Bilingualism A bilingual phenomenon Code and Language Switching

Bilingualism: A bilingual phenomenon: Code and Language Switching LCSH 60 - A

Overview • 11. 00 – 12. 00 Part 1 General concepts in Language and Code Switching • 12. 00 – 13. 00 Part 2 Reading circles + roles + research paper • 14. 00 – 15. 00 Part 3 Reading circle discussions and class discussion

Part 1: General concepts

Bilingual language choice • A bilingual must choose a ‘base’ language Four generally agreed determining factors: 1. participants 2. situation 3. content of discourse 4. function of the interaction How might these affect language choice?

Bilingual language choice 1. Participants Proficiency Language history Attitude to language group Socio-economic status Degree of intimacy Power relations etc.

Bilingual language choice 2. Situation Place Formality Presence of monolinguals

Bilingual language choice 3. content of discourse Complementarity Principle “Bilinguals usually acquire and use their languages for different purposes, in different domains of life, with different peoples. Different aspects of life often require different languages” (Grosjean, 1997)

Bilingual language choice Complementarity Principle- proficiency

Bilingual language choice Complementarity Principle- dominance Example of the domains covered by a bilingual’s three languages: La, Lb, Lc

Bilingual language choice Four generally agreed determining factors: 1. participants 2. situation 3. content of discourse 4. function of the interaction

Bilingual language choice 4. function of the interaction i. e. what one is aiming to achieve e. g. create social distance, exclude somebody, request something, increase status

Code-switching + Borrowing= Code-mixing Bilingual operating in ‘bilingual mode’ Base language + introducing another known language

Code-switching - Within sentences - Phrases - Between words e. g. French= base language and English= guest language (Grosjean, 1982) Va cher Marc and bribe him avec un chocolat chaud with cream on top (Go fetch Marc and bribe him with a hot chocolate with cream on top) Des wild guys à cheval (Some wild guys on horseback) Reasons for code-switching?

Borrowing Two types: Loanword - Ca m’étonnerait qu’on ait code-switché autant que ça (I can’t believe we code-switched as often as that) Loanshift - Humoroso = humorous = capricious - I put myself to think about it (Me puse a pensarlo) Reasons for borrowing?

Research domains Bilinguals frequently use code-switching and it has been studied over the last thirty years by linguists, sociolinguists, psycholinguists. It’s now believed to be less of a haphazard behaviour and more of a communicative stratagem to convey linguistic and social information.

Empirical research Electrophysiological studies provide evidence that switching languages has a negative effect on word and sentence comprehension “There are some processing costs associated with changing languages when listening…” (Abutalebi et al. , 2007) This has been shown through f. MRI measures.

Behavioural studies • Cognitive and lexical selection control mechanisms using: • Picture-naming/ number-naming • A cue to indicate the language e. g. colour, word, flag • Naming latencies measured • Experimental designs with single-language and mixed-language blocks

Language switching studies

Language switch cost Measures A spoken response triggers a voice key with the reaction time (RT) measured from the stimulus onset to the moment of production (in ms) Difference between: - Naming latency in a non-switch trial - Naming latency in a switch trial

Language switch cost Symmetrical Switch Cost longer RTs when switching from the L 1 into the L 2 Asymmetrical Switch Cost longer RTs when switching from the L 2 into the L 1 = counter-intuitive

Language switching studies Meuter and Allport (1999)= seminal study Methodology 16 sequential bilinguals (unbalanced); various language combinations in the group; number-naming; language cue= coloured background; mixed language block design Results Code-switching cost asymmetries = longer RTs from L 2 to L 1. Discussion/ Conclusion L 2 production requires suppression of L 1 harder to suppress as it is more dominant so needs to be inhibited to a greater extent for the L 2 to be activated

Language switching studies Costa and Santesteban (2004) Costa, Santesteban, & Ivanova (2006) Showed that balanced bilinguals did not show the same behaviour. The switch cost was symmetrical Which led to inferences about the role of proficiency

