Bilingualism, code-switching and aging
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Michael Clyne✝
Abstract
This paper summarizes some discussion around the myth of the inevitability of second language attrition and first language reversion in the elderly. This myth has motivated Australian policy on ethnospecific aged care. The research base in this area was greatly enhanced by Kees de Bot’s visit to Monash in 1986, facilitating the development of an existing corpus from Dutch-English bilinguals to a longitudinal study. Some previous assumptions about second language attrition in older bilinguals may have been overinterpretations of bidirectional code-switching and slower recall due to changes in language use patterns. The longitudinal project and subsequent research would encourage modified assumptions. The publication of de Bot and Makoni (2005) has been an opportunity for paradigm shift in the study of language and aging in multilingual contexts.
Abstract
This paper summarizes some discussion around the myth of the inevitability of second language attrition and first language reversion in the elderly. This myth has motivated Australian policy on ethnospecific aged care. The research base in this area was greatly enhanced by Kees de Bot’s visit to Monash in 1986, facilitating the development of an existing corpus from Dutch-English bilinguals to a longitudinal study. Some previous assumptions about second language attrition in older bilinguals may have been overinterpretations of bidirectional code-switching and slower recall due to changes in language use patterns. The longitudinal project and subsequent research would encourage modified assumptions. The publication of de Bot and Makoni (2005) has been an opportunity for paradigm shift in the study of language and aging in multilingual contexts.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgement vii
- Introduction: From structure to chaos 1
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Part I. Multilingualism
- Psycholinguistic perspectives on language processing in bilinguals 15
- Triggered code-switching 37
- Working memory capacity, inhibitory control, and proficiency in a second language 59
- Explanations of associations between L1 and L2 literacy skills 85
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Part II. Language attrition
- The acquisition, attrition, and relearning of mission vocabulary 115
- Second language attrition 135
- Contact x time 155
- The shifting structure of emotion semantics across immigrant generations 177
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Part III. Language and aging
- Bilingualism, code-switching and aging 201
- Language reversion versus general cognitive decline 221
-
Part IV. DST
- A dynamic model of expert-novice co-adaptation during language learning and acquisition 235
- The dynamics of multilingualism 267
- Epilogue: Twenty years of modeling bilingualism 289
- Address for correspondence 303
- Index 305
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgement vii
- Introduction: From structure to chaos 1
-
Part I. Multilingualism
- Psycholinguistic perspectives on language processing in bilinguals 15
- Triggered code-switching 37
- Working memory capacity, inhibitory control, and proficiency in a second language 59
- Explanations of associations between L1 and L2 literacy skills 85
-
Part II. Language attrition
- The acquisition, attrition, and relearning of mission vocabulary 115
- Second language attrition 135
- Contact x time 155
- The shifting structure of emotion semantics across immigrant generations 177
-
Part III. Language and aging
- Bilingualism, code-switching and aging 201
- Language reversion versus general cognitive decline 221
-
Part IV. DST
- A dynamic model of expert-novice co-adaptation during language learning and acquisition 235
- The dynamics of multilingualism 267
- Epilogue: Twenty years of modeling bilingualism 289
- Address for correspondence 303
- Index 305
