UnitA1 DescribingBilingualism

Whatisbilingualism?Whatlevelofcompetencemustyouachieveinboth languagestoqualifyasabilingual?Howdodifferentexperiencesinacquiring bilingualismaffectthedegreeofbilingualism?Cantherebeasingledefinitionof bilingualism?

AnoftenquotedanswertothequestionWhatisbilingualismisBaetens Beardsmorescommentthatbilingualismasatermhasopenendedsemantics (1982:1).Inotherwords,thetermbilingualismmaymeandifferentthingsto differentpeopleasthereisnoonedefinitionforbilingualism.Fortheaverage speaker,bilingualismcanbelooselydefinedastheuseoftwolanguagesorthe nativelikecontroloftwolanguages.Thefirstdefinitionhighlightstheuseoftwo languagesasakeycriterionwhichmaywellincludespeakerswhoonlyhave rudimentaryformulaicexpressions,e.g.,greetingsinthesecondlanguage.Instark contrast,theseconddefinitionimposesastringentrequirementintermsof languageproficiency.Asisevident,eachdefinitionrepresentsapositionat differentendsoftheproficiencycontinuumeventhough,inreality,most bilingualsprobablyfallsomewhereinthemiddleofthiscontinuum.Moreover, oftenwhatwereadintheliteratureabouthowbilingualsshouldbedefinedare viewsofexpertswhichmaynotreflecttheviewsofspeakersthemselves. Thoughthediscussionofhowbilingualismshouldbedefinedhasoften centredontheissueoflanguagecompetence,thisfocusoverlooksothersocio culturalandcognitivefactorswhicharejustasrelevantwhendiscussingthe

performanceofbilinguals.Hence,theaimofthisfirstunitistoshowthat bilingualsarepartofawidersocioculturalmilieuandanydescriptionof bilingualismneedstoaccountforhowbilingualsutilizeandinteractwiththe resourcesinthecommunity.Wewillshowthattheimpactofsocial,psychological andculturalvariablesonthebilingualindividualisultimatelycentraltothe experienceofbeingbilingual,andthatanunderstandingofthesefactors underpinsallquestionsraisedinthisareaofstudy. Thisunitwillnotattempttoprovideanexhaustivedefinitionofbilingualism asthisiswidelycoveredelsewhere(seeforexample,Hornby1979;Skutnabb Kangas1981;BaetensBeardsmore1982;Romaine1989;Hoffmann1991;Baker 2006).Instead,theaimistoequipreaderswiththenecessaryskillsandinsightto assessandinterpretresearchdrawnfrombilingualpopulations.Inorderto achievethis,wewillfirstexaminehowthebilingualexperiencehasbeen chronicledandexaminedbyvariousresearchers.Wewillalsolookathowsome factorsmayexertaninfluenceoverourperceptionsofbilingualsandhowthey function.Inthecourseofthediscussion,keyissuessurroundingthedescriptionof bilingualismwillbehighlightedwithaviewtoprovidingsomeguidelineswhich willbeusefulinengagingwithdebateandresearchintobilingualism.

TaskA1.1 1)Thinkaboutyourselforsomeoneyouknowwhoisbilingual: Howdidthispersonbecomebilingual? Whatisthispersonsproficiencyinbothlanguages? Whenandwheredoesthispersonusebothlanguages? Compareyouranswerwithanotherpersoninyourclass:

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Canyoudrawanyconclusionsaboutthedifficultieswhichyoumightencounter

ifyouwereaskedtoprovideasingledefinitionofbilingualism? 2)Considerwhetheryouthinksomeoneisbilingualif: theyhaveaslightnonnativeaccentinoneorbothlanguages; theymakeoccasionalerrorsofsyntaxinoneorbothlanguages; theydonotalwaysknowtherightwordstouseinonelanguage; theymayspeakbothlanguagesfluentlybutareonlyculturallyateaseinone language.

Thetopicofhowbilingualismcanbedefinedtendstoreceiveuniversal attentioninstudiesofbilingualismbecauseanunderstandingofbilingualismin itssocial,psychologicalandculturalcontextsisanessentialinitialstepbefore researchinthisareacanbeinterpreted.Thisunitisorganizedaroundfivemain issueswhichareimportantvariablesinrelationtobilingualism: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Descriptorswhichrefertothedegreeofbilingualism Descriptorswhichrefertothecontextofbilinguallanguageacquisition Descriptorswhichrefertoageofacquisition Descriptorswhichrefertothedomainofuse Descriptorswhichrefertosocialorientation Thefirstsetofdescriptorsreferstothewaysinwhichwemaydescribe bilingualproficiency.Next,weexaminethevariableswhichimpactonthe contextsinwhichbilingualacquisitioncantakeplace.Thethirdpointrelatesto theageatwhichthelanguagesareacquiredandthepossibleconsequencesofthis onthedegreeofbilingualismattained.Thefourthissueconcernswaysinwhich wecandescribethedomainsofuseofboththebilingualslanguagesthatis,the
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circumstancesinwhichthelanguagesareused.Finally,wewilldiscusshowthe widersocialorientationisalsorelevanttoourunderstandingofhowbilinguals function.

