Cross Linguistic Structures In Simultaneous Bilingualism

This volume explores the implications of cross-linguistic structures in simultaneous bilingualism. It aims to find cognitive explanations for the presence or absence of cross-linguistic structures that go beyond the debate of ‘one system or two’. The contributors present syntactic, morphological and phonological features that are found in bilingual children, but are untypical of monolingual development, and discuss pertinent methodological issues. The orientation of this volume stands out from competing volumes in the field in that the focus is not limited to similarities between monolingual and bilingual first language acquisition. The volume will be of interest to researchers in the field of bilingualism and primary language acquisition, language theorists, and professionals working with bilingual populations.

Examination Thesis from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,3, University of Cologne, 94 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: There is interdependent development in BFLA. Several studies could show that the systems are influencing each other and they can not be regarded as minor to argue for an autonomous development. Furthermore, there are different methods of predicting which grammatical domains will be influenced and the direction of influence. These are language internal factors, dominance or epiphenomena of speech production. Nevertheless, there are problems as some children did not show the predicted influence. Possible suggestion to the problem is a modification of the criteria already developed and an inclusion of the possibility of individual differences due to different learner types.

This book provides a contemporary approach to the study of bilingualism. Drawing on contributions from leading experts in the field, this book brings together - in a single volume - a selection of the exciting work conducted as part of the programme of the ESRC Centre for Research on Bilingualism in Theory and Practice at Bangor University, Wales. Each chapter has as its main focus an exploration of the relationship between the two languages of a bilingual. Section by section, the authors draw on current findings and methodologies to explore the ways in which their research can address this question from a number of different perspectives.

This book presents a current state-of-affairs regarding the study of cross-linguistic influence in bilingualism. Taking Hulk and Müller’s (2000) and Müller and Hulk’s (2001) hypotheses on cross-linguistic influence as a starting point, the book exemplifies the shift from the original focus on syntax proper to interfaces and discourse phenomena in the study of bilingualism. It also reflects the enormous increase in different language combinations (including dialects) being investigated, and the use of new methodologies. Moreover, the volume illustrates the growing interdisciplinarity of cross-linguistic influence research, considering extra-linguistic cognitive and social factors besides linguistics. It demonstrates that the time is ripe for a more integrated approach from different disciplines such as theoretical linguistics, psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics to obtain a better understanding of bilingual child acquisition. As such, it is of interest to (psycho/socio)linguists, psychologists and education specialists who study or want to learn about (child) bilingualism.

This volume provides an unprecedented insight into current approaches to crosslinguistic influence (CLI). The collection investigates a range of themes including linguistic relativity, the possible contributions of neurolinguistics, the problem of cognitive development and the role of the frequency of structures in acquisition from distinct, overlapping and complementary perspectives. Chapters focusing on vocabulary, morphosyntactic categories, semantic structures, and phonetic and phonological structures feature in the volume, as do over 20 languages, in order to offer new insights into both theoretical and empirical issues in CLI, including the consequences of great or little similarity in structures between languages. The relevance of CLI research for teaching is discussed in a number of chapters, as is the phenomenon of multilingualism. The collection will appeal to researchers, graduate and postgraduate students, teachers and professionals interested in the field of CLI in SLA.

This edited book is a collection of studies on protolanguage phonology, referring to the development of children’s autonomous linguistic systems from their first meaningful forms to complete cognitive and articulatory acquisition of language. The volume comprises chapters on child bilingual phonological development, understood as the acquisition or use of more than one linguistic code, whether actual languages, dialects, or communication modes, in an array of contexts. Such contexts include endogenous and exogenous bilingualism, heritage language, bilectalism, trilingualism, and typical and atypical use. The contributed works here will be of interest to researchers and postgraduate students investigating language acquisition in bi-/multilingual settings, as well as those working on child phonological development across a variety of languages.

Research in the area of bilingualism and multilingualism invariably produces fascinating insights. In the Europe of yesteryears, the paradigm of one nation one language was dominant and fashionable as a nation-building ideology that multilingualism was considered a curse, a demon that had to be exorcised. Today, the avalanche of empirical evidence of research findings has established multilingualism and pluralism as an ideal for national development. The nine chapters of this book provide further elucidations of the issue of benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism and also provide original research findings on developments in the areas of psychological dimensions of bilingualism and bilingualism in information retrieval systems. The book by its illuminating description and insightful analysis of issues of bilingualism will be of significant interest to scholars, researchers, and all concerned with bilingualism and multilingualism from whatever perspective.

This book brings together papers dealing with essential issues in applied linguistics and multilingualism that have been contributed by leading figures in these two fields and present state-of-the-art developments in theory and research. The first part includes articles touching on various aspects of multiple-language acquisition, with a particular emphasis on the role of affordances, the interfaces between language and thought, and factors influencing the process of language learning. Part Two deals with individual variations in the acquisition of additional languages, focusing in particular on the impact of such variables as age, aptitude, motivation and learning deficits. Finally, Part Three presents contributions illuminating key issues in the acquisition of different subsystems and skills, such as grammar, phonology, lexis and writing systems. Thanks to the diversity of perspectives on applied linguistics and multilingualism, as well as the cutting-edge nature of some of the proposals, this edited collection will be an important reference work and a source of inspiration for theorists and researchers.