bilingualism

L/O/G/O

Bilingualism

Bilingualism

The study and depiction of bilingualism can

give prominence to the social side of this

phenomenon (societal bilingualism) as it

stems from the context in which various

languages are in contact.

It can also pay closer attention to the

individual and psycholinguistic side of the

issue (individual bilingualism), as the

languages involved interact and develop in

the brain of the bilingual speaker.

Social bilingualism studies the social

dimension as a characteristic of bilingual

and multilingual societies where more than

one language are commonly used.

However, it does not mean that all speakers

have a command over both languages

The term just implies that at least some of

the members of that speech community are

capable of using the other language, either

productively or receptively (e.g. all members

of a multilingual country do not need to be

bilingual themselves they may just be

monolingual).

Individual bilingualism

Also referred to as bilinguality refers to the

individual part of the phenomenon, that is,

an individual has some knowledge of two or

more languages which entails a special

psycholinguistic process.

Individual bilingualism

Nevertheless, it is not possible to make a

clear separation between bilingualism as an

individual and a societal phenomenon.

Consider the following reflection questions:

Coordinate, compound and

sub-coordinate bilingualism Individual bilingualism - different sorts of

bilingualism.

Weinreich (1953) - 'coordinate', 'compound' and

'sub coordinate' bilingualism- bases on the way the

concepts and meanings are encoded in the brain.

Each of these three divisions stems from the way

in which the languages are learned.

Coordinate bilingualism

Languages are learned in different conditions and

separate contexts - the languages are kept apart

in the mind.

Different contexts give way to different meanings

with dissimilar conceptual systems (e.g.: someone

who learns English as his/her mother tongue and

later learns a foreign language in school).

Compound bilingualism

Arises when acquisition takes place when both

languages are learned in the same context, and

both meanings show a fused representation or

meaning in the brain.

The languages involved are somehow

interdependent (e.g.: a child who learns two

languages at home at the same time, probably one

coming from the father and the other one from the

mother).

Sub-coordinate bilingualism

Derives from the learning of one language first and

the learning of the other later on (e.g.: a child who

learns both languages at home simultaneously but

one of them is dominant, probably because s/he

spends more time with one of the parents).

Bilingualism types

Bilingualism types

This categorization was neither abandoned nor

developed more fulIy due to the complexity of the

neurolinguistic processes and the few advances

attained in the field.

Bilingualism types

Lambert 1955, distinguishes between the balanced

biiingual and the dominant bilingual

The former refers to an individual who has

equivalent competence in both languages (e.g.:

someone brought up in a bilingual family and

society where both languages receive equal

consideration)

Bilingualism types

Balanced bilingualism entails a high communicative

competence in both languages- but not necessarily

monolingual competence in both languages'.

It should not be conceived as the addition of two

monolingual speakers- bilingualism development

depends on numerous factors (age of learning,

situational context, social consideration of the

languages, personal identity, etc".

Bilingualism types

There are domains in which the speaker will show

higher command of the language or will simply

prefer one language or the other.

Balanced bilinguaiism should be understood in

reiative terms as bilingual speakers hardly ever

show equal speaking and writing abilities in their

languages' they are rarely equally fluent about all

topics in all contexts.

Bilingualism types

The term dominant bilingual applies to someone

whose competence in the mother tongue

surpasses his competence in the other language

at least in some domains (e.g. a child learning

language A from the father and language B from

the mother and school, will probably have more

chances to develop language B unless special

actions are taken).

Bilingualism types

Dominant bilingualism is actually the norm as it is

rather difficult for a bilingual speaker to reach

absolutely even competence in two codes.

Bilingualism and age of

acquisition A useful distinction can be drawn between:

childhood bilingualism, adolescent bilingualism

and adult bilingualism.

In the first case the development of bilingualism

takes place at the same time as the child's

cognitive development.


acquisition In the case of adolescent and adult bilingualism,

the cognitive representation of the word, to give an

example, has already been completed at least to a

certain extent, and there is mainly a process of re-

labeling previous concepts.


acquisition

Childhood bilingualism can also be classified into

simultaneous infant bilingualism, when the child

acquires a second language early in infancy but

after some development of the mother tongue has

been attained.


acquisition

Consecutive childhood bilingualism, when a basic

linguistic ability is acquired early in infancy in the

mother tongue and a second language is acquired

right after.

