Language DevelopmentLecture Notes: 11/20/14Early Myths about Bilingualism● Bilinguals are “mentally confused”● Bilingualism can lead to split personality and, at worst, to schizophrenia● Bilinguals have lower IQ than monolinguals● Growing up with two languages confuses the child and they lag behind monolingual childrenWhy is Bilingual Development Interesting?● By some (very conservative) estimates, one in five children speaks a language other than (or in addition to) English● Bilingual does not equal two monolingualsTypes of Childhood Bilingualism● Simultaneous Bilingualism = two first languages○ A child is exposed to both languages from birth, and learns them at the same time● Sequential Bilingualism = consecutive or successive bilingualism○ A child is exposed to one language from birth; a few years later a child is exposed to another languageTypes of Bilingualism (in terms of proficiency)● Balanced bilinguals = bilinguals with equally-high proficiency in both of their languages● L1 or L2-Dominant bilinguals = bilinguals whose one language (L1 or L2) is clearly stronger (more dominant) than the otherCode-Switching● =code-mixing● Use of both languages within the same conversation● Inter-sentential code-switching: occurs sentence-by-sentence (one sentence in L1 and part of the same sentence in L2)● Intra-sentential code-switching: occurs within a sentence (part of a sentence in L1, part of the same sentence in L2)● Code-switching is not random; it is constrained by grammatical, social, and cultural rules● Children as young as 2 code-switch, and do so in situation-appropriate waysWhy do children code-switch?● Mostly, pragmatically-conditioned● When speaking to the person who only speaks one language● When speaking to a person who speaks both languages, but one is significantly better● For emphasis● To reflect the topic (school vs home)● To mark a situation (some things happenin the context of L1, while others happen in the context of L2)● To reflect the formality of the situation (language of the community = formal; Language ofthe family = informal)● To exclude others from the conversation● Sometimes
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