DESCRIPTORSWHICHREFERTOTHEDEGREEOFBILINGUALISM Attheheartofthedescriptionofbilingualismistheissueofdegreeof bilingualism.Simplyput,degreeofbilingualismreferstothelevelsoflinguistic proficiencyabilingualmustachieveinbothlanguagestobeconsidereda bilingual.Isabilingualsomeonewhofunctionsliketwomonolinguals?Orisa bilingualsomeonewhoonlyneedsminimalproficiencyinoneorbothlanguages? Thesearetheviewsoflaypeopleandtheyechotheviewsexpressedbyexpertsin thefields,suchasBloomfield(1933),Haugen(1953),Mackey(1962)andWeinreich (1968).Likethegeneralpublic,expertsdifferamongstthemselvesonthisissue andinmanywaysthedisparitiesbetweentheirviewshavebeenseminalin spawninganactivedebateonhowbilingualismshouldbedefined.Letsfirstlook athowbilingualismisconceptualizedbyspecialistsinthefield. Bloomfield(1933:55)definedbilingualismas"nativelikecontroloftwo languages",while,incontrast,Mackey(1962:52)definedbilingualismasthe abilitytousemorethanonelanguage.InasimilarveintoMackey,Weinreich (1968)definedbilingualismasthepracticeofalternatelyusingtwolanguages" whileHaugen(1953:7)proposedthepointwhereaspeakercanfirstproduce completemeaningfulutterancesintheotherlanguagetobeastartingpointfor definingbilingualism.Ascanbeseen,thesedefinitionsrangefromBloomfields rigorousexpectationsoftotallybalancedbilingualismtoMackeysandWeinreich andHaugenslooserrequirementsofmereabilityorthepracticeofusingtwo

languages.BeatonsBeardsmore(1982)describedthesetwoextremesasminimalist (Mackey,Weinreich)andmaximalist(Bloomfield)inapproach.Haugensview couldalsobeconsideredminimalist,includingasitdoesthequalificationthatthe utteranceshavetobecompleteandmeaningfulinotherwords,thedefinition willadmitsomeonewhoisfluentenoughtoorderdinnerinarestaurant. Ontheotherhand,themaximalistapproachdescribestheidealbilingual whowillfindnomatchinreality.Ifweexaminetheexperienceofbilinguals aroundus,wequicklyrealizethatbilingualsdonot,andcannot,functionliketwo monolinguals.Infact,theirdegreeofcompetenceinbothlanguagesisgreatly influencedbythewayeachlanguageisusedandthisdiffersgreatlyfrom individualtoindividual.Moreover,howdowedecidewhoistheideal representativeofanativespeakerineachlanguage?Thispointhasbecome increasinglycontentiousandwillbefurtherdiscussedinUnitA2. Themaximalistapproachisequallyunsatisfactorybecauseitfailstomakea distinctionbetweenthosewhohaveonlyminimalcommunicativeabilityina secondlanguageandthosewhousethelanguageactivelyintheirdailylivesina largerangeofsettings.How,then,canwemeasuredegreeofbilingualism? Macnamara(1969)emphasizedtheneedtodiscussthedegreeofbilingualism notasaunitarycomponentbutasdegreeofcompetenceinsubcomponents.The subcomponentsarethefourmacroskills(speaking,writing,readingand listening).Inthisschema,competenceinbilingualismisseenasacontinuumwith individualsshowingvaryingdegreesofcompetenceineachofthemacroskills.A discussionofhowthiscompetencecanbemeasured,acriticalissueinbilingual studies,willbeexploredinmoredetailinUnit2.Meanwhile,itisimportantto examinebilingualabilitiesinvariousskillcontextsandtodiscussvaryingdegrees

ofbilingualismratherthantryingtopinpointaspecificlevelofbilingualismthat qualifiesoneasbeingbilingual.

TaskA1.2 Ratethecompetenceofyourownlanguage(s)ineachofthefourmacroskills:listening, speaking,readingandwriting.Useafivepointratingscale(1=weak,5=excellent). Whataresomeofthefactorswhichimpactonyourrating? Foreachofthemacroskills,considerhowyourratingmaychangewhenyou are performingdifferenttasks(e.g.readingabookversusreadinganewspaper, orderingatarestaurantormakingapresentationtoyourclass).

Severaltermssuchasbalancedbilinguals,dominantbilinguals,recessive bilingualsandsemilingualshavebeenusedtocategorisebilingualsaccordingtothe perceiveddegreeofproficiencytheyhaveinbothlanguages.Asthesetermsare commonlyused,wewillreviewtheminthenextfewsections.

Balancedbilinguals ThetermbalancedbilingualwasfirstusedbyLambert,HavelkaandGardner (1959)Canadatodescribeindividualswhoarefullycompetentinbothlanguages. Inmostinstances,whenthetermbalancedbilingualisused,itdescribesthose whoarethoughttohaveperfectcontrolofbothlanguagesinallsettings.Though itispossibletocomeacrossbilingualswhoarehighlyproficientinboth languages,BaetensBeardsmore(1982)arguedthatbalancedbilingualismisclose

toimpossibletoachieve,andisthereforeveryrare.Evenhighlevelconference interpreterstendtohaveapreferenceforoneoftheirlanguages,andwilloften specializeininterpretingintotheirdominantlanguagedespitethefactthatthey arehighlyfluentinbothlanguages. Fishman(1972)wentfurther,arguingthatbilingualsarerarelyequallyfluent inbothlanguagesinalltopics.Hearguedthatsociolinguisticforcesdemandthat bilingualsorganizetheirlanguagesinfunctionallycomplementaryspheres.For example,aGermanFrenchbilingualmaybeabletospeakbothlanguages fluently,butislikelytouseGermanexclusivelyincertainsituationsorwhen discussingspecifictopics.Fishmanemphasizedthatitisthiscomplementary natureoflanguagefunctionsthatassuresthecontinuedexistenceofbilingualism, becauseanysocietywhichproducesbilingualswhousebothlanguageswithequal competenceinallcontextswillstopbeingbilingual,asnosocietyneedstwo languagestoperformthesamesetoffunctions.Inotherwords,balanced bilingualismnecessarilyentailsthedeathofbilingualism.

