Many communities treat several languages as ordinary equipment for daily life. Multilingualism is the ability of an individual or a society to use more than two languages in meaningful communication.

Individual multilinguals may learn languages in the family, at school, or through migration and work. Societal multilingualism appears when several languages hold official or regional roles. Repertoires are rarely perfectly balanced; speakers develop different strengths for different languages and domains.

Research explores cognitive, educational, and social dimensions of managing multiple languages. Policy choices about schooling and public services either support or suppress multilingual realities. Far from exceptional, multilingualism is a common human condition across much of the world.

• Use of more than two languages by people or societies
• Often domain-specific rather than perfectly balanced
• Supported or constrained by education and policy
• Common worldwide despite monolingual ideologies