bilingualism and second language acquisition Flashcards
what is the original definition of true bilinguals
having native like proficiency in 2 langauges
what is the issue with this original definition of true bilinguals
people who can communicate in 2 languages but not with native proficiency are also called bilinguals
what is the new definition of true bilinguals
regular use of 2 or more languages/dialects in everyday life
what are some bilingual classifications
-simultaneous bilinguals/ bilingual 1st lang = exposure to 2 langs from birth
-sequential bilinguals = sequential exposure to 2 languages
-other: balance, dominant, elective, circumstantial etc
are all classifications of bilinguals true bilinguals
yes
bilingual prevalence in world
more than 50% of world population use 2 or more languages in everyday life
what is early language acquisition and what is it also known as
having 2 languages from birth
aka bilingual first language acquisition (BFA)
do language milestones differ for bilingual children
no, patterns of dev for bilingual children are identical to dev of monolingual children (De Houwer 2009)
what are the key language milestones
27 weeks: babbling
12 months: one word/holophrastic stage
24 months: two word stage
36 months: multiword sentences
48 months +: complex sentences
what are the 2 bilingual hypothesis’
the fusion hypoth
separate language hypoth
what is the fusion hypoth
volterra and taeschner 1978
1. one language up to 3yrs (2 languages represented as 1)
2. distinction of 2 systems but same syntactical rules used in the 2 languages
3. differentiated systems
what is the separate lang hypoth
houwer 2005
-bilinguals have separate systems for L1 and L2 from the start
-both languages are acquired simultaneously
which hypothesis has now been discredited
the fusion hypothesis
how does lexical differentiation support the separate lang hypothesis
-children exposed to 2 languages have 2 words for one object
-favours 2 lang systems hypothesis since monolingual children operate on the principle of mutual exclusivity
what is mutual exclusivity
children assume words denote mutually exclusive object categories e.g if children already know a name for an object they will reject a new word for same object
how does morpho syntactic development support the separate lang systems hypothesis
de houwer 1995
-no evidence of fused language system
-language mixing occurs but not with grammatical rules
-mixing words doesnt mean the child cant differentiate between the languages and it doesnt mean the languages are in the same place in brain
-mixing may occur bc child may not know the word in one language or might be used as a communicative strategy
how does phonological differentiation support separate language systems hypoth
-bilingual children do not have accents for either language, maybe bc there isnt a clear distinction between sounds of L1 and L2
-L1 and L2 are probably encoded, stored and used in separate manners as proposed by the separate lang hypothesis
definition of learning
dev of a skill due to conscious process that requires instructions and information present in the envrionment
definition of acquisition
automatic and unconscious process by which skill is developed without instruction and scarce info available
what age is L1 normally acquired by
6yrs
what age can L2 be learnt
any age
what is the biological clock
requires acquisition of aspects of L2 at right time (CP)
what is the ceiling effect
it might be impossible to develop linguistic competency in L2 to a level similar to L1
who completed initial research into the idea of the critical period (CP)1
penfield and roberts 1959: loss of plasticity as we age supports idea of CP
lennenberg research into CP
1967
-hemispheric specialisation around puberty supports idea of CP
definition of CP
irreversible loss of skill if not acquired at specific time
definition of sensitive period
abnormal dev of skill if this is not acquired at a biologically specified time
-can be compensated or reversed
evidence for CP in acquisition of L1
-Genie (feral child): serious deprivation, isolated until age 13, at age of 13 she was taught lang but never reached native level, supports idea of CP
-deaf children with hearing parents (Syirsky and Holt 2005), children had surgery of cochlear implants, if before age 2 lang was normal, if after 2 lang dev had some difficulties
evidence for CP and acquisition of L2
-Oyama 1976: learning L2 later in life, morphological syntactical and phonological level was difficult to attain at native level
-L2 speakers tend NOT to learn phonology or accent like a native speaker
why are bilingual speakers considered special if there are over 50% of worlds population
bc learning L2 after early childhood is considered difficult/not normal/not natural
studies into arrival of foreign country and language
johnson and newport 1989: foreigners arrive in USA, if arrival after age 8, english proficiency score drops hugely
flege 1995: as age of foreigners entering canada increases, accent proficiency decreases, e.g if born in canada you learn phonology perfectly but do not adopt foreign accent
neuroimaging evidence to support CP
-pp who speak L2 later in life have diff pathways in brain
-less activation for L2 in LH compared to L1
(L2 not working as well as L1 at activating areas to help in LH)
-strengthens critical period
ERPs evidence to support CP and counter evidence
electrical activity different for those who learn L2 later in life
HOWEVER
marinova and todd 2000
-frequency of use of L2 may be more important in how proficient you use L2 than the AofA
research contradicting CP
Loup et al 1994
-julie and laura (americal) learnt arabic with native like proficiency
-people in egypt could not tell they were not native speakers
what % of people learn L2 with native like proficiency
Birdsong 1999
- 5-25%
is there a difference between bilingual indivs learning their L1 and L2
the difference is very small
what are the 3 key traditional views of bilingualism
1.late bilinguals may have mixed language systems that includes full native lang and a funky L2
2.bilinguals should be functionally monolingual in the native langauge
3.the L1 should transfer to the L2 but not much transfer expected from the L2 to the L1