Dominantbilinguals Thetermdominantbilingualreferstobilingualswhoaredominantinonelanguage. Inthecontextofdiscussingdominantbilinguals,researcherswilloftenreferto theirlessdominantlanguageasthesubordinatelanguage.However,oneimportant criteriontonoteisthatthetermdominancemaynotapplytoalldomains.So, someonewhoisdominantinFrenchmaynotexhibitthisdominanceinallareas. Forexample,aFrenchGermancomputerscientistmayspeakFrenchmostoftime exceptwhenheisdiscussingcomputersciencerelatedtopicsashedidhistraining incomputerscienceinGerman.Incaseswherespecialistjargon(medicine,sports)

isrequired,speakersmayconsciouslychoosetospeakinthelanguagethey normallyusewhendiscussingthesekindsoftopics.Forexample,anItalian GermanteachermaybefluentinbothItalianandGerman,butalwaysdiscusses soccerinItalianashemainlyplayssoccerwithhisItalianspeakingfriendsand talkssoccerinItalianandnotinGerman.Similarly,aChineseengineerwhois trainedinLondonmayprefertodiscussengineeringresearchinEnglishdespite thefactthathermothertongueisMandarinChinese.

Passiveorrecessivebilinguals Thetermpassiveorrecessivebilingualsreferstobilingualswhoaregraduallylosing competenceinonelanguage,usuallybecauseofdisuse.Asthetermrecessive seemstohavenegativeconnotations,wewillusethetermpassivebilingualsto describethisgroupofbilinguals.Forexample,aDutchmigrantinAustraliamay findhimselfisolatedfromtheDutchspeakingcommunityashisdailyencounters arewithEnglishspeakingAustralians(seeClyne1991).Overtime,hisproficiency levelinDutchmaydeteriorateduetothelongperiodofnonuse.Aswewillseein Unit5,periodsofnonusecanhavevariouseffectsonbilingualcompetence. Inbilingualcommunitieswhichareundergoingashiftfromonelanguageto another(usuallyfromthehomelanguagetothedominantlanguageinthe society),itisnotuncommontoseebilingualswhocanonlyunderstand,but cannotspeak,theotherlanguage.SointheAustraliancontext,manyolderItalians stillspeakItalian,oranItaliandialect,totheirchildrenandgrandchildren. However,thesesecond(children)orthird(grandchildren)generationItaliansmay replytotheirparents/grandparentsinEnglish.ThisisbecauseItalianisgradually beingreplacedbyEnglishforthesecondandthirdgenerationItalians(Cavallaro

1998;Bettoni1985)whoarelivinginanEnglishspeakingcommunity,andbeing educatedinEnglish.Thus,thisgroupofchildrengrowsupwithanincreasingly passiveunderstandingofItalianandoftendoesnotusethelanguageactivelyat all.Insuchcontexts,passivebilingualism,theabilitytounderstandbutnot producemeaningfulutterances,isoftencontrastedwithactivebilingualism,the productiveuseofbothlanguages.

Semilinguals,orlimitedbilinguals Theissueofbilingualswhoappeartohavelimitedlevelofproficiencyinbothfirst andsecondlanguagehasdominatedsomediscussionsontheissueofdegreeof bilingualism.ThetermsemilingualismwasfirstusedbyHansegard(1968,citedin Baker2006:9)torefertoFinnishminoritystudentsinSwedenwholack proficiencyinboththeirlanguages.Hansegarddescribedsemilingualisminterms ofdeficitinsixlanguagecompetences: Sizeofvocabulary Correctnessoflanguage Unconsciousprocessingoflanguage(automatism) Languagecreation(neologization) Masteryofthefunctionsoflanguage(e.g.emotive,cognitive) Meaningsandimagery

Accordingtotheseparameters,asemilingualisbothquantitativelyand qualitativelydeficientincomparisontomonolinguals,andsemilingualismhas beenblamedforthelowacademicachievementofminoritychildren.Overthe years,thetermhasaccumulatedpejorativeconnotationsandresearcherswho

invokedtheuseofthisconcepthavebeenwidelyrebutted(cf.Baetens Beardsmore1982,Edelskyetal.1983,Genesee1984,Spolsky1984,Baker2006)for ignoringthesociopoliticalconcernsimplicitintheexistenceofsemilinguals. Theseauthorsarguedthatsemilingualismisrootedinanenvironmentwhichis notconducivetoongoingbilingualism,wherethespeakersweresocially, politicallyandeconomicallydisadvantaged.Therefore,semilingualismisa situationwhichisengineeredbytheenvironmentandnotaconsequenceof bilingualismsinceamonolingualinthesameenvironmentwouldhavefacedthe samedegreeofstruggleintheiracademicendeavours.Researcherswhohighlight thecorrelationofsemilingualismtopooracademicachievementwithoutcarefully separatingthesymptomsfromthecauseonlyservetoperpetuatethenegative stereotypeofminoritychildren.Equallycriticalishowthisperceptiontranslates intoeducationalpoliciesandcurriculumforminoritychildren, Thoughthetermsemilingualismisnotfashionableanymore,theideaoflow achievingbilingualswhoarelinguisticallycompetentneitherinthefirstlanguage norinthesecondlanguageisstilldiscussed,albeitunderadifferentlabel. Cummins(1994)acknowledgesthatlabelingsomeoneasasemilingualishighly negativeandmaybedetrimentaltochildrenslearning,andproposesan alternativelabellimitedbilingualismtodescribethesamecondition. Morerecently,MacSwan(2000)criticizedfurthertheconceptof semilingualismandlimitedbilingualism.QuestioningCumminspositionon definingschoolbasedliteracyandacademicskillsasacomponentofgeneral languageproficiency,MacSwanexaminedalltheevidenceputforthforthecaseof semilingualismandconcludedthatsemilingualismismoreofafunctionofsocial economicstatus(SES)thanoflanguagebackground.Ingeneral,MacSwan

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cautionedagainsthastyuseoflabelswhichdomoreharmthangoodforthose languagelearnerswhoarealreadysociallydisadvantaged.Baker(2006:10)sumsit upwell:

Ratherthanhighlighttheapparentdeficitinlanguagedevelopment,the morepositiveapproachistoemphasizethat,whensuitableconditionsare provided,languagesareeasilycapableofevolutionbeyondthesemistate.

