Bilingualism

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Bilingualism
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What is bilingualism? (LLanguage)

• native-like control of two languages(2L1
  balanced bilingualism).
• BUT it is exceptional that there is an equal
  balance between the two languages. Bilinguals are
  rarely equally competent in both languages to
  discuss all domains of life.
• the practice of alternately using twolanguages
  at different proficiency levels(L1 and L2 -
  unbalanced bilingualism)
• examples children of parents who speak different
  languages, hearing children of deaf parents,
  bilingual cultures / countries (e.g. Belgium,
  Canada, ),
• bilingualism can be seen as a big variety of -
  unconsciously acquired - dynamic individual
  proficiency levels in two language systems.

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How can bilingualism vary?
dynamic and individual degree of bilingualism
balanced bilingualismequally balanced
proficiency levels in both languages
unbalanced bilingualismunequal proficiency
levels dominant language L1non-dominant language
L2
receptive capabilitiespassive competencies
aural comprehension phonological word
meaning processing language reception
productive capabilities active competencies
speech production, vocal articulation
language planning and expression
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Why does reception and production differ?
Language can be described as having levels, each
one with its own neurological systems
some systems overlap some activate different
areas of the brain
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Language production and reception

• Language production / expression
• frontal lobe
• Language perception
• temporal lobe

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What are the major influences?

• WHEN? Age of acquisition early or late
  immersionists (simultaneously,successive),

• WHERE? Residence home, kindergarten, peers,
  school,

Bilingual language proficiency depends on

• WHAT? Abilities IQ, natural talent, brain
  damage,

• HOW? Practice isolation, integration,
  language immersion,

• Social environment parental role models,
  support, structured input (sufficient,
  correct and comprehensible),

• The environment affects how genes work and
  genes determine how the environment is
  interpreted.

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How to keep languages separate?

• A dominant model for raising bilingual children
  is one parent one language (OPOL)
• People who report using this strategy, however,
  often mix languages (interaction with community,
  with spouse, extended family, teachers, etc.)
• Strict separation of languages is not always
  feasible, nor is it always a natural way of using
  language.
• Another dominant model for raising children
  bilingually is one place one language (1P1L)
  e.g. immigration

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Why does L1 get dominant (OPOL)?
L1 GERMAN
L2 ENGLISH
PEERS
KINDER-GARTEN
HOME OPOL
SCHOOL
Language dominance depends on the linguistic
environment
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How does bilingual proficiency change?

• Example German/English family resident in
  Germany
• First child age 1-3simultaneous bilingual
  language immersion through parents gt balanced
  receptive productive bilingualism
• First child age 3-9language immersion through
  German kindergarten school-gt receptive
  balanced bilingualism productive unbalanced
  bilingualism
• Second child age 1-6focused language immersion
  through brothers/sisters, German kindergarten-gt
  receptive unbalanced bilingualism productive
  unbalanced bilingualism

dynamic process along a timeline
USE IT OR LOSE IT
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How can language dominance be changed?
L1 GERMAN
L2 ENGLISH
SCHOOL
PEERS
HOME
KINDER-GARTEN
PEERS
when the linguistic environment changes
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One place one language model
L2 GERMAN
L1 ENGLISH
PEERS
HOME
KINDER-GARTEN
SCHOOL
early linguistic L2 immersion versus social
insular life
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What does concept acquisition include?

• Visual input
• outer appearance
• colour
• shape
• size
• motion

• Aural input
• sound

• Tactile input
• temperature
• surface

• Other input
• emotion
• smell
• taste

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Concept and sound pattern recognition

• The brain contains systems for recognising
  patterns of sound.
• The situation needs to be repeated and thus
  becomes part of the memory (by reinforcing
  existing connections).
• The brain receives input from multiple external
  sources.
• Example dog ? circuit connections between
  seeing, hearing, touching, a dog and
  additionally between hearing the word.

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Bilingualism and the sensitive period

• The human brain has its highest receptivity
  (plasticity) for language in early infancy and
  childhood. It can acquire more than one language
  spontaneously without any effort.
• Even though
• L2 knowledge is typically incomplete (there are
  fewer words rules available to the speaker).
• L2 speech is usually less automatic, more
  attention has to be paid to execution.
• Brain imaging technologies suggest that when L2
  is acquired during the sensitive period, L1 and
  L2 tend to be represented in the same areas.

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Language Processing
left
right
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How can language be acquired / learned?
Word Association Model(Potter et al., 1984)
Concept MediationModel(Potter et al., 1984)
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How could a bilingual lexicon look like?
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Code-switching and lexical borrowing

• involves a shifting from one language to another
  within a single conversation event.
• is an age-related norm for many bilinguals.
• is a mostly unconscious and spontaneous language
  phenomenon in bilingual interactions.
• is rule-governed and may even be a type of
  skilled language performance (intelligent
  mistakes).
• Bilingual children are not confused by their two
  languages but are able to switch between them in
  order to reflect on strategies of language usage.

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Bilingual utterances (2/3-year-old child)

• Touch das mal an!
• Hier ist der butcher!
• Wir haben viele butchers.
• Springt ein Pferd über das fence?
• Wir kriegen nicht das battery raus!
• Mama hat ein necklace!
• Take my Flasche!

• Ich flushe ab!
• Gib mir das banana!
• Darf ich das sewen?
• Ist das ein rubbish Eimer?
• Darf ich das antouchen?
• Wo ist mein backpack?
• Ich will in den ballpool!
• Darf ich mal dein soap haben?

matrix language embedded language
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Reasons for Code-switching

• Code-switching alternative use of two languages
  within the same utterance
• Children borrow lexical items from one language
  to complement the other if
• words are not yet acquired in both languages
• words are more frequently used in this context
  (e.g. domains of language family, friends,
  school, )
• words could be more easily pronounced or are more
  simple and salient (e.g.bag versus Tasche,
  flush versus abspülen)
• words have no straightforward equivalent in L1 or
  L2 (e.g. Kummerspeck, Putzfimmel, Bibberliese, )

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Bilingual utterances (3/4-year-old child)

• Announcement We will go to the forest!
• Question Gehen wir mit dem Auto? (English go by
  car)
• Announcement Wir gehen auf Urlaub! (go on
  holiday)
• Frage Did you flush the toilet?
• Antwort Ja, ich habe die toilet geflusht!
• Negations I screamed not / (do/did-insertion)
• Questions What he says? / (do/did-insertion)

Overgeneralisations
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Myths to be discussed

• Bilingualism leads to cognitive and linguistic
  delays?
• Bilingual children are neither less nor more
  intelligent than monolinguals.
• Bilingual children have higher meta-linguistic
  awareness, i.e. sensitivity to language as a
  symbolic system.
• On average they start to talk a bit later than
  monolinguals but still within parameters of
  normal variation.
• Bilingualism leads to linguistic confusion?
• Bilingual children do not mix their languages
  (but they can do so deliberately!) Language
  mixing (or code-switching) is not a sign of
  linguistic confusion.
• Their errors are to a large extent predictable
• Bilingual children are often found to be better
  third language learners at a later age.

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Questions

• Does the term bilingual refer to you when you
  are staying abroad and your second language
  skills are almost native-like?
• Does the term bilingual refer to immigrant
  families, whose parents speak only one language
  at home?
• What is the ultimate value of having a consistent
  definition of bilingualism?

Bilingualism is based on a big variety of
influences Bilingualism is not static it is
subject to individual changes Bilingualism is
ambiguous it can occur in unlimited variations
and proficiency levels within two language systems