scholarly journals Cross-language synonyms in the lexicons of bilingual infants: one language or two?

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Zurer Pearson ◽  
Sylvia Fernández ◽  
D. K. Oller
Keyword(s):  
Parent Report ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Bilingual Child ◽  
Empirical Claim ◽  
Language System ◽  
Strong Principle ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Rule Out

ABSTRACTThis study tests the widely-cited claim from Volterra & Taeschner (1978), which is reinforced by Clark's Principle Of Contrast (1987), that young simultaneous bilingual children reject cross-language synonyms in their earliest lexicons. The rejection of translation equivalents is taken by Volterra & Taeschner as support for the idea that the bilingual child possesses a single-language system which includes elements from both languages. We examine first the accuracy of the empirical claim and then its adequacy as support for the argument that bilingual children do not have independent lexical systems in each language. The vocabularies of 27 developing bilinguals were recorded at varying intervals between ages 0;8 and 2;6, using the MacArthur GDI, a standardized parent report form in English and Spanish. The two single-language vocabularies of each bilingual child were compared to determine how many pairs of translation equivalents (TEs) were reported for each child at different stages of development. TEs were observed for all children but one, with an average of 30% of all words coded in the two languages, both at early stages (in vocabularies of 2–12 words) and later (up to 500 words). Thus, Volterra & Taeschner's empirical claim was not upheld. Further, the number of TEs in the bilinguals' two lexicons was shown to be similar to the number of lexical items which co-occurred in the monolingual lexicons of two different children, as observed in 34 random pairings for between-child comparisons. It remains to be shown, therefore, that the bilinguals' lexicons are not composed of two independent systems at a very early age. Furthermore, the results appear to rule out the operation of a strong principle of contrast across languages in early bilingualism.

scholarly journals Bilingual adjusted vocabulary: A developmentally-informed bilingual vocabulary measure

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Maria Gonzalez-Barrero ◽  
Esther Schott ◽  
Krista Byers-Heinlein
Keyword(s):  
Parent Report ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Expressive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Communicative Development ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Cross Language

Vocabulary size is one of the most important early metrics of language development. Assessing vocabulary in bilingual children is complex because bilinguals learn words in two languages, which include translation equivalents (cross-language synonyms). We collected expressive vocabulary data from English and French monolinguals (n = 220), and English–French bilinguals (n = 184) aged 18–33 months, via parent report using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories, and quantified bilinguals’ vocabulary size using different approaches to counting translation equivalents. Our results showed that traditional approaches yield larger (word vocabulary) or smaller (concept vocabulary) quantification of bilinguals’ vocabulary knowledge relative to monolinguals. We propose a new metric, the bilingual adjusted vocabulary, that yields similar vocabulary sizes for monolinguals and bilinguals across different ages. Uniquely, this approach counts translation equivalents differently depending on the child’s age. This developmentally-informed bilingual vocabulary measure reveals differences in word learning abilities across ages, and provides a new approach to measure vocabulary in bilingual toddlers.

Vowel development in young Mandarin-English bilingual children

Phonetica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Yang
Keyword(s):  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
High Group ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Vowel Systems ◽  
Phonetic Features ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
L1 And L2

Abstract This study examined the development of vowel categories in young Mandarin -English bilingual children. The participants included 35 children aged between 3 and 4 years old (15 Mandarin-English bilinguals, six English monolinguals, and 14 Mandarin monolinguals). The bilingual children were divided into two groups: one group had a shorter duration (<1 year) of intensive immersion in English (Bi-low group) and one group had a longer duration (>1 year) of intensive immersion in English (Bi-high group). The participants were recorded producing one list of Mandarin words containing the vowels /a, i, u, y, ɤ/ and/or one list of English words containing the vowels /i, ɪ, e, ɛ, æ, u, ʊ, o, ɑ, ʌ/. Formant frequency values were extracted at five equidistant time locations (the 20–35–50–65–80% point) over the course of vowel duration. Cross-language and within-language comparisons were conducted on the midpoint formant values and formant trajectories. The results showed that children in the Bi-low group produced their English vowels into clusters and showed positional deviations from the monolingual targets. However, they maintained the phonetic features of their native vowel sounds well and mainly used an assimilatory process to organize the vowel systems. Children in the Bi-high group separated their English vowels well. They used both assimilatory and dissimilatory processes to construct and refine the two vowel systems. These bilingual children approximated monolingual English children to a better extent than the children in the Bi-low group. However, when compared to the monolingual peers, they demonstrated observable deviations in both L1 and L2.

