The Multilingual Lexicon An Overview Of Research

Seminar paper from the year 2017 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1, University of Innsbruck, language: English, abstract: This paper presents an overview of research on the multilingual lexicon as well as the highly complex storage of words in the multilingual mind. Furthermore, it deals with word recognition processes and discusses the issue of a language selective versus language nonselective access. The second part of this paper is concerned with the various ways in which different languages are interconnected and influence each other. Based on this, the phenomenon of codeswitching is illustrated as a widespread example of crosslinguistic interaction in the multilingual lexicon. This paper aims at presenting an overview of the complex characteristics of the multilingual lexicon. It should also give an idea of the immense amount of linguistic knowledge that is stored and processed within the multilingual mind and, most importantly, emphasize the significant linguistic awareness and cognitive skills that multilinguals display.

This book is unique because it explores the multilingual lexicon by providing insights from research studies conducted in psycholinguistics, applied linguistics and neurolinguistics. It goes beyond the use of two languages and thus concentrates on a new and developing area in linguistic research. The different perspectives provide a link to the mainstream work on the lexicon and vocabulary acquisition and will stimulate further debate in these areas and in the study of multilingualism.

The monograph constitutes an attempt to demonstrate that trilinguals should be considered as learners and speakers in their own right as opposed to L2 learners with a view to enumerating consequences this would bring to third or additional language teaching. Its theoretical part offers an insight into the structure of the multilingual mental lexicon which is a product of the interplay of a whole array of cross-linguistic factors in the minds of multilingual speakers. The empirical part reports the findings of an empirical study which aimed to investigate connections which are formed between multiple languages in a multilingual mind. All the aspects, analyzed in the experiments are part of a broader question of how multilinguals make their lexical decisions and, more specifically, how they recognize words from different languages. The book closes with the discussion of the role of the obtained results for multilingual didactics as well as some possible areas for future research.

This volume offers an ontogenetic perspective on research on L3, multilingualism and multiple languages acquisition and a conceptually updated picture of multilingualism studies and third/multiple language acquisition studies. The contributions by prominent scholars of multilingualism present state-of-the-art accounts of the significant aspects in this field. This unique collection of articles adopts a broad-spectrum and synthesized view on the topic. The volume, largely theoretical and classificatory, features main theories, prominent researchers and important research trends. The articles also contain factual and historical material from previous and current decades of research and offer practical information on research resources. For lecturers, students, educators, researchers, and social workers operating in multilingual contexts, The Exploration of Multilingualism is manifestly relevant.

The lexicon represents the building blocks of language: words and vocabulary. Most of us think of language in terms of words, and words are also integral to the way in which linguists approach language as an object of study. The lexicon and lexical issues must be taken in consideration in every domain of language study and, conversely, the lexicon cannot be viewed in isolation from other aspects of language. 'Language and the Lexicon' provides a comprehensive yet accessible overview of lexicology, introducing the reader to the lexicon by exploring the lexical aspects of a range of different areas of language: syntax, morphology, semantics, phonology, language variation, language change, language acquisition and language processing. Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics, the book introduces the key concepts employing examples from a wide variety of languages in order to illustrate the points made. This book is ideally suited to those approaching lexicology for the first time. With its wide breadth of focus and diverse topics, it can equally serve as a first introduction to linguistics.

This book provides a critical review of recent theories of semantics-syntax correspondences and makes new proposals for constraints on semantic structure relevant to syntax. Data from several languages are presented which suggest that semantic structure in root morphemes is subject to parametric variation which has effect across a variety of verb classes, including locatives, unaccusatives, and psych verbs.The implications for first and second language acquisition are discussed. In particular, it is suggested that different parametric settings may lead to a learnability problem if adult learners do not retain access to sensitivity to underlying semantic organization and morphological differences between languages provided by Universal Grammar. An experiment with Chinese-speaking learners of English is presented which shows that learners initially transfer L1 semantic organization to the L2, but are able to retreat from overgeneralisations and achieve native-like grammars in this area. Suggestions for further research in this rapidly developing area of theory and acquisition research are also made.

Third or Additional Language Acquisition examines research on the acquisition of languages beyond the L2 within four main areas of inquiry: crosslinguistic influence, multilingual speech production models, the multilingual lexicon and the impact of bi/mul