Bilingualism in Infancy Flashcards

1
Q

Bilingual

A

Gradient of definitions:
- Ability to speak without accent in two languages
- Ability to communicate in two languages
- Ability to understand two languages

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2
Q

Bilingual Infant

A

Bilingual First Language Acquisition (BFLA): The learning of two languages simultaneously from birth (aka crib bilinguals or simultaneous bilinguals)
- Minimum 25% exposure to each language
- Multitude of sources

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3
Q

Bilingual Language Development

A

Two set of sounds
- Monolingual babies: discriminate sounds from the world’s languages at 4-6months, by 10-12 months ONLY discriminate sounds from their native language
- Bilingual babies: discriminate sounds from the world’s languages at 4-6 moths, by 10-12 months discriminate sounds from BOTH of their native languages

  • Two set of words
  • Two grammars
  • Two sets of cultural norms (Biculturalism)
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4
Q

Bilingual Newborns

A
  • Prefer both of their native languages at birth
  • But are able to keep them distinct (discriminate)
  • Bilingual infants can learn two sets of transitional probabilities better than monolingual infants
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5
Q

The “Adaptation Hypothesis”

A

Adults: Enhanced executive function (EF)
- Inhibitory control
- Task Switching
- Attentional allocation

Bilingual babies shows an advantage over monolingual babies

Several studies have replicated the bilingual advantage in attention type task
- Others have failed to replicate the bilingual advantage finding
- A meta-analysis published this year indicated that overall, the effect is there

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6
Q

Problem of Reference

A

A classic problem: How someone who does not know the word “rabbit” could figure out exactly what it refers to

Word Learning
- Whole Object assumption: expectation that the word will refer to the whole object
- Categorical Scope: expectation that the word will refer to the entire category of objects

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7
Q

Overall Summary

A
  • Bilingual infants achieve milestones in acquisition at the same ages as monolinguals
  • They keep their languages apart in use
  • Perceptual cues help them distinguish
  • Both monolingual and bilingual infants show a pattern most beneficial to their language learning context
  • But, there may be some advantages in perceptual sensitive that accrue w/ bilingualism
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8
Q

Domain Language

A

Language of higher proficiency

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