Advances in the Study of Bilingualism

This book provides a contemporary approach to the study of bilingualism. Drawing on contributions from leading experts in the field, this book brings together - in a single volume - a selection of the exciting work conducted as part of the programme of the ESRC Centre for Research on Bilingualism in Theory and Practice at Bangor University, Wales. Each chapter has as its main focus an exploration of the relationship between the two languages of a bilingual. Section by section, the authors draw on current findings and methodologies to explore the ways in which their research can address this question from a number of different perspectives.

Contributors

Foreword

Introduction: Advances in the Study of Bilingualism - Enlli Môn Thomas and Ineke Mennen

Part 1: Bilingual Speech

1 Speech Learning in Bilinguals: Consonant Cluster Acquisition - Robert Mayr, Danna Jones and Ineke Mennen

2 Maturational Constraints in Bilingual Speech - Esther de Leeuw 

Part 2: Bilingual Language Development

3 Cross-linguistic Influence and Patterns of Acquisition - Enlli Môn Thomas, Katja F. Cantone, Susanne Davies and Anna Shadrova

4 Bilingual Construction of Two Systems - Virginia C. Mueller Gathercole, Rocío Pérez-Tattam, Hans Stadthagen-González and Enlli Môn Thomas

Part 3: Bilingual Language Use

5 Building Bilingual Corpora - Margaret Deuchar, Peredur Davies, Jon Russell Herring, M. Carmen Parafita Couto and Diana Carter

6 Factors Influencing Code-Switching - M. Carmen Parafita Couto, Peredur Davies, Diana Carter and Margaret Deuchar

Part 4: Bilingual Education

7 Language Arrangements within Bilingual Education - Bryn Jones and W. Gwyn Lewis 

8 Bilingualism in Higher Education - W. Gwyn Lewis and Hunydd Andrews

Part 5: The Bilingual Brain

9 Language Selection During Speech Production in Bilingual Speakers - Noriko Hoshino and Guillaume Thierry

10 Juggling Two Grammars - Eirini Sanoudaki and Guillaume Thierry 

References

Enlli Môn Thomas is a Senior Lecturer in Education and Ineke Mennen a Professor of Bilingualism and Linguistics at Bangor University. They are both board members of the ESRC Centre for Research on Bilingualism in Theory and Practice and have published widely in their respective areas, namely bilingual language development and use (Thomas) and bilingual speech (Mennen).

The many facets of bilingualism are explored in this book with unprecedented breadth and depth. Through the prism of multidisciplinary research the volume paints a vivid picture of bilingualism throughout the lifespan. This is an outstanding state-of-the-art contribution to our knowledge of the field in the 21st century.

This volume succeeds in combining breadth and depth in an impressive manner. It covers many of the most discussed topics in the study of bilingualism – from the neuroscience of two grammars in bilinguals over code-switching and cross-linguistic influence to bilingual schooling – and still does not back away from the theoretical and analytical complexities of each of the themes. The editors have put together an up-to-date and important book that will find a wide audience.

Overall, this volume is a magnificent contribution to the study of bilingualism. Indeed, the authors and editors have stimulated thought on theoretical and empirical research, especially toward future research on language pairs other than Welsh and English. It should be clear that this book represents an important contribution to the understanding of bilingualism, and will serve as an invaluable resource for researchers and practitioners alike.