ThoughSESisnotatraitwhichisinherentlylinkedtobilinguals,the welldocumentedinteractionbetweenethnicityandSESissomething whichwecannotignore.StudieswhichcarefullycontroltheSES variablehaveshownthatminoritychildrenofhigherSESdowell academicallywithorwithouteducationintheirmothertongue (Krashen1996).Incontrast,minoritychildrenfromlowerSES comparedunfavourablywithmainstreamchildrenwithoutlanguage supportintheirmothertongue.Overall,researchershaveshownthat thestrongestpredictorofacademicachievementisthenumberof yearsofeducationthatthechildrenhavereceivedintheirfirst language(seeforexample,Krashen1996,ThomasandCollier1997). WewillreturntotheissueofhowbilingualsareeducatedinUnit6 butinthemeantime,itisimportanttonotethatexternalpressures likeSEShaveasignificantbearingontheperformanceandperception ofbilinguals.Itisforthisreasonthatsomebilingualresearcherssuch asHakuta(1987)meticulouslycontroltheSESvariableintheir researchonbilinguals.Conversely,inUnit4,weseethatpoorly

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definedbilingualsamplesledtoWelshEnglishbilingualsfroma lowerSEStobecomparedunfavourablytoEnglishmonolinguals fromahigherSESinSaer(1923),apaperwhichwasinfluentialinthe thinkingonbilingualsformanydecades.Theunfortunateoutcomeof suchcomparisonsisthatpolicymakersoftenrelyonsuchfindingsto rationalizeprogramswhichputminoritychildrenatadisadvantage.

TaskA1.3 Thinkofbilingualsyouknowinyourcommunity.Aretheybalanced/dominant/passive? Ifyouhaveputtheminoneoftheabovecategories,thinkaboutwhetherthisisthecase inalldomainsofactivity.Whataresomeofthereasonswhichinfluencedyour decisions?Whataresomeproblemsyouencounteredduringyourdecisionmaking process?

DESCRIPTORSWHICHREFERTOTHECONTEXTOFBILINGUAL LANGUAGEACQUISITION Althoughbilingualssharethecommonexperienceofusingmorethanone languageintheirlives,thewaysinwhichtheyacquiretheirlanguagesvaries.Put anynumberofbilingualstogetherandthechancesaretherewillnotbeaperfect matchinanyoftheirbilingualexperiences.Somewillhaveacquiredboth languagesathome,somethroughschooloruniversity,othersthroughtheir workingenvironment,orthroughtravelto,orresidencein,aforeigncountry. Withineachofthesedomains(home,school/university,work),therewillbe

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furtherdifferences.Inthehomedomain,thereisamultitudeoffactorswhichmay impactonthedegreeofbilingualismwhichisacquired,includingtheageatwhich thelanguageisacquired,thewayinwhichthelanguageisused,towhomthe languageisused,andthefrequencywithwhichthelanguageisused.Inschool andworkcontexts,similarvariableswillapply.Ascanbeseen,oncethevarious factorsarecombined,thepermutationsareopenended.Indiscussingorstudying bilinguals,weneedtoassumethatnobilingualshavethesameexperienceeven thoughtheirprofilesmaybesimilar.Inthissection,wewilllookatsomecommon parametersusedtodifferentiatethecontextsinwhichbilingualsacquiretheir languages. Inyourreadings,youmaycomeacrossresearcherswhomakethe distinctionsbetweenprimarycontextsandsecondarycontexts.Whenused,primary contextsrefertosituationswhereachildacquiresbothlanguagesinanaturalistic settingwithoutanystructuredinstruction,whilesecondarycontextsrefertothe situationwhenachildacquiresoneofthelanguagesinastructuredsetting, usuallyschool.Thiscreatesacleardivisionwhereonelanguageisacquiredina naturalisticsettingandtheotherisacquiredinaformalsetting,usuallya classroom.Thisdistinctionissometimesreferredtoasnaturalbilingualismversus schoolbilingualism(SkutnabbKangas1981). Childrenwhoacquirebothlanguagesinaprimarycontextacquirethe languagesasaresultofnaturalinputintheenvironment.Thisinputisusually providedbycaregivers,oftentheparentsand/orsiblings,whenthechildisan infant,butasthechildentersearlychildhood,theinputcanalsocomefromother sources,suchastheextendedfamilyandthewidercommunity.Aswewillseein Unit3,therearemanydetailedreportsonchildrenbeingraisedinbilingual

