social context and the construction of one’s identity through negotiation of who we are, how we relate to the outside world and how we position ourselves in relation to others (Pavlenko 2001). Language is the main tool in this construction/ negotiation through the acquisition/learning and use of multiple languages. In relation to the development of one’s multilingual identity, the major distinction has to be made between acquiring a language in its natural context (the case of one’s mother tongue or immigration) and learning it in formal contexts. Block (2014) believes that the issue of identity can only be studied in a natural environment of language acquisition, and not in a formal instruction context. This article aims to confi rm or reject the above belief, based on evidence from various studies of bi- and multiple language users and how they perceive their identities and their relation to the languages in their possession. It includes a pilot study of trilingual language learners and their understanding of how the individual languages they know (L1, L2, L3) build their identities and the way they enrich, impoverish or challenge who they see themselves to have been by birth (Gabryś-Barker 2018). The issues discussed relate to external (other people, situations, contexts) and internal identity-building factors (individual affectivity, personality features).

This paper investigates the phenomenon of language transfer at the initial state of third language acquisition by adult Polish learners of English (L2) and German (L3). First, the controversy between two conflicting theories of language acquisition, behaviorism and nativism, is discussed with regard to cross-linguistic interactions. Second, some influential models of third language acquisition are presented. The participants’ written production data from 122 essays was analyzed and interpreted in terms of language transfer. Evidence for both L1 and L2 transfer could be found. The results show, however, that the influence of L2 is more robust and primarily affects the lexicon. Finally, the present paper emphasizes the fact that language transfer should not be perceived as a source of errors, but rather as an inevitable result of the third language acquisition process.

The article deals with the problems of prevention in the preservation and development of idioms in the multilingual territory between the Dniester and the Danube rivers, based on the sociolinguistic situation of the region, the language and educational policy in the area and their dynamics, and a search for a solution. The goal involves modeling forecasts (possible development vectors) of the ethnolinguistic situation within the investigated area, in order to be able to avoid negative scenarios, but to move along the path of its harmonious development, to find tools and measures for its constructive management. It is considered that the problems preventing the preservation of this continuum’s linguistic diversity, as well as the development of idioms in a multilingual environment, are caused by both internal (problems of effective implementation of the language and educational policy of Ukraine) and external factors. In order to ensure the preservation and development of the area’s idioms, some negative, unfavorable scenarios in the development of the ethnolinguistic and political situation were modeled. In our opinion, a number of measures should be taken to prevent the ethno‑linguistic situation from developing along such destructive vectors. First of all, it is necessary to form, in some ways reanimate, a positive image of the Ukrainian Language, at least – it should not be perceived by minorities as an imposed language. If the Ukrainian authorities do not have an understanding of this necessity, the European Union could influence the resolution of many partial issues with the linguistic life of the region.