What is fluency? When does one become fluent in a language? The only experience of fluency I have, is that of my mother tongue, which is English. I like to think I am
very proficient with the language. When I meet other native speakers who are less loquacious, and especially those with poor vocabulary, I find myself having to dumb down my lexis, simply because I might use words they have never heard, thus ending up seeming pompous, arrogant etc, etc. So are these people 'less' fluent? Or does it simply come down to me having a more varied vocabulary and thus being better equipped to convey ideas? I'm not trying to say I'm the most intelligent person I've ever met, there are one or two who are moreso
Is fluency actually ever achieved? Is it just close to the top end of an sliding scale of language proficiency, where the top is perfection, and therefore unattainable? Is intelligence a pre-requisite of fluency in a second language? Or vice versa even?
What I really want to know, is how did you know you were fluent? At what point did you take the plunge and say to friends and family, 'I am now fluent in x.'? What was the exact moment you realised you had advanced proficiency? I am much more
interested in hearing your personal perspectives, than being referred to information regarding philosophy/linguistic abstractions.
Any light shed on this will be most attentively and gratefully received.
