Chapter 5: The Bilingual Child
By:
Teddy Fiktorius (F5221 2025)
Postgraduate Study of English Language EducationTeacher Training and Education Faculty
University of TanjungpuraPontianak
2013
Outline1. Introduction2. Types & Studies of bilingual acquisition in
childhood3. Interference, transfer, and universals4. Code-switching5. Personal and attitudinal factors affecting
children’s bilingualism6. Later childhood bilingualism
Introduction
routes in bilingual acquisition
Up to age 3 after age 3 or adults
in adolescence
Focus of this chapter ‘natural’
6 types Without formal instruction
Research finding-based e.g. migrant workers explanation & their children
Types of bilingual acquisition in childhood
Type 1: One person - one language
The studies:
Author Mother language
Father language
Community language
Ronjar (1913)
German French French
Leopold (1939-1949)
English German English
Taeschner (1983)
German Italian Italian
Parents Each parent has a different native language and a degree of competence in the language of the other
Community The language of one parent is the dominant language of the community
Strategy Each parent speaks their own native language to the child form the birth
Types of bilingual acquisition in childhood
Type 2: Non-dominant home language
The study:
Author Mother language
Father language
Community language
Fantini (1985)
Spanish English English
Parents Parents have different native languages
Community The language of one parent is the dominant language of the community
Strategy Both parents speak the non-dominant language to the child and the child is fully exposed to the dominant language only when outside home
Types of bilingual acquisition in childhood
Type 3: Non-dominant home language without community support
The studies:
Author Mother language
Father language
Community language
Haugen (1953)
Norwegian Norwegian English
Oksaar (1977)
Estonian Estonian Swedish/German
Ruke-Dravina (1967)
Latvian Latvian Swedish
Pavlovitch (1920)
Servian Servian French
Parents Parents share the same native language
Community The dominant language is not of his parents
Strategy The parents speak their own language to the child
Types of bilingual acquisition in childhood
Type 4: Double non-dominant home language without community support
The study:Author Mother
languageFather language
Community language
Elwert (1959) English German Italian
Parents Parents have different native languages
Community The dominant language is different from either of the parent’s languages
Strategy The parents speak their own language to the child
Types of bilingual acquisition in childhood
Type 5: Non-native parents
The study:
Author Mother language
Father language
Community language
Saunders (1982)
English English (German)
English
Parents Parents share the same native language
Community The dominant language is the same as that of the parents
Strategy One of the parents always addresses the child in a language which is not his/her native language
Types of bilingual acquisition in childhood
Type 6: Mixed languages
The study:
Author Mother language
Father language
Community language
Tabouret-Keller (1962)
French/German
French/German
French/German
Ellul (1978) Maltese/ English
Maltese/ English
Maltese/ English
Smith (1935) English English Chinese
Burling (1959)
English English Garo
Parents Parents are bilinguals
Community Sectors of community may also be bilingual.
Strategy Parents code-switch and mix languages
Interference, transfer, and universals
Bilingualism
Child’s acquisition pattern
Cross-linguistic influence
Interference
One lexical system (in the early stages)
Fantini (1985) : fusionInterference separation (of the two systems)
‘truly bilingual’
Code-switching Saunders (1982):
‘triggering’
Unconscious switching
Internal linguistic factors
e.g. a word belonging to both languages
forget which language the speaker is speaking inA trigger continue in the other language
e.g.Frank: Mum, what can I have to drink?Mother: Do you want some Prima? An Australian brand of orange juiceFrank: Ja, bitte. (‘Yes, please.’) A German word meaning ‘terrific’
a trigger to switch into German
ANTICIPATIONAL switching VS CONSEQUENTIAL switching
Saunders (1982):
Quotational switching
To quote a crucial line in the story
Haugen (1953): ‘untranslatable & inimitable punch line’
e.g.Thomas: I know this one, Mum. It’s called Die
Wilde Jagd (The Wild Chase). It’s about dome kids and their mugs get filled up all the time by the ghost, he tells them not to tell anyone. But they tell their mother and father, und die Glaser werden nie wieder
gefullt (and the glasses are never again filled).
Personal and attitudinal factors affecting children’s bilingualism
Children’s bilingualism
Receptiveness attitudes
Child family extended family school society
CASES:Doctor
School psychologist bilingualism=child’s confusion
Professionals (speech therapist)
Later childhood bilingualism
Balkan (1970):
Early childhood bilingualism more advantages VS later in childhood or adolescence
numerical ability
Bilingual score better verbal & perceptual flexibility VSMonolingual general reasoning
Bilingual before age 4 more superior VSBilingual after age 4& monolingual