Languages without borders
-
Jyotsna Vaid
Abstract
What might the study of language processing look like if the canonical language user were assumed to be bilingual? In this chapter we offer some reflections on how the origins, assumptions and practices of psycholinguistics constructed a particular view of language and of the typical language user, with distinct consequences for the construction of bilingualism as an object of inquiry. We suggest that if psycholinguistics is to fully embrace its “bilingual turn” it will benefit from exploring new ways of conceptualizing and approaching the study of bilingual language processing rather than uncritically adopting questions and approaches that were initially framed to understand single language use. Specifically, we suggest that research designs that allow language phenomena to emerge, rather than be expressly manipulated or restricted by researchers’ preconceived assumptions and that build in a broader range of variables and consider an expanded range of bilingual groups, will advance our understanding of the bilingual mental lexicon in important ways.
Abstract
What might the study of language processing look like if the canonical language user were assumed to be bilingual? In this chapter we offer some reflections on how the origins, assumptions and practices of psycholinguistics constructed a particular view of language and of the typical language user, with distinct consequences for the construction of bilingualism as an object of inquiry. We suggest that if psycholinguistics is to fully embrace its “bilingual turn” it will benefit from exploring new ways of conceptualizing and approaching the study of bilingual language processing rather than uncritically adopting questions and approaches that were initially framed to understand single language use. Specifically, we suggest that research designs that allow language phenomena to emerge, rather than be expressly manipulated or restricted by researchers’ preconceived assumptions and that build in a broader range of variables and consider an expanded range of bilingual groups, will advance our understanding of the bilingual mental lexicon in important ways.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Author information ix
- Prologue xiii
- The dynamic lexicon 1
- Languages without borders 7
- The bilingual lexicon 27
- Mechanisms underlying word learning in second language acquisition 49
- The bilingual mental lexicon 73
- Non-selective language activation and bilingualism as the default mental lexicon 103
- The influence of contextual cues on representations in the mental lexicon for bilinguals 123
- When cognate status produces no benefits 143
- Lexical retrieval difficulty in bilingual speakers with and without pathology 181
- Morphological integration and the bilingual lexicon 197
- Morphological processing in old-age bilinguals 217
- Index 249
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Author information ix
- Prologue xiii
- The dynamic lexicon 1
- Languages without borders 7
- The bilingual lexicon 27
- Mechanisms underlying word learning in second language acquisition 49
- The bilingual mental lexicon 73
- Non-selective language activation and bilingualism as the default mental lexicon 103
- The influence of contextual cues on representations in the mental lexicon for bilinguals 123
- When cognate status produces no benefits 143
- Lexical retrieval difficulty in bilingual speakers with and without pathology 181
- Morphological integration and the bilingual lexicon 197
- Morphological processing in old-age bilinguals 217
- Index 249
