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Q: You first got interested in bilingualism during your studies in France and England, and then deepened your interest during your time as an academic in the USA. What is it about these three largely monolingual environments that prompted you to look at bilingualism of all things?
A: Maybe it was precisely because of the monolingualism in these countries that I wanted to discover who I was - a bilingual and bicultural person. My MA thesis in Paris 50 years ago was the beginning of a long journey trying to understand those of us who live with two or more languages, in one or several cultures. It also led me to develop my holistic view of bilingualism which states that the bilingual is not two monolinguals in one person. And then I worked on what it means to be bicultural, something that I needed to do to come to grips with who I was.
François Grosjean Wikipedia
François Grosjean "Life as a bilingual" Interview