Bilingualism

Introduction to Applied Linguistics

Vivian Raithel

What Is Bilingualism??

Please try to come up with possible answers!

Broad Definition

'a speaker of one language who can speak in another language'

this definition fits the person who speaks two languages equally fluently it also fits the person who learns another language and is able to construct complete and meaningful utterances in the new language

this would also apply to a person who has not yet acquired a full grammar for a language but may still be able to construct meaningful utterances in that language

Narrow Definition

'a person with a native-like control of two languages'

This would of course exclude a beginning language studentthis would also exclude the person who easily comprehends but does not produce utterances in a second language

it would also exclude the fluent speaker who has a “foreign accent”it implies that a person has two mother tongues

But...

'Native-like' is not a very precise termWhat is it? What do you think?

Age of Learning Is Not Considered

We distinguish between- infant- child- adolescent- adult

Can someone become native-like in another language at any agae?

Problem with Broad and Narrow Defnition:

both extremes are rather unsatisfactory

a more satisfactory definition of bilingualism isone by Grosjean (1982):

'the most relevant factor is the regular use of two languages'

this implies a system or two of rules forinterpreting and possibly producingutterances in both languages

Coordinate Bilingualism....

The linguistic elements (words, phrases) in the speaker's mind are all related to their own unique conceptsThat means, a German-English bilingual speaker of this type has different associations for 'Hund' and for 'dog'

....Coordinate Bilingualism

This type of bilingual speaker usually belongs to different cultural communities that do not frequently interactThese speakers are known to use very different intonation and pronunciation features, and not seldom assert the feeling of having different personalities attached to each of their languages

Compound Bilingualism....

Speakers of this type attach most of their linguistic elements to the same conceptsFor them, a 'Hund' and a 'dog' are two words for the same concept

....Compound Bilingualism

Those speakers are reported to have less extreme differences in their pronunciationsSuch speakers are often found in minority language communities, or amongst fluent L2-speakers

Subordinate Bilingualism

The linguistic elements of one of the speaker's languages are only available through elements of the speaker's other languageThis type is typical of, but not restricted to, beginning L2-learners

Coordinate and compound bilinguals are reported to have a higher cognitive proficiencyThey are found to be better L2-learners at a later age than monolingualsThe early discovery that concepts of the world can be labeled in more than one fashion puts those bilinguals in the lead

Distractive Bilingualism

When acquisition of the first language is interrupted and insufficient, or unstructured language input follows from the second language, as often happens with immigrant children, the speaker can end up with two languages both mastered below the monolingual standards.

Acquisition

1. Are children of bilingual parentslinguistically at a risk?

2. Can their brains cope?3. Will they grow up ‘semilingual?’

Acquisition

1. There is no justification for thispessimism!

2. By the time bi- or trilingual children enterschool the vast majority have reachedthe same stage of linguistic developmentas have their monolingual peers

But!!

The process of learning two languages is not exactly the same as the acquisition of one language

Bilingual Acquisition....

1. The child builds up a list of words (as does the monolingual child) but the list contains words from both languages it is rare for these words to be translation equivalents of each other

....Bilingual Acquisition....

2.when sentences begin to contain more that two or more elements, words from both languages are used within the same sentence – the amount of mixing rapidly declines (e.g. from 30 % at the begin of the year to 5 % at the end of the year)

....Bilingual Acquisition....

3.As vocabulary grows in each language, translation equivalents develop

- but the acquisition of separate sets of grammatical rules takes longer

....Bilingual Acquisition

- for a while a singe system of rules seems tobe used for both languages until finally the two grammars diverge

- at this time the bilingual child is aware of the fact that the two languages are not the same

Code-Switching....

This term describes the process of 'swapping' between languagesIn many cases, code-switching is motivated by the wish to express loyalty to more than one cultural group, as holds for many immigrant communities in the New World

....Code-Switching....

Code-switching may also function as a strategy where proficiency is lackingSuch strategies are common if one of the languages is not very elaborated, like Welsh, Frisian, Sorbian and other minority languages, or if the speakers have not developed proficiency in certain lexical domains, as in the case of immigrant languages

....Code-Switching....

If a speaker has got a positive attitude to both languages and to code-switching, many switches can be found, even within the same sentence. If, however, the speaker is reluctant to use code-switching, as in the case of a lack of proficiency, he might knowingly or unknowingly try to camouflage his attempt by converting elements of one language into elements of the other language.

....Code-Switching

This results in speakers using words like 'courrier noir' in French, instead of the proper word for blackmail, 'chantage.'

Acceptance

Important for bilingualism is that both languages are accepted emotionally and linguisticallyIf this is not the case, the acquisition is more difficult for the child

Language Combinations

It does not matter at all which two languages are learned at a young age