bilingualism (topic 4) Flashcards
what is the difference in exposure between monolingual and bilingual children?
- quantitatively less
- qualitatively different (e.g. parents undergoing attrition)
what is a similarity and a difference between monolingual and bilingual lexical acquisition?
similarity: similar rates of vocab acquisition
difference: bilinguals sooner accept that two different words can refer to same object (they abandon mutual exclusivity)
where is the main difference between linguistic functioning between monolinguals and bilinguals?
interface between grammar and other domains, like cognition (e.g. overextension of overt subject in Italian/Spanish bilinguals)
what are three cognitive benefits to bilinguals?
- they distinguish better between form and meaning, higher awareness of how language works
- better theory of mind
- better focused attention due to having practised handling conflicting information
what are five differences between acquisition in L1 children and adult L2 learners?
- phonology/accent harder to obtain
- written language exposure instead of speech; less exposure usually
- already knowing one language
- some languages are more difficult that others depending on L1 (not the case for L1 learning!)
- reaching a learning plateau
what are two ways of acquisition?
implicit/spontaneous and explicit learning (last is only accessible for adults)
what are nativist and grammar-external ways of explaining why L2 acquisition does not have the same results as L1 acquisition?
- innate language faculty fading away
- cognitive ageing
why are errors a sign of learning?
it shows that they are trying out hypothesis, adapting their mental grammar along the way
what is a reason to think that the problem of L2 acquisition is just a cognitive one?
even very advanced L2 speakers make mistakes in the interface between language and pragmatics, the same as bilingual speakers –> it might be a more general coordination and integration problem
