Language Processing in Bilinguals

Dra. Pilar Ferr

mariadelpilar.ferre@urv.cat

Usually the first language is more emotional

What changes bilingualism produces in cognition

Topic 1
Major issues in the study of Bilingualism

Intro
Meaning of being a bilingual
Assessment of the two languages
Methodological issues

Bilingualism is the use od two or more languages in the everyday lifef

It is found in all groups ages, all levels of society and in most countries

Bilingualism is the rule, not the exception

Aprocches>

1- Linguistic approach:
-focus on the consequences of languages contact for the structural
pattern of languages: code switching, borrowing

2- Sociolinguistic approach
-bilinguism as a social phenomenon, language choice is an act of
social identity,
-study of communicative practices and pf their contribution to the
contruction of social boundaries
-study of social and history condition which allow for the
development of particular regimes of languages
3- Psycholinguistic approach
- Consequences of language contact has in the cognitive process
- What happen in the brain, in the mind of a bilingual

Psicholinguistic: study of mental processes involved in understanding

and producing language in both oral and written forms

Skills: reading, listening, speaking, writing

-strong monolingual bias in Psycholinguistic: lexical decision task

Incomplete conceptio of language processing: cognate translations, it is
easier to process cognates

-effects of language not in use

-More studies about the processing of words in isolation than strings or

sentences.