Societal Bilingualism

Influence of the sociocultural environment on

bilingualism (the social status that the languages

have in the speech community)

Depending on the social consideration that the

languages have in the society, a child can develop

both languages equally- or one more than the

other.

Additive and Substractive

Bilingualism Additive bilingualism occurs when both languages

are socially valued.

The child makes use of both languages and

accordingly takes advantage of this potentially

enhancing situation to gain cognitive flexibility.

The acquisition of the second language does not

have adverse effects on the language or

languages already known.

Additive and Substractive

Bilingualism Substractive bilingualism, conversely, results from

a sociocultural context where the mother tongue is

detracted and, as a consequence, the child's

cognitive development may be hindered because

the development of the second language interferes

with the development of the first language.

Code choice

Wardhaugh (2002) code - any kind of system that two or more people use for communication.

- What does code choice imply?

- What do you think is the determining factor in

code-choice?

Code choice

1. The role language plays in our lives (choosing

deliberately to use a specific language in some

situations to express solidarity with our

interlocutor)

2. A way to assert some kind of right or to resist some kind of power (places where two or more languages coexist and have equal status)

Code choice

The official Languages Act, adopted in 1969, gave

English and French equal status, rights and

privileges in the federal institutions of Canada.

However English first language speakers comprise

a minority in Quebec, representing l0 % of the

province's population, whereas in other parts of

Canada, French first language speakers are a

minority, accounting for approximately 5 % of the

population.

Code choice

Under such circumstances, a French Canadian

may insist on using French to an official of the

federal government outside Quebec.

In that case language choice can be considered a

way of political or rights expression.

Code choice

The underlying issue is that motivation is a

determining component in code-choice and

codeswitching as there are numerous factors that

affect it: - solidarity with the listener

- choice of topic

- social distance

- contextual and situational appropriacy

- register

- Interlocutor, etc..

Code choice

The fact of being proficient in more than one

language allows for the possibility of switching

codes at some point.

The alternance of code often encodes personal

and social values that add interpersonal closeness

or distance.

Wardraugh (2002)

Situational and metaphorical codeswitching

Code choice

Situational codeswitching

Refers to a change in language depending on

contextual factors which have nothing to do with

the topic but with the given situation.

Metaphorical codeswitching

Points to the topic and the contents of the

communicative process as the main reason for

language choice.

Code switching

Three types of code-switching can be perceived.

These are described by Romaine (1989) as:

a. Tag switching

b. Intersentential switch

c. Intrasentential switch

Code switching

Tag switching

It is the switching of either a tag phrase or a word,

or both, from one language to another, (common in

intra-sentential switching), such as OYE at the very beginning of the paragraph which is written in

a language different from the rest of the sentence.

Why does tag switch occur?

Code switching

- The speaker lacks the necessary vocabulary in

English

- It comes more easily and spontaneously since

tags are subjected to few syntactic restrictions

and can be inserted without interfering with the

syntactic organization of the utterance.

Some tags easily inserted from English are you

know and ,I mean.

Code switching

Intersentential switch

Is found between sentences and often arises in

sentence boundaries, marked with a short pause

and between speaker turns.

e.g. Y LUEGO DECA, look at the smoke coming out of my fingers, like that and 'Y LUEGO STE, I

started seeing like little stars all over the place.

Code switching

Intersentential switch also seems to be caused in

direct speech by the change from the narrator to

the actual words used by the speaker, e.g.: And then ME DIJO, stop acting silly.

Code switching

Intrasentential switch

This type of code-switch contains the highest

syntactic risk and is typically referred to as code-

mixing.

e.g. I started acting real CURIOSA

Sometimes Ill start a sentence in English y termino en espaol

both codes are mixed within a sentence.

Code switching

Intrasentential switching requires the most fluency

of all types of code switching because it requires

speakers to switch to the rules of syntax of the

other language mid-thought or sentence, and

consequently may be avoided by all but the most

fluent of bilingual speakers (Lipski, 1985).

Code switching

Code-switching is often wrongly misinterpreted as

evidence of a lack of a linguistic ability of the

speaker or deterioration of one or both languages.

Sociolinguistic research has confirmed that code-

switching plays an important role in social

functions, and does not necessarily indicate

linguistic incompetence. Gonzales-Velasquez (1995)

Code mixing

Code-mixing - different phenomenon to code-

switching although are sometimes used

interchangeably.

