LAD - S8 Bilingualism

Bilingualism definition (Heinlein & Williams 2013)

The ability to use two languages in everyday life; emphasizes functional use not perfect fluency.

Percentage of world population that is bilingual or multilingual

One-third (33%); in many parts of the world bilingualism is the norm.

Language contact

When speakers of two or more languages or language varieties interact with and influence each other at individual and societal levels.

Vocabulary size in bilingual versus monolingual children (Pearson et al.)

Bilingual children have smaller vocabularies in each individual language but comparable total vocabulary across both languages.

Age for discriminating rhythmically dissimilar languages (e.g. English and Tagalog)

At birth (newborns); this ability is present from the very beginning.

Age for discriminating rhythmically similar languages (e.g. French and Spanish)

Four months old; a more challenging discrimination that develops slightly later.

Bilingual versus monolingual infant language discrimination ability

Bilingual infants may be more sensitive in discriminating languages because their brains must distinguish two systems.

Does bilingualism cause language delay or disorder (Paradis Genesee & Crago 2010)?

NO. Bilingualism is NOT the cause of language delay or disorder; likelihood is the SAME as monolingual children.

How to evaluate a bilingual child for potential language disorders

Evaluate BOTH languages; assessing only one language leads to misdiagnosis.

Two factors crucial for language development in monolingual and bilingual children

Quantity and quality of input.

Quantity in language input

The number of words a child hears daily; for bilingual children consider quantity in EACH language separately.

Quality in language input

The richness of language in social interaction; learning from TV alone is not sufficient; opportunities to speak to different speakers link to vocabulary learning.

Place and Hoff (2010) finding on vocabulary learning

Opportunities to speak to different speakers are linked to vocabulary learning; varied conversational partners expose children to different vocabulary and contexts.

Code-mixing definition

When bilingual speakers use elements from both languages in the same utterance or conversation (e.g. inserting a word from one language into a sentence from the other).

Two main reasons bilingual children code-mix

1. It happens frequently in their language community (adults do it all the time); 2. Like monolingual children they sometimes have limited linguistic resources and borrow words.

Is code-mixing a sign of confusion?

NO. Code-mixing is NOT a sign of confusion; it is a path of least resistance and a sign of bilingual children's ingenuity (Heinlein & Williams 2013).

Genesee Boivin and Nicoladis (1996) discovery

Some bilingual children as young as two years can use different languages with different people based on their partner's frequent language (e.g. Cantonese to parents; English to nanny).

Code-mixing at the phonology level (Cantonese-English example)

士多啤梨 (strawberry) – English word borrowed into Cantonese with Cantonese pronunciation; 科拿 (Fowler).

Code-mixing at the syntax level (Cantonese-English example)

我地去shopping (Let's go shopping) – mixing Cantonese we go with English shopping; 今日食canteen.

Code-mixing at the morpheme level (Cantonese-English example)

我做左兩part (I have done two parts) – using Cantonese perfective marker 左 with English part; 件衫cu唔cute (Is the shirt cute?) – mixing Cantonese classifier; English cute; and Cantonese A-not-A question structure.

Factors affecting type of bilingualism

Typological distance; age of acquisition; amount and type of input; language dominance pattern; degrees of ultimate attainment and retention.

Typological distance

How similar or different two languages are; typologically divergent (e.g. Cantonese and English) have very different structures; typologically close (e.g. Spanish and Portuguese) share many features.

Simultaneous bilingualism

Development of two languages prior to age three; children exposed to both languages from birth or very early infancy.

Three stages of simultaneous bilingualism

Stage 1: Two separate lexical systems; Stage 2: Two distinct lexicons with shared syntax; Stage 3: Syntactic flexibility.

Stage 1 of simultaneous bilingualism

Two separate lexical systems; child develops separate vocabularies for each language with little overlap; reflects capacity to differentiate languages before speaking.

Stage 2 of simultaneous bilingualism

Two distinct lexicons but applies same syntactic rules in both; flexibility to move between lexicons and translate words freely but not yet in syntax.

Stage 3 of simultaneous bilingualism

Syntactic flexibility; flexibility previously only in vocabulary now observed in syntax; child can manipulate grammatical structures of both languages.

Language dominance shift in simultaneous bilingual children by preschool age

Many become proficient in both but often shift dominance to the majority language (usually the school language).

Successive (sequential) bilingualism

Developing one language first (L1) and then acquiring a second language (L2) later usually after age three; common for immigrant children or entering school in a different language.

Three stages of successive bilingualism

Stage 1: Uses L1 in L2 contexts; Stage 2: Nonverbal and formulaic stage; Stage 3: Creative L2 use.

Stage 1 of successive bilingualism

Child continues to use their first language even in situations where the second language is expected; not yet having acquired L2 skills.

Stage 2 of successive bilingualism

May include a nonverbal period communicating through gestures; followed by use of high-usage phrases (I don't know; okay); child scans for recurring linguistic patterns.

Stage 3 of successive bilingualism

Child can use the second language creatively in conversation; this stage may take 3 to 5 years to achieve.

Do L1 and L2 negatively influence each other in successive bilingualism?

NO. L1 and L2 are NOT negatively influencing each other; L1 forms a foundation for L2.

Percentage of L2 errors traceable to L1 influence

Less than 5% of errors in L2 are traceable to L1 influence; most errors are developmental similar to those made by monolingual children.

How children treat a new language compared to adults

Unlike adults children are less likely to use knowledge from L1 to formulate utterances in L2; they treat the new language as an independent system.

Does L2 learning mirror L1 development in its sequence?

Yes. Typically L2 learning mirrors L1 development: single words → short phrases → short sentences and morphological markers.

Social advantages of bilingualism

Knowledge of multiple languages and cultures; enhanced social understanding; better perspective-taking and understanding others' thoughts and intentions; more sensitivity to tone of voice.

Research on bilingual perspective-taking and theory of mind

Bialystok and Senman (2004); Goetz (2003); Kovacs (2009) – bilingual children show better skills in understanding others' thoughts desires and intentions.

Yow and Markman (2011) finding on tone of voice

Bilingual children are more sensitive to tone of voice; likely from experience attending to subtle cues to determine which language is being spoken.

Cognitive advantages of bilingualism

Better at switching between activities; better at inhibiting previously learned responses; better at generalizing information from one event to a later event.

Bialystok Craik and Luk (2012) finding on cognitive advantages

Bilingual individuals show advantages in switching and inhibition; likely from constant practice managing two active language systems.

Brito and Barr (2012) finding on bilingual children's learning

Bilingual children were better at generalizing information from one event to a later event; suggesting advantages in learning and transfer.