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?