Birds and places: What the lexicon reveals about multilingualism

Döhler, Christian

doi:10.1177/13670069211023158

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 18 publications

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“…They held that two languages could not live in a person's head at the same level and that the skill of the second language would decline as it would take second place to the first. There are several myths surrounding multilingualism and tutoring young children with a second language, including those concerning language learning delays, split personalities, brain confusion, and language mixing that causes confusion (Roeper, 1999;Comanaru & Dewaele, 2015;Dewaele & Botes, 2020;Di Carlo, Diba, & Good, 2021;Döhler, 2021;López, 2021).…”

Section: Bilingual and Multilingual Education Efficacymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Multilingualism on Productive Language Skills: Modelling Some Saudi Multilingual Learners

Abdulaal

Al-Hawamdeh²,

Hal³

2022

WJEL

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The issue of whether a learner in multilingual education can achieve the same level of proficiency in two or more languages other than the native language is a problematic one. This study aims at investigating the impact of learning two languages other than the native language on the learners’ speaking and writing skills. To attain this aim, the researchers collected the scores of twenty-six multilingual Saudi learners on writing and speaking tests in the academic year 2020-2021. A qualitative and quantitative mixed research design is adopted to measure the performance of multilingual learners in the two languages: English and French. The results showed that there are statistically significant differences between the scores of the Writing Test (WT) in English and French in favor of the English Writing Test because the p-value (0.012) is less than (0.05). It is attributed to the fact that the learners’ mental faculty cannot be loaded with more than two writing systems. The results also showed that there are statistically significant differences between the scores of the Speaking Test (ST) in English and French because the level of significance (0.009) is less than (α = 0.05). It is attributed to the fact that the English sound system, because of rapid historical changes, becomes much easier for Saudi students than other phonological systems. The balanced students represent 26.9% of the total group of students. The study concludes that balancing between more than two languages is a little bit difficult as one language should dominate over the others.

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Section: Bilingual and Multilingual Education Efficacymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Multilingualism on Productive Language Skills: Modelling Some Saudi Multilingual Learners

Abdulaal

Al-Hawamdeh²,

Hal³

2022

WJEL

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Multilingualism in Vanuatu: Four case studies

Walworth

Dewar

Ennever

et al. 2021

International Journal of Bilingualism

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Each of the 65 inhabited islands of Vanuatu hosts its own unique linguistic environment in which varying degrees of multilingualism are found. This paper defines various types of small-scale multilingual settings in Vanuatu and explores what sociohistorical factors have led to them. This paper is based on first-hand observations and primary data collected by the authors in four locations in the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu since 2016: two neighboring villages of Emae Island (Makatu and Tongamea), North Malekula, and on Maewo Island. The assessments of multilingualism in these examples from Vanuatu were qualitative, based on observations of sociolinguistic practices in each of these areas, as well as data from language history and language use surveys carried out in each place. Through defining and comparing the types of multilingualism present in the four case studies, we identify patterns in the social and historical processes that lead to various kinds of multilingualism: (a) interaction of linguistic and sociocultural identities and (b) mobility of both individuals and entire speech communities. The examples described in this paper are used to highlight the diversity of multilingualism found in Vanuatu and to explore how their differing linguistic environments and histories have contributed to their varying degrees of multilingualism. This paper makes an original contribution to knowledge about the small-scale multilingual situations in Vanuatu, offering descriptions of previously undocumented and endangered multilingual environments. Through an examination of the sociocultural motivations for multilingualism, alongside historical migrations of speaker groups and marked sociolinguistic identities, this paper contributes to research on why and how small-scale multilingualism can develop. Furthermore, this paper provides the foundation for future, more rigorous investigations into the small-scale multilingual situations of this highly understudied region.

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A typology of small-scale multilingualism

Pakendorf

Dobrushina

Khanina

2021

International Journal of Bilingualism

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Aims: The paper aims at providing an exhaustive overview of studies of small-scale multilingualism, a type of language ecology typical of—but not exclusive to—indigenous communities with small numbers of speakers. We identify the similarities and differences among situations of such multilingualism, which lay the foundations for a future typology of this kind of language ecology. Approach and data: We outline the importance of language ideologies for multilingualism in small-scale societies, highlight the sources of this type of language ecology, with a special focus on the impact of marriage patterns, discuss to what extent situations of small-scale multilingualism are truly egalitarian and symmetric, and survey the different methods used in the study of this domain. In order to do so, we survey studies devoted to multilingualism in indigenous communities of all continents: the New World (especially South America), Australia, Melanesia, Africa, Europe and Asia. Conclusions: The multilingual ecologies of the pre- and postcolonial world are extremely diverse, with many factors playing a role in their constitution. They are also highly endangered, and thus their study is of the utmost urgency. Originality: The domain of small-scale multilingualism is still novel for sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology. Although the researchers working with indigenous groups have been describing the peculiarities of multilingual repertoires, language acquisition and language attitudes in various parts of the world, the domain lacks the kind of comparison and generalizations that we provide here. Significance: The increased interest in small-scale multilingualism has been boosted by the realization of its significance for reconstructing the social conditions that favoured linguistic diversity in the precolonial world. Furthermore, insights into this type of multilingualism—which differs considerably from the better-studied situations of bi- and multilingualism in urban contexts and large nation states—are of prime importance for a better understanding of the human language faculty.

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Birds and places: What the lexicon reveals about multilingualism

Cited by 5 publications

References 18 publications

The Impact of Multilingualism on Productive Language Skills: Modelling Some Saudi Multilingual Learners

The Impact of Multilingualism on Productive Language Skills: Modelling Some Saudi Multilingual Learners

Multilingualism in Vanuatu: Four case studies

A typology of small-scale multilingualism

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