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situationslikethisoftenwhereoneparentspeaksonelanguageandtheother speaksanother. Withintheprimarycontext,afurtherdistinctionismadebetweennaturalistic fusedandnaturalisticseparate.Inanaturalisticfusedsetting,thereisnoseparationof contextforbothlanguages,andthechildisexposedtobothlanguagesinthesame context.So,forexampleaMandarinEnglishbilingualchildmayreceiveinputin bothlanguagesfromeachparent,siblingsorpeers.Insuchsituations,both languagesareusedbythesamespeaker.Incontrast,abilingualinanaturalistic separatecontextmayhearanduseMandarinonlywithoneparentandEnglish withtheotherparent.Inthiscontext,onelanguageisassociatedwithaspecific parent.Thislattermodeliscommonlyreferredtoastheoneparentonelanguage model.Apartfromparents,itisalsocommonfortheseparationtobemade accordingtootherinterlocutorssuchassiblings,peersandgrandparents.So,in Singapore,atrilingualchildmayspeakMandarintotheparents,Englishtothe siblingsandHokkientothegrandparents.Morerarely,thephysicalenvironment isdifferent,asinthecasereportedbyGinsberg(1996),wherethechildspoketo theparentsinSpanishexclusivelyinthehome,butinEnglishoutsidethehome; thissystemofseparationwasrigidlymaintainedthroughoutthechildslife.Inthis case,thechildlearnttousethephysicalenvironmentasacuetoswitchbetween thetwolanguageswiththesameinterlocutors. Itisoftenassumedthatlanguageinputinthepreschoolyearstakesplacein anaturalisticenvironment.Whilethisistrueformostbilinguals,foralarge proportionofbilingualchildreninAsia,forexample,Singapore,Malaysiaand HongKong,structuredlanguagefocusedteachingmaybeginwhenthechildisas youngastwo.InSingapore,achildmayspeakbothMandarinChineseand
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Englishwithoutanyformalteachingatbirthbutoncetheystartattending childcare,whichcanbeasearlyastwoyearsofage,itiscommonforchildcare centrestoprovidestructuredteachinginbothlanguages.So,insuchcases,the distinctionbetweenprimaryandsecondarycontextsmaynotbeasclearcutasin othersettings. Theissueofprimaryandsecondarycontextsisimportantespeciallyinthe studyofthelanguagedevelopmentinbilingualsasthereissomedebateabout whetheronecontextismorebeneficialinpromotingdesiredoutcomeinthe languagedevelopmentofbilinguals.InUnit3,wewillexploretheimpactofthese differencesonthelanguagedevelopmentofbilinguals.

TaskA1.4 Doyouthinkwecanmakeacleardistinctionbetweenprimaryandsecondarycontexts? Canyouthinkofsituationswhenthisdistinctionwillbedifficulttomake?Whydoyou thinkresearchersmakeadistinctionbetweenthesetwocontexts?(Thinkabouthowthe twocontextscaninfluencelearningbehaviourandlanguageuse.)

Anotherdistinctionmadeisthedifferencebetweenelectivebilingualsand circumstantialbilinguals,adistinctionproposedbyValdes&Figuero(1994). Thoughthesetermsarenotwidelyused,wefeelthattheyprovideaveryuseful distinctionwhenweareconsideringdifferentbilingualpopulations.Essentially, thedistinguishingfeatureisoneofvolitionorchoiceassomebilingualsactively choosetobebilingualbutsomejustfindthemselvesinasituationwherethey havenochoicebuttobebilingual.Electivebilingualsarebilingualswhohave

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someelementofchoiceaboutlearningasecondlanguage.Thismayinclude childrenwhochoosetoacquireanadditionallanguageinaschoolsettingor someonewholearnsanewlanguagebecausetheirpartnerspeaksadifferent language.Circumstantialbilinguals,ontheotherhand,aregroupswhohaveno choicewhenitcomestolearningasecondlanguage.Thismayincludeindigenous groupswhichhavebeencolonizedorgroupswhosefirstlanguageisdifferent fromthedominantandmoreprestigiouslanguageofthesurroundingcommunity. Theconceptofelectivebilingualsandcircumstantialbilingualsisparticularly criticalinthecontextsofhowbilingualsaremeasuredandthereforeisa distinctionwhichwewillreturntoinmoredetailinUnit2.

DESCRIPTORSWHICHREFERTOAGEOFACQUISITION Agehasoftenbeenraisedasanimportantdescriptorforbilingualismbecauseof therobustresearchontherelationshipbetweenageandlanguageproficiencyat variouslinguisticlevels(e.g.JohnsonandNewport1989,Long1990,Spadaro 2002).Althoughexceptionsandcounterargumentshavebeenreported(see Birdsong1992,Bialystok1997a,Clark2003),thebulkoftheevidencepoints towardstheadvantageofearlyacquisitionforultimatelanguageattainment. Whilethisistrueingeneral,itappearstobeespeciallythecaseforphonology wherereportshaveshownthatchildrenwhoacquiredthesecondlanguagebefore sixyearsofagewereabletoachievenativelikecompetence.Ontheotherhand, maturelearnerswereabletoacquirethetargetlanguageatamuchfasterrate (Long1990). Hence,criticaltoanydiscussionofbilingualismistheissueofageasthere appearstobewhatwemightcallasensitiveageforlanguagelearningwhich

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ceasesaroundpuberty.ThesensitiveageisareformulationofLennenbergs(1967) criticalperiodhypothesiswhicharguesthatwehaveasuperiorlanguagelearning capacityearlyinlifewhichwilldisappearordeclinewithmaturation.However, theevidenceisnottotallyconclusiveasotherresearchers(seeforexample Birdsong1992)haveshownthatnativelikeacquisitionispossibleinspeakerswho wereexposedtoFrenchafter15yearsofage.Inalaterstudy,BirdsongandMolis (2001)foundthatfouroftheirparticipantswhoarrivedintheUnitedStatesafter theageof17wereindistinguishableintheirperformancewhencomparedto nativespeakers.Therefore,theexactageinwhichthesensitiveperiodoperatesis controversial,withBirdsong(2005)arguingthatthereisnoclearcutoffpointin termsofageatwhichnativelikeproficiencycannotbeattained. Ageisconsideredanimportantfactorbecausethereisastrongassociation betweenageofacquisitionandultimateattainmentofproficiency.Generally, supportersofthesensitiveagehypothesis(e.g.Newport1990)arguethatyounger childrencanapplyheuristicstrategieswhicharemoreefficientthanadult learners.However,otherresearchers(e.g.Bialystok1997a;Clark2003)have cautionedthatweshouldnotonlylookatneurologicalfactorswhenanalyzing languagelearningoutcomes.Inadultlearnersotherfactorssuchasaptitude, attitude,identityandmotivationcansignificantlyaffectthelearningoutcome. Attitudesandmotivation,inparticular,hasbeenfoundtoimpactstronglyonthe finalachievementofthelearnersproficiencylevel(e.g.Gardner2001,Dornyei andClement2001,MasgorotandGardner2003).Apartfromattitude,contextual factorssuchasexposurearealsoimportant.InBirdsongandMolis(2001),the amountofEnglishusedbytheirparticipantsatthetimeofstudywasastrong indicatoroftheirperformanceinEnglish.

