Bilingualism

Growing up Bilingual

Vancouver, Canada. A multicultural, multilingual city

• ~ 60% of school children speak English as a L2

• Sizable immigrant groups from many countries

• Canadian culture encourages maintenance of home language & culture, along with adoption of new language & culture

• Official policy of bilingualism

Questions and fear….

– Will it hurt my baby if we speak more than one language at home?

– Does exposure to more than one language delay language acquisition?

– My doctor said my husband and I should both speak English to our child, but I don’t speak it very well

– I’m concerned about having my mother babysit because she doesn’t speak English

Thinking points…

• More than half of the world’s population is bilingual

• In most places in the world, it is the norm to grow up with > one language

• Different types of bilingualism

Important Distinctions

• Bilingual First Language Acquisition– De Houwer (Meisel) sets at acquiring two

languages simultaneously < 2mos of age– Others up to 2 years

• Bilingual Second Language Acquisition– Acquiring two languages simultaneously, but

the second starts later

• Second Language Acquisition

Neuroimaging work

• Equivalent activation in both languages – Chee, et. al., 1999; Klein, et. al., 1999

• Different activation for second language in BSLA but similar areas in BFLA subjects– Kim, et. al., 1997; Dehaene, et. al.., 1997

• Equivalent areas of activation even in lateL2 learners IFF expertise equated – Perani, et. al., 1998

• Aphasia, and selective loss of only 1 language– Moretti, 2001 (Croatian-Italian bilingual)

•

Kim, Reilkin, Lee, & Hirsch, 1997

• Early bilinguals (childhood, before age 8)

• Late bilinguals (adulthood, mostly after age 20)

• Task, imagine describing a scenario in one language vs. another

• fMRI scans during imagined speaking task

late bilingual brain

early bilingual brain

Behavioural Studies w/adults

• Most studies, age of acquisition predicts results, with BFLA adults like Monolinguals

• Some, even simultaneous bilinguals show a language dominance – Cutler, et. al.: Fr faster at detecting syllable,

English at phonemes – the “ba” in balance– Sebastian, et. al: Gating task in vowel perception

• Best predictor of performance is maternal language

But are bilinguals delayed?

• Most studies, no.

• Some studies, yes– First words– Age of beginning to combine words– Maybe even some speech perception

• BUT the delays are minor, and do not occur in all children

Are there Advantages?

• Being able to speak > 1 language!

• Perhaps more attention to/awareness of– The structural properties of the languages– The phonology of the languages

• Cognitive Flexibility

• Problem Solving

Reasons to do bilingual research

• To understand the process of bilingual language acquisition– Is it the same as acquiring two languages, or is

it different from the beginning?

• But also, as a perfect vehicle for studying the role of the input on language acquisition– As a within subject design, differences in

cognitive development, personality factors, etc. are held constant

Difficulties in Doing Bilingualism Research

• Definition of bilingualism

• Varieties of bilingualism– Differences in exposure conditions (discuss and

show questionnaires we use)– Language separation or not in the input

• Sometimes called “interlocuter principle”

• But is this even possible?

– Changes in input, including language loss

Sociolinguistic Factors

• Parenta discourses styles– How do they use their languages

• Parental discourse strategies– How do they expect the child to

• Social attitudes– Support or not for bilingualism in the

community

Do children confuse their languages?

• Theoretical issues:– Do children start with a single undifferentiated

system that then gradually pulls apart– Or do they start with a different representation

for each language acquired?

• Empirical issues:– Is there evidence of language mixing?– Is there evidence of language separation?

Code Switching

• What it is

• When it occurs

• Does it indicate confusion (or fusion)?

• Or is it pragmatically correct?

Evidence for two systems

• Morphosyntax

• Translation Equivalents

• Sociolinguistic use

Challenges

• Doing bilingualism research RIGHT

• How to design studies

• How to assign children to groups

• How to control for in home factors

• How to control for sociolinguistic factors

• How to identify and treat language delay in a bilingual child?