This work has a uniquely cognitive-functional perspective on bi-lingualism. This means that it makes a clear distinction between real world and projected world. Information conveyed by language must be about the projected world. Both the experimental results and the systematic claims in this volume call for a weak form of whorfianism. The authors examine too some relatively unexplored issues of bilingualism, such as, among others, gender systems in the bilingual mind, synergic concepts, and ontological categorization.

This thought-provoking monograph makes a multidisciplinary case for bilingualism as a possible enhancer of executive function, particularly cognitive control. Its central focus is the cognitive operations of the bilingual brain in processing two languages and whether they afford the brain a greater edge on neuroplasticity—in short, a cognitive advantage. Major issues and controversies in the debate are analyzed from cognitive neuroscience, psycholinguistic, and integrative perspectives, with attention paid to commonly and rarely studied domains at work in bilingual processing. The author also pinpoints future areas for improved research such as recognizing the diversity of bilingualism, not simply in languages spoken but also in social context, as seen among immigrants and refugees. Included in the coverage: The evolution of bilingualism. What goes on in a bilingual mind? The core cognitive mechanisms. Cognitive advantage of bilingualism and its criticisms. Neuroscience of bilingualism. Bilingualism, context, and control. Attention, vision, and control in bilinguals. With its cogent takes on ongoing questions and emerging issues, Bilingualism and Cognitive Control is of immediate interest to bilingual researchers and practitioners interested in understanding the behavioral aspects and neurobiology of bilingualism and the dynamic character of the bilingual/multilingual/second language learner’s mind, as well as the growing number of advanced undergraduate and graduate students interested in the psychology/psycholinguistics of bilingualism, bilingual cognitive psychology, cognitive science, and cognitive neuroscience.

The study of bilingualism has charted a dramatically new, important, and exciting course in the 21st century, benefiting from the integration in cognitive science of theoretical linguistics, psycholinguistics, and cognitive psychology (especially work on the higher-level cognitive processes often called executive function or executive control). Current research, as exemplified in this book, advances the study of the effects of bilingualism on executive function by identifying many different ways of being bilingual, exploring the multiple facets of executive function, and developing and analyzing tasks that measure executive function. The papers in this volume (21 chapters), by leading researchers in bilingualism and cognition, investigate the mechanisms underlying the effects (or lack thereof) of bilingualism on cognition in children, adults, and the elderly. They take us beyond the standard, classical, black-and-white approach to the interplay between bilingualism and cognition by presenting new methods, new findings, and new interpretations.

First published in 1987. This volume is based primarily on a conference on childhood bilingualism held at New York University on June 25 and 26, 1982 with an interest in exploring the nature of bilingual cognition and the effect of bilingualism on psychological development.

The Psycholinguistics of Bilingualism presents a comprehensive introduction to the foundations of bilingualism, covering language processing, language acquisition, cognition and the bilingual brain. This thorough introduction to the psycholinguistics of bilingualism is accessible to non-specialists with little previous exposure to the field Introduces students to the methodological approaches currently employed in the field, including observation, experimentation, verbal and computational modelling, and brain imaging Examines spoken and written language processing, simultaneous and successive language acquisition, bilingual memory and cognitive effects, and neurolinguistic and neuro-computational models of the bilingual brain Written in an accessible style by two of the field’s leading researchers, together with contributions from internationally-renowned scholars Featuring chapter-by-chapter research questions, this is an essential resource for those seeking insights into the bilingual mind and our current knowledge of the cognitive basis of bilingualism

This collection brings together leading names in the field of bilingualism research to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Studies in Bilingualism series. Over the last 25 years the study of bilingualism has received a tremendous amount of attention from linguists, psychologists, cognitive scientists, and neuroscientists. The breadth of coverage in this volume is a testament to the many different aspects of bilingualism that continue to generate phenomenal interest in the scholarly community. The bilingual experience is captured through a multifaceted prism that includes aspects of language and literacy development in child bilinguals with and without developmental language disorders, language processing and mental representations in adult bilinguals across the lifespan, and the cognitive and neurological basis of bilingualism. Different theoretical approaches – from generative UG-based models to constructivist usage-based models – are brought to bear on the nature of bilingual linguistic knowledge. The end result is a compendium of the state-of-the-art of a field that is in constant evolution and that is on an upward trajectory of discovery.

This book pioneers the study of bilingualism across the lifespan and in all its diverse forms. In framing the newest research within a lifespan perspective, the editors highlight the importance of considering an individual's age in researching how bilingualism affects language acquisition and cognitive development. A key theme is the variability among bilinguals, which may be due to a host of individual and sociocultural factors, including the degree to which bilingualism is valued within a particular context.Thus, this book is a call for language researchers, psychologists, and educators to pursue a better understanding of bilingualism in our increasingly global society.