Code-mixing occurs when the interlocutors change

from one language to the other in the course of a

single conversation and more precisely when

switching back and forth occurs within a clause.

Code mixing

Speakers do not even need to be aware of it and

the breaks between codes occur within clauses.

Code-mixing highlights hybridization whereas

code-switching stresses the existence of

movement from one language into the other.

Code mixing

Code-mixing typically presumes a mastery of the

codes being mixed and is very typical of bilinguals.

Code-mixing will depend on a number of factors

such as the situational context, the degree of

familiarity among the interlocutors and the actual

cause for code-switching (the result of the lack of

knowledge or a meaningful discourse strategy)

Diglossia DIGLOSSIA is a relatively stable language situation in which, in addition to the primary dialects of the language

(which may include a standard or regional standards), there

is a very divergent, highly codified (often grammatically

more complex) superposed variety, the vehicle of a large

and respected body of written literature, either of an earlier

period or in another speech community, which is learned

largely by formal education and is used for most written and

formal spoken purposes but is not used by any section of

the community for ordinary conversation. Ferguson - 1959

Diglossia Ferguson - 1959

A sociolinguistic situation similar to bilingualism, in which two very different varieties of language co-exist in a speech community, each with a distinct social function and appropriate for certain situations.

Diglossia

Given the existence of two varieties, one of

them being considered more prestigious and

cultivated than the other, would lead to the

differentiation between a high variety (H) and

a low variety (L).

Diglossia

The specialization of functions for H and L

varieties determines the appropriateness of

either variety for a set of situations with few

occasions for overlapping.

This entails the use of one language to

express a set of behaviors, attitudes and

values, and another language a contrasting

set of behaviors, attitudes and values.

Classical vs Extended Diglossia

Fishman expanded the definition of

diglossia to include the use of unrelated

languages as high and low varieties.

e.g. in Alsace the Alsatian language (Elsassisch) serves as (L) and French as (H).

Heinz Kloss calls the (H) variant exoglossia

and the (L) variant endoglossia.

Diglossia

With creole languages, the connection

between (H) and (L) is not one of diglossia

but a continuum. e.g. Jamaican Creole as (L) and Standard English as (H) in

Jamaica. (H) is usually the written language whereas (L) is

the spoken language. In formal situations, (H) is used; in

informal situations, (L) is used.

Diglossia

The (L) variants are not just simplifications or

"corruptions" of the (H) variants.

e.g. In phonology (L) dialects are as likely to have

phonemes absent from the (H) and vice versa.

Jamaican Creole has fewer vowel phonemes than

standard English, but it has additional palatal /k/ and // phonemes.

Diglossia

In endoglossia the (L) form may also be

called "basilect", the (H) form "acrolect", and

an intermediate form "mesolect".

Diglossia and sociolinguistics

At the social level, each of the two dialects

has certain spheres of social interaction

assigned to it and in the assigned spheres it

is the only socially acceptable dialect (with

minor exceptions).


Grammatical differences may involve

pronunciation, inflection, and/or syntax an

can range from minor to extreme.

In many cases of diglossia, the two dialects

are so divergent that they are distinct

languages - mutually unintelligible.


The dialect which is the original mother

tongue is almost always held in low esteem;

it is of low prestige.

Its spheres of use involve informal,

interpersonal communication: conversation

in the home, among friends, in marketplaces.


In some diglossias, the vernacular dialect is

virtually unwritten and those who try to give

it a literature may be severely criticized.


The other dialect is held in high esteem and

is devoted to written communication and

formal spoken communication (education,

sermons, and speeches by government

officials, etc).

Diglossia


Usually it is not possible to acquire

proficiency in the formal, "high" dialect

without formal study of it.

In diglossic societies characterized by

extreme inequality of social classes, most

people are not proficient in speaking the

high dialect.


When the high dialect is grammatically

different (Arabic diglossia) the uneducated

classes cannot understand most of the

public speeches they might hear on

television and radio.

Diglossia and bilingualism

Fishman (2003) portrays the terms, diglossia and

bilingualism as follows:

bilingualism

Documents

bilingualism languages

logo bilingualism bilingualism

compound bilingualism

depiction of bilingualism

issue individual bilingualism

bilingualism types lambert

social bilingualism

various languages