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Anotherfactorweneedtobearinmindisthatmanyofthefindingsin supportofthesensitiveperiodhingeonthefactthatwehaveastablenotionof whatisanativespeaker.Inthestudiesmentionedabove,participantswereoften askedtoassessthenativenessofalearnersspeechorasampleofalearners writing.Withmanylanguages,theissueofwhatconstitutesnativespeakernesshas becomemorecomplexwithincreasingglobalization.Manyresearchers(e.g Kachru1987),discussthedifficultiesofidentifyingwhonativespeakersarewith thecreationoflocalidentitiesandincreasingdiversities. AspointedoutbyDavies(1991)theissueofnativespeakernessisentwined withidentificationandsocialaffiliation.Therefore,commonlyheldassumptions aboutnativespeakershavebeenincreasinglychallengedatvariouslevels.

TaskA1.5 Thinkaboutyourcompetenceinthefourmacroskills(speaking,writing,listening, reading)ofyournativelanguage.Areyouequallycompetentinallfourskills?Arethere someaspectsofwriting(e.g.academicwriting)whichyouthinkmaynotbeasstrongas yourspokenskills?Whatwouldbeconsideredtobenativelikeproficiencyforalearner ofEnglish?Generally,whatlevelsofcompetencedoyouexpectnativespeakerstohave?

Itmaybeusefultoconsiderhowyourulesomeoneoutasanativespeaker.What standardsornormsdoyouuseinyourassessment?(Whichgroupofnativespeakersdo youhaveinmind?)ConsiderthecaseofsomeonewhoisbroughtupinIndiaandwho speaksEnglishasafirstlanguage.Wouldthispersonbeconsideredanativespeakerof English?

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Againstthisbackdrop,aswecansee,ageisakeyconsiderationwhendiscussing orassessingbilingualsandtheusualdistinctionmadeisbetweenearlybilinguals andlatebilinguals.Earlybilingualsarethosewhoareexposedtobothlanguages beforeadolescenceandlatebilingualsarethosewhoacquiredthesecond languageafteradolescence.Thoughlesscommon,someresearchersalsomakethe distinctionbetweeninfantbilingualismandearlybilingualism(e.g.McLaughlin 1984,1985),thoughthisdistinctionisnotcommonlyused. Apartfromitsrelevancetoresearchers,theissueofageisimportantasitcan beusedtorationalizeeducationalpoliciesandcurriculumplanning,anissue whichwewillreturntoinUnit6.Forexample,administratorsoftenaskthe questionAtwhatageshouldweintroducethelearningofanewlanguage?,Isit futiletointroducelanguagelearningatsecondarylevels?Inaddition, understandinghowtheagefactoraffectsbilingualsmayhelpustoframe expectationsoflanguagelearningoutcomesinmorerealisticterms.

DESCRIPTORSWHICHREFERTODOMAINOFUSE InanswertothequestionAreyouabilingual?abilingualmightcommonly respondYes,IspeakGreekathomeandwithmyrelativesbutIgenerallyuse Englishtherestofthetime.Implicitinthisresponseisthenotionthatlanguages assumedifferentrolesindifferentsettings.Thisdemarcationoffunctions,more commonlyknownasdomains,iscentraltoanydiscussionofbilingualism.The termdomainwasfirstusedbyFishman(1972)todescribehowspeakers compartmentalizetheirlanguageuse.Verysimply,domainsrefertothedifferent spheresofinfluenceinspeakerslivesandforlanguage;Fishmanidentified

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family,friendship,religion,educationandemploymentasthemaindomains. Thesedomainsoftendeterminethevarietyoflanguageaswellasthestyleof languageuse.However,topicisanotherfactorwhichcanoftenoverridethe influenceofdomain.Hoffmann(1991)summarizedthemostcriticaldomainsas theperson,placeandtopic.However,aswewillseeinUnitB1,thesethreebroad domainscanbefurtherrefinedtoaccuratelycapturelanguagebehaviouranduse. Itisawelldocumentedsociolinguisticphenomenonthatinterlocutors,orthe personswearespeakingtoorcommunicatingwith,willnotonlyaffectour stylisticchoiceoflanguagebutalsoourlanguageoptions.Mostofthetime, bilingualshaveaspeciallanguagerelationshipwithpeopleintheirimmediate circle.Withsomepeople,theypredominantlyuseLanguageAandwithothers theymayuseLanguageB.Forexample,oneLebaneseEnglishbilingualmay alwaysspeakLebanesetofamilymembersandrelativesbutuseEnglishwith anyoneoutsidethecircle.AnotherbilingualmayonlyuseLebanesewitholder relativesandEnglishwithyoungerrelatives.However,thissamebilingualwill useLebanesewitholderLebanesespeakingstrangers.Alanguagerelationship tendstoevolvequitenaturallyandoften,oncealanguagepatternisset,itis usuallyverydifficulttoalterthispattern. Placeorlocationcanalsohaveastrongimpactonlanguagechoice.Most multilingualcommunitieshaveadefaultlanguagewhichisusedatwork,andthis homeworkdichotomyisaverycommonone.Forexample,thoughmostspeakers inSingaporearebilingual,thedefaultlanguagefortheprofessionalworkplace andschoolisEnglishandhence,Englishiscurrentlythelinguafrancainthesetwo domainsinSingapore.However,sometimes,theinterlocutor,orperson,effectmay intersectwiththelocationorplaceeffecttotemporarilydisruptthepervasiveuseof