Intra-sentential switching Olson (2017) • Code-switched auditory comprehension (most studies focus on visual stimuli). Natural interactions= verbal and auditory • Target words in context= more natural than individual lexical items • Eye-tracking paradigm- can be used to measure cross-linguistic interference

Language switching studies Olson (2017) Methodology 25 proficient Spanish/English bilinguals; target words in a sentence context with visual images of target words; monolingual and bilingual modes; stay and switch target words Results Switch cost in the ‘monolingual mode’ when switching into the dominant language (i. e. L 2 to L 1) Discussion/ Conclusion Green’s (1998) Inhibitory Control framework used by the author to explain the phenomenon. Comprehension needs strong inhibition of the non-target language, especially when the dominant L 1 needs to be inhibited

Language switching studies: re-cap - Code-switching can be measured using various experimental techniques. - A common paradigm in psycholinguistics is a picture-naming experiment which involves switching a bilingual’s two languages. - Evidence of a switch cost suggests a processing cost involved in switching languages - An asymmetric switch costs might suggest more inhibition is required to suppress a more dominant language. Also worth consideration: what methodological factors might influence the speed that a picture is named (cue type, stimulus repetition, ‘demand characteristics’. The taskswitching literature offers a lot in this regard.

Questions?

Part 2: Reading Circles

NB: Presentation Assessment • Present the content of the paper to the class • Present your analysis of the paper to the class e. g. consider paper in the light of what you know about definitions of bilingualism; methods of studying bilinguals; and any issues relevant to bilingualism

Reading Circles: concept • Encourage discussion in a structured way • Allocate a role to each person for focused and equal participation • Enhance speaking confidence by discussion preparation in ‘same-role groups’ followed by ‘mixed-role groups’

Reading Circles: practicalities • Form groups (5 -6 people) • Consider strengths in the group members • Listen to the different roles and allocate in your group • Read the article

Reading Circles: roles • • • Leader – the leader asks conceptual questions (focused on questions not related to specific details but deeper understanding), incorporates other students and their roles in the overall discussion, and finally asks inferential discussion questions at the end. Visualizer – the visualizer finds visual elements within the text to discuss (e. g. tables, charts) and may represent other concepts visually (e. g. experimental design) in order to add to the understanding of the text. Contextualizer – the contextualizer takes note of references (direct and indirect) of people, places, events and concepts and presents them to their group in order to add to the understanding of the text. Connector – the connector identifies possible connections between the text and other writings on the same topic, or by the same author. Explain these connections in order to add to the understanding of the text. Highlighter – the highlighter finds high frequency and likely unknown vocabulary, technical or topical vocabulary, and words and phrases that signal tone or emotion and presents these to the group in order to add to the understanding of the text. Recorder - Take notes of what all discussion members say about the text during the Reading Circle discussion. Synthesize the information and summarise at the end of the discussion.

Reading Circles: preparation time • Note your role and what you have to do while reading. Ask if unclear. • Read the article: García, P. B. , Leibold, L. , Buss, E. , Calandruccio, L. , and Rodrigueze, B. (2018) Code-Switching in Highly Proficient Spanish/English Bilingual Adults: Impact on Masked Word Recognition. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, Vol. 61, pp: 2353– 2363 • While reading, pay attention to your role and your general understanding of the text. Note down any questions that come up.

Reading Circles: preparation time • Time to read! • See you back in the class at: 14. 00

Part 3: Discussion

Reading Circles: discussion part 1 • Get into ‘same-role’ groups • You have 15 minutes to compare your notes and findings and discuss the paper from the perspective of your particular role • Ask for clarification (of issues relating to your role) so that you are an effective communicator in ‘mixed-role’ groups

Reading Circles: discussion part 2 • Get into ‘mixed-role’ groups • You have 20 minutes to discuss the paper, each contributing your thoughts based on your role and any other contributions you would like to make to the general discussion of the paper • The Leader starts and controls the discussion and the Recorder ends the discussion • You will be notified when there are just 5 minutes remaining

Reading Circles: discussion part 3 • Full-class discussion (10 minutes) to ask any questions; make comments; reflect on the process

Questions?