International Journal of Bilingualism 

About: International Journal of Bilingualism is an academic journal published by SAGE Publishing. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): First language & Neuroscience of multilingualism. It has an ISSN identifier of 1367-0069. Over the lifetime, 990 publications have been published receiving 27134 citations. The journal is also known as: The international journal of bilingualism.

Negotiation of identities in multilingual contexts

Abstract: New theoretical approaches to the study of negotiation of identities in multilingual contexts "The making of an American" - negotiation of identities at the turn of the 20th century, Aneta Pavlenko constructions of identity in political discourse in multilingual Britain, Adrian Blackledge negotiating between bourge and racaille - Verlan as youth identity practice in suburban Paris, Meredith Doran (Pennsylvania State University) Black Deaf or Deaf Black? being Black and Deaf in Britain, Melissa James and Bencie Woll (City University, London) mothers and mother tongue - perspectives on self-construction by mothers of Pakistani heritage, Jean Mills (University of Birmingham) the politics of identity, representation, and the discourses of self-identification, Frances Giampapa (University of Toronto) Alice doesn't live here anymore - foreign language learning and identity reconstruction, Celeste Kinginger (Pennsylvania State University) intersections of literacy and construction of social identities, Benedicta Egbo (University of Windsor) multilingual writers and the struggle for voice in academic discourse, Suresh Canagarajah (City University of New York) identity and language use - the politics of speaking ESL in schools, Jennifer Miller (University of Queensland) sending mixed messages - language minority education at a Japanese public elementary school, Yasuko Kanno (University of Washington)

From codeswitching via language mixing to fused lects Toward a dynamic typology of bilingual speech

Abstract: A continuum of language alternation phenomena is discussed which spans out between the prototypes labelled codeswitching (CS),language mixing(LM),and fused lects (FLs), with CS and FLs representing the polar extremes of the continuum and LM a point in between. In addition, an interpretation of this continuum is suggested according to which the transition CS-LM-FL can be understood as a case of structural sedimentation.

Internal and external interfaces in bilingual language development: Beyond structural overlap

Abstract: This article deals with the interface between syntax and discoursepragmatics/semantics in bilingual speakers. Linguistic phenomena at the interface have been shown to be especially vulnerable in both child and adult bilinguals; here we explore four variables that contribute to this vulnerability to different extents depending on the nature of the interface: underspecification, cross-linguistic influence, quantity and quality of the input, and processing limitations. We investigate the role played by the aforementioned variables in two recently completed studies. One compares the performance of English– Italian and Spanish–Italian bilingual children, monolingual English- and Italian-speaking children and adults on forced-choice grammaticality tasks on the distribution of overt and null subject pronouns in Italian and in English. The second explores bilingual and monolingual speakers’ sensitivity to the presence of definite articles in specific and generic plural noun phrases in Italian and in English. We show that over and above structural overlap, other factors must be included to account for differences in the behavioural data in the two tasks and in different populations of bilinguals and monolinguals. We argue that processing factors play a non-trivial role in the difficulty encountered by bilinguals in coordinating syntax with contextual discourse-pragmatic information, regardless of the absence or presence of partial structural overlap. In the case of the internal coordination between syntax and semantics, processing factors may be less likely to affect bilinguals’ performance, while the extent of structural overlap and the associated internal formal features seem to play a more important role.

First language attrition and syntactic subjects: A study of Greek and Italian near-native speakers of English

Abstract: In this paper we present some results from an experimental study that we have been conducting into the effects of syntactic attrition on the L1 of Greek and Italian speakers who have achieved near-native proficiency in their L2 (English) but still use their L1 on a regular basis. In particular, we test the hypothesis, developed on the basis of assumptions regarding syntactic modularity, that the changes in L1 syntax will be restricted to the interface with the conceptual / intentional cognitive systems. The area of investigation is the domain of grammatical subjects in Greek and Italian. More specifically, we tested the participants on the production and interpretation of null and overt subjects, and of preverbal and postverbal subjects. We also elicited grammaticality judgments on subject extraction and subject position in various syntactic contexts. In this paper we report on the results of one of the production tasks (of preverbal and postverbal subjects) and two interpretation tasks. Attrition effects are found in the production of preverbal subjects in the Greek group whereas Italian speakers show attrition effects in the interpretation of overt pronominal subjects. We argue that these results are in the right direction, that is, that semantic features are vulnerable in language attrition whereas syntactic options remain intact.

The additive effect of bilingualism on third language acquisition: A review

Abstract: This article looks at the general effects of bilingualism on cognitive development and highlights the specific effects of bilingualism on third language acquisition. First, it examines the effects of bilingualism on cognitive development, metalinguistic awareness and communicative skills and then, it focuses on the specific effects of bilingualism on third language proficiency by discussing the results of several research studies conducted in different settings and contexts. An important distinction is made between studies focusing on the acquisition of general proficiency in the third language and studies that examine specific aspects of third language proficiency. The effects of bilingualism on third language acquisition are discussed as related to the experience acquired by third language learners in the process of second language acquisition and the effects of bilingualism on metalinguistic awareness and communicative skills. These effects are also discussed with reference to the concepts of additive ...