Polish–English bilingual children overuse referential markers: MLU inflation in Polish-language narratives

2020 ◽  
pp. 014272372093376
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Otwinowska ◽  
Marcin Opacki ◽  
Karolina Mieszkowska ◽  
Marta Białecka-Pikul ◽  
Zofia Wodniecka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Overt Pronouns ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Cohesive Devices ◽  
Dp Structure ◽  
Polish Language ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Mean Length Of Utterance ◽  
Cross Language

Polish and English differ in the surface realization of the underlying Determiner Phrase (DP): Polish lacks an article system, whereas English makes use of articles for both grammatical and pragmatic reasons. This difference has an impact on how referentiality is rendered in both languages. In this article, the authors investigate the use of referential markers by Polish–English bilingual children and Polish monolingual children. Using the LITMUS-MAIN picture stories, the authors collected speech samples of Polish–English bilinguals raised in the UK ( n = 92, mean age 5;7) and compared them with matched Polish monolinguals ( n = 92, mean age 5;7). The analyses revealed that the bilinguals’ mean length of utterance (MLU) in Polish was significantly higher than that of the monolinguals because the bilinguals produced significantly more referential markers (especially pronouns) which inflated their MLU. The authors posit that the non-standard referentiality used by the bilinguals in Polish is caused by cross-language transfer at the syntax–pragmatics interface. When producing narratives in Polish, Polish–English bilinguals overuse referential markers as cohesive devices in their stories, which is not ungrammatical, but pragmatically odd in Polish. Bilinguals tend to do this because they are immersed in English-language input, rich in overt pronouns. Thus, in the process of realizing the surface features of the Polish DP they partly rely on an underlying English DP structure.

The relation of input factors to lexical learning by bilingual infants

1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Z. Pearson ◽  
Sylvia C. Fernandez ◽  
Vanessa Lewedeg ◽  
D.Kimbrough Oller
Keyword(s):  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Minority Language ◽  
Bilingual Child ◽  
Communicative Development ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
Lexical Learning ◽  
Language Input ◽  
Unique Source ◽  
Source Of Information

ABSTRACTThe bilingual child is seen as a unique source of information about the relation between input and intake. The strength of the association between language exposure estimates and vocabulary learning was examined for 25 simultaneous bilingual infants (ages 8 to 30 months) with differing patterns of exposure to the languages being learned. Using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories, standardized parent report forms in English and Spanish, the percentage of all words that were known in each language was calculated and then plotted against the estimates of language input (also in percentages). A significant correlation was found, r(25)= .82, p < .001. The correlation was also strong when examined point-by-point, even for children whose language environments changed by more than 20%; between observations, although it was not reliable at lower levels of exposure to Spanish. Especially for children with less input in the minority language, the factors which appeared to affect the strength of the association between input and amount learned in a language are discussed.

scholarly journals Code-switching in young bilingual toddlers: A longitudinal, cross-language investigation

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 500-518
Author(s):  
Erin Smolak ◽  
Stephanie de Anda ◽  
Bianka Enriquez ◽  
Diane Poulin-Dubois ◽  
Margaret Friend
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
San Diego ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Important Predictor ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Small Samples ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Preschool Period ◽  
Cross Language