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English.So,althoughthelanguagecommonlyinuseinthepublicservicesectoris English,theservicestaffservinganelderlyMalaywomanmayswitchtoMalayif theycanspeakMalayandtheirclientisunabletospeakEnglish. Apartfromwork,thephysicallocationitselfmaygiverisetotheuseof differentlanguages.InSingapore,thelanguageusedinOrchardRoad,theritzy sideoftownfrequentedbytourists,isoftenEnglishwhilstthedefaultlanguage fortheheartland(residentialareasforthemajorityofSingaporeans)isoften MandarinamongtheChinesespeakingmajority(whichcomprises75%ofthe population).Inthecitycentre,shopassistantsandreceptionistswillofteninitiate conversationinEnglish,possiblybecausetheabilitytospeakEnglishisoneofthe requisitecriteriatoworkintheseestablishments.However,inthesuburbs,store holdersmaybemiddleagedorelderlySingaporeanswhowerebornbefore bilingualisminEnglishbecamethenorm.Hence,thesituationinthesuburbsis highlyconstrainedbythelanguagerepertoireoftheinterlocutorsanda shopkeeperinthiscontextmayspeakMandarinorHokkientoaChinesecustomer andEnglishtoaMalayorIndiancustomer.IfEnglishisnotanavailableoption fortheshopkeeper,patoisMelayu(pidginMalay)isoftenused(Li&Milroy2003). Topicisanotherkeyfactorthataffectslanguagechoice.Formanybilinguals, onelanguagereceivesmorestructuredinstructionthantheother.Forexample,a TurkishEnglishmigrantinAustraliamayspeakTurkishwithfamilymembersall thetimewhileinthehome,buthavealargervocabulary,andgreater expressivenessinEnglishbecauseoftheextendedtimespentstudyingEnglishin schoolanduniversity.TheincreasedexposuretoEnglishinbothwrittenand spokencontextsmeansthatEnglishcanbeusedforabiggerarrayoftopicsboth technicalandnontechnical.However,whenitcomestodiscussingtopicssuchas

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cookingorgardening,thesameTurkishEnglishbilingualsmaybemoreathome usingTurkishasconversationsaboutsuchtopicsareusuallyinTurkish.Thistype oftopicspecializationwhenitcomestolanguagechoiceisagain,extremely commonforbilinguals.

TaskA1.6 ConsiderthecaseofaKoreanEnglishbilinguallivinginLondon.Ifthenormal languageforinteractionathomeisKorean,whataresomefactorswhichmayinfluence thefamilymemberstoswitchtotheuseofEnglishwithinthehomecontext?

DESCRIPTIONSWHICHREFERTOSOCIALORIENTATION Theattitudesofbilingualstotheirbilingualstatus,aswellastheattitudesofthe widercommunity,arealsofactorswhichcontributetoourunderstandingof bilingualism.Therelationshipbetweenattitude,identity,motivationand individualbilingualismwillbediscussedindetailinUnit7.Inthissection,our focusisonhowinfluenceswithinthesocietycanimpactonhowbilinguals perceivethemselvesandhowbilingualsareperceived. Tounderstandthisfully,wefirsthavetomakeadistinctionbetween bilingualsinabilingualormonolingualcontextandbilingualsinamultilingual context.Wealsoneedtorecognizethedifferencebetweenbilingualcontexts whichreceivehighlevelsofinfrastructureandadministrativesupportintermsof fundingandrecognition,andbilingualcontextswhichreceiveminimalsupportof thiskind. Manybilingualsliveinplaceswherethehomelanguageisdifferentfromthe languagespokenoutsidethehomeandthisiscommonincountriessuchasUnited
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States,AustraliaandBritain.Inthiscontext,bilingualchildrengenerallyreceive littleornoschoolsupportfortheirhomelanguageandmoreoftenthannot,going toschoolentailslearningthelanguageofthewidercommunity.InAustralia, bilingualchildrendoreceivesomeofficialsupportfortheirhomelanguageasup to47languagesareaccreditedfortheendofhighschoolexaminationandtheycan receiveinstructioninagovernmentSchoolofLanguagesonSaturdays(Clyne 2004).However,inrealitythelogisticdifficultyofincorporatingthehome languagesintheschoolcurriculumoftheseminoritychildrenmeantthatonan individuallevel,languagemaintenanceisrelegatedtosomethingthatispursued outsidetheschoolcontexts.Intheliterature,thissituationisoftenperceivedas oneofsubtractivebilingualismaslearninganewlanguagemaymeanlosing competenceinthefirstlanguage(Lambert1974).Inotherinstances,subtractive bilingualismhasbeennarrowlydefinedasthereplacementofthefirstlanguage bythesecondlanguage(Cummins1976:20).Cumminsfurtherarguedthatmany bilingualsinsubtractivebilinguallearningsituationsmaynotdevelopnativelike competenceineitheroftheirtwolanguages.However,manybilingualswereable tosuccessfullyreplacetheirfirstlanguageandbecomehighlyproficientinthe newlyadoptedlanguage.Thoughthisisachievedattheexpenseofthemother tongue,thesuccessofsuchbilingualsisclearevidencethatsubtractive bilingualismdoesnotnecessarilyresultinlimitedbilingualism(seeKrashen1996, ThomasandCollier1997). Inviewofthenegativeconnotationsattachedtosubtractivebilingualism,a moreneutraltermlikedifferentialbilingualismmaybemoreappropriateforthis phenomenon.InsteadofasimplereplacementofL1byL2,differential bilingualismhighlightsthedifferentialdevelopmentofthebilingualsfirstand