AbstractAlthough there is a body of work investigating code-switching (alternation between two languages in production) in the preschool period, it largely relies on case studies or very small samples. The current work seeks to extend extant research by exploring the development of code-switching longitudinally from 31 to 39 months of age in two distinct groups of bilingual children: Spanish–English children in San Diego and French–English children in Montréal. In two studies, consistent with previous research, children code-switched more often between than within utterances and code-switched more content than function words. Additionally, children code-switched more from Spanish or French to English than the reverse. Importantly, the factors driving the rate of code-switching differed across samples such that exposure was the most important predictor of code-switching in Spanish–English children whereas proficiency was the more important predictor in French–English children.

scholarly journals Narrative abilities in early successive bilingual Slovak–English children: A cross-language comparison

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
SVETLANA KAPALKOVÁ ◽  
KAMILA POLIŠENSKÁ ◽  
LENKA MARKOVÁ ◽  
JAMES FENTON
Keyword(s):  
Narrative Research ◽  
First Language ◽  
Nonword Repetition ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Skill Transfer ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Narrative Skills ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Narrative Performance ◽  
Cross Language

ABSTRACTThis study investigates macrostructure skill transfer in successive bilingual children speaking Slovak and English, a new language combination for narrative research. We examined whether narrative performance reflected language dominance and assessed relationships between nonword repetition (NWR) and narrative skills within and across languages. Forty typically developing Slovak–English bilingual children (mean age = 5 years, 10 months) were evaluated for microstructure and macrostructure performance in both languages through story telling and retelling tasks. In addition, NWR was assessed in Slovak, the children's first language (L1). Macrostructure scores were higher in their L1 than in their second language (L2), but comprehension did not differ across languages. L1 NWR was significantly related to L1 microstructure scores, but not to L1/L2 macrostructure or L2 microstructure. Implications for assessing bilingual children's language are discussed.

scholarly journals The time course of cross-language activation in deaf ASL–English bilinguals

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
JILL P. MORFORD ◽  
CORRINE OCCHINO-KEHOE ◽  
PILAR PIÑAR ◽  
ERIN WILKINSON ◽  
JUDITH F. KROLL
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Semantic Similarity ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Language Activation ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Rule Out

What is the time course of cross-language activation in deaf sign–print bilinguals? Prior studies demonstrating cross-language activation in deaf bilinguals used paradigms that would allow strategic or conscious translation. This study investigates whether cross-language activation can be eliminated by reducing the time available for lexical processing. Deaf ASL–English bilinguals and hearing English monolinguals viewed pairs of English words and judged their semantic similarity. Half of the stimuli had phonologically related translations in ASL, but participants saw only English words. We replicated prior findings of cross-language activation despite the introduction of a much faster rate of presentation. Further, the deaf bilinguals were as fast or faster than hearing monolinguals despite the fact that the task was in their second language. The results allow us to rule out the possibility that deaf ASL–English bilinguals only activate ASL phonological forms when given ample time for strategic or conscious translation across their two languages.

Decontextualized language production in two languages: An investigation of children's word definition skills in Korean and English

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
JENNIFER YUSUN KANG
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Production ◽  
First Language ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Korean And English ◽  
Schooling Experience ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Word Definition

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to identify factors that contribute to bilingual children's decontextualized language production and investigate how schooling experience and bilingualism affect the development of this skill. The word definition skills of seventy Korean–English bilingual children whose first language was Korean, yet who had been schooled in English, were analyzed. The findings indicate that contrary to the results from previous studies, the participants' decontextualized language production was much better in their home language than in their school language, when considering both the formal linguistic structure and the communicative adequacy of their word definitions. In addition, limited cross-language transfer across tasks was present and cross-language contribution was observed only in the children's ability to achieve communicative adequacy, but not in their ability to construct conventional definition syntax. The results are discussed in terms of the linguistic and typological distance between the two languages and the potential effects of language-learning contexts.

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