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secondlanguage.Withoutacademicsupportorinstructionalinput,itisnaturalto expectthatthefirstlanguagecannotdevelopatthesamerateandhavethesame rangeoffunctionsasthesecondlanguage.Inmanycontexts,differential bilingualismalsoreferstoasituationwherethetwolanguagesspokenbythe bilingualsareofunequalstatus. Inmultilingualcontexts,asopposedtobilingualcontexts,thereisthe potentialforproblemsofadifferentnature.Manymultilingualcommunities(e.g. Singapore,Malaysia,Switzerland,Belgium,Canada)havepolicieswhichexplicitly endorsetheuseofmorethanonelanguageinofficialdomainsthemostcritical beingtheschool.InplaceslikeSwitzerlandandBelgium,multilingualismisbased onterritorialconsiderationsandthiscancreateconflict.However,theconstitution protectstherightsofindividualstolearntheirmothertongueontopofother officiallanguagesinthecountry.Insuchcontexts,thelanguagesspokenby bilingualsareusuallyvisibleintheeducationaldomainthoughvisibilityinsocial domainsmaybecorrelatedwiththestatusofthelanguagewithinthecommunity. Forexample,althoughTamilisanofficiallanguageinSingaporewhichreceives equalsupportandfundingintheschoolsystem,itsvisibilityintermsofuseand relevancesociallyismuchlowerthanMandarin.Thiscouldbebecauseofthe smallerdemographicconcentrationasTamilspeakersmakeuponly6%ofthe population.Whenlanguagesenjoyofficialpatronage,thereisanimplicitpolitical willtoensurelanguagemaintenanceinsuchsituations,andthereisusuallyvery highinstrumentalmotivationtomaintainhighdegreesofbilingualismaslearning anadditionallanguageprovidesaskillwhichenhancestheindividuals opportunitiesinlife.Thisconducivelanguageenvironmentisreferredtoas

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additivebilingualismwherelearninganewlanguageisseenasaformof enrichmentoranassetwidelydesiredbythecommunity. Somemultilingualsocietiesaresodiversifiedthatoftencertainlanguages, usuallythevernaculars(languagesusedininformalsettings),aresacrificedas bilingualpoliciespromotelanguageswhicharenotthemothertongueofthe speakers.Forexample,inTanzania,SwahiliandEnglishareofficiallanguages despitethefactthattheindigenouspopulationmayspeakadifferentvernacular (Mkifili1978).SimilarlyinSingapore,Mandarinistaughtinschoolsdespitethe factthatthehomelanguageofmanyChineseSingaporeansmaybeavernacular suchasHokkien,TeocheworCantonese.InsouthernIndia,whereEnglishand Hindiarebothofficiallanguages,Englishisthepreferredlanguage.Thissituation presentsamorecomplexpictureasatonelevel,theofficiallanguagesare developedinaadditiveenvironmentbutthevernacularsdonotreceiveany officialrecognition.InSingaporethishasledtothegradualdisappearanceofsuch vernacularsinChinesehomes(Ng,inpress).

TaskA1.7 BilingualchildrengrowingupinamonolingualEnglishcontextoftenfindtheirhome languageoddlyirrelevantintheirlivesoutsidethehome.Ifyouwereworkinginthe towncouncilofacommunitywithahighpercentageofSpanishEnglishbilinguals, whataresomestrategiesthatyoucouldimplementwithinthecommunitytomake Spanishmorevisibleandthereforemorerelevanttothebilingualchildrenslives?

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CONCLUDINGREMARKS Wehavediscussedfivevariables: degreeofcompetence context age domain socialorientation

Althoughthesearecrucialdeparturepointswhenthinkingaboutbilingualism, therearemanymorefactorswhichcaninfluencethebilingualexperience.These includeselfidentity,attitudetowardsthecommunity,demographicfactorsand hypotheticalmentalorganizationofthetwolanguages.Asweworkthroughthe literatureonbilingualism,wewillnodoubtcomeacrossmorevariableswhich willallowustoseebilingualisminanewlight.However,webelievethatthese fivevariablesserveasthebasicstartingpointstoframeourenquiriesabout bilingualismandbilingualresearch. Wehopethatourdiscussionofthesevariableshasservedtoshowthat bilingualismisnotaconcreteentitythatcanbequantifiedordissected.Though tryingtopindownwhatconstitutesbilingualismisaslipperytask,thisdoesnot meanthatthephenomenondefiescategorization.Wehavetriedtoshowthatin placeoftryingtoarriveatadefinitionofwhatisbilingualism,itismore productivetodescribebilingualsaccordingtothedescriptorsdiscussedinthis unit.Thesedescriptorshelpusunderstandthephenomenonweworkwithand guideustoframeourqueriesintherightcontexts.Mostimportantly,ithelpsus avoiddrawingerroneousconclusionsthathavebeenbasedonmistakenpremises. Thedescriptorswillhelpusdevelopprofilesofindividualbilingualsaswellasthe

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bilingualcommunitiesweworkin,andthisisthecriticalfirststepinany bilingualismresearch. Insubsequentunitswewillreturnrepeatedlytotheissuesraisedinthisunit. Thesedescriptorsnotonlyhelpusunderstandthephenomenonofbilingualism, theyarealsoatthecoreofstudiesofbilingualism. InUnitB1,webrieflyconsiderashortextractfromHoffmann(1991) describingthevariabilityintheconditionsunderwhichpeoplebecomebilingual. ThesecondextractisfromaseminalpaperbyMackey(1962)whichdetails variouswaysinwhichbilingualscanbedescribed.

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