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Challenging the Paradigm of Bi/Multilingual Research
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Challenging the Paradigm of Bi/Multilingual Research

A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 14056

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Meesha Warmington

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Education, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
Interests: bi/multilingualism; memory and cognition; language development; typical and atypical literacy development
Dr. Özge Öztürk

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Human Communication Sciences, Health Sciences School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
Interests: bi/multilingualism; typical and atypical language acquisition; bi/multilingualism and speech and language difficulties; bi/multilingualism and wellbeing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

More than half of the world’s population is bilingual/multilingual, yet current theoretical views (and methodological approaches) to language and cognition are based on the monolingual perspective. The goal of this Special Issue of Languages is to bring together state-of-the-art papers on bi/multilingualism which challenge this theoretical and methodological assumption that monolingualism is the default model.

We invite papers within the realm of cognition, language processing, language acquisition and/or speech and language difficulties that address issues that include, but are not limited to, (1) re-positioning or re-defining the study of bi/multilingualism (2) testing the applicability/generalisability of methodological approaches in the study of language and/or cognition to bi/multilingual populations (3) challenging the standpoint that understanding bi/multilingualism is limited to studying a group of individuals who only speak two (or more) languages without considering the complexity of their life experience beyond language (4) testing (or proposing) alternative theoretical and/or methodological approaches for a bi/multilingual language and/or cognitive development.

Papers can be empirical studies, systematic (and meta-analytic) reviews or theoretical papers in nature.

The deadline for abstract submission is 30 June 2023. Abstracts should be between 200–300 words. Completed abstracts must be submitted to the Languages Editorial Office ([email protected]), which will be reviewed by the Guest Editors to ensure a proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. If accepted by the Guest Editors, authors will be notified no later than 27 July 2023. If a publication is selected for inclusion in this Special Issue, then an opportunity will be available to apply for a publication fee waiver. Authors should also check with their Library Administrator to determine if their institution has funding available to support Open Access publication.

Full manuscripts will be due by 30 November 2023. All papers will undergo peer review. Manuscript submissions should be between 6000 and 8000 words (excluding the Reference List, Appendices, Tables and Figures).

Dr. Meesha Warmington
Dr. Özge Öztürk
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bilingualism
  • bilingual experience
  • language acquisition
  • cognition
  • memory
  • language processing
  • multilingualism
  • speech and language

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 709 KiB  
Article
Ethnolinguistic Vitality in Minority Schoolscape
by Erika-Mária Tódor and Ildikó Vančo
Languages 2024, 9(11), 353; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9110353 - 20 Nov 2024
Viewed by 510
Abstract
School is often said to be a representation of society because its primary aim is to promote integration into society. This study of the landscape elements of minority language schools suggests that this type of linguistic landscape may not only reflect a change [...] Read more.
School is often said to be a representation of society because its primary aim is to promote integration into society. This study of the landscape elements of minority language schools suggests that this type of linguistic landscape may not only reflect a change in linguistic dominance but can also play a complementary role compared to the external, out-of-school world. In this paper, the authors attempt to explore a new way of interpreting the notion of the linguistic landscape of schools. The novelty of this approach lies in the application of a spatial theoretical concept, where the schoolscape is defined as an element of autopoietic space—a self-constituting spatial element. Within this autopoietic framework, markers of ethnolinguistic vitality in the linguistic landscape of minority language schools are identified, and a set of criteria is established that can be applied to other communities. The conclusions are drawn from a comparative analysis of the linguistic landscapes of Hungarian-medium schools in Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenging the Paradigm of Bi/Multilingual Research)
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19 pages, 1024 KiB  
Article
Neighbourhood Density in Spoken Word Recognition: An Eye-Tracking Study
by Christina Schelletter
Languages 2024, 9(10), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9100329 - 16 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1254
Abstract
Bilingual acquisition research has so far focused on comparisons with monolingual children in terms of linguistic features, performance on standardised tests, input, etc. In contrast, new methodologies, such as eye-tracking, can offer a more detailed understanding of the way bilinguals use both language [...] Read more.
Bilingual acquisition research has so far focused on comparisons with monolingual children in terms of linguistic features, performance on standardised tests, input, etc. In contrast, new methodologies, such as eye-tracking, can offer a more detailed understanding of the way bilinguals use both language systems. Eye fixations provide evidence of online processing. This study investigates spoken word recognition in children and adults. Word retrieval is affected by the number of words that minimally differ from the target (neighbourhood). Previous research found that only bilingual adults activated a similar-sounding competitor from the other language. As children have been found to be sensitive to neighbourhood density from quite early in previous research, similar results might be expected. This study includes 56 subjects (11 German–English bilingual and 12 English monolingual children, aged 8; 21 English monolingual and 12 German–English bilingual adults). The subjects’ online processing of competing items for high- and low-density targets was compared. The results confirm that neighbourhood density affects word recognition in adults and children. The bilingual children activated same-language competitors as well as similar-sounding competitors from the other language. Adults and children differed in terms of latencies, and the monolinguals were more accurate than the bilingual subjects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenging the Paradigm of Bi/Multilingual Research)
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13 pages, 1197 KiB  
Article
Language Diversity and Bi/Multilingualism in Aphasia Research
by Monike Egia-Zabala and Amaia Munarriz-Ibarrola
Languages 2024, 9(10), 325; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9100325 - 9 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1035
Abstract
Previous research on aphasia has recognised the need for cross-linguistic studies and studies on bi/multilingual aphasia. However, a study by Beveridge and Bak revealed that papers published between 2000 and 2009 were restricted to a few languages, with a clear predominance of English. [...] Read more.
Previous research on aphasia has recognised the need for cross-linguistic studies and studies on bi/multilingual aphasia. However, a study by Beveridge and Bak revealed that papers published between 2000 and 2009 were restricted to a few languages, with a clear predominance of English. The aim of this study is to present a follow-up to that study with more recent literature from the next decade (2010–2019) and to compare it with the previous one. We analysed 307 articles published between 2010 and 2019 following a similar procedure to the one used by Beveridge and Bak. The results revealed that there still is a pronounced bias towards studies on English speakers (60.29%), that the distribution of language families is similar across the two decades, with the exception of the increment in non-Indo-European languages, and that there has been an increase in studies reporting bi/multilinguals’ performance in more than one language. Still, the literature on aphasia between 2010 and 2019 seems not to reflect the reality of the world’s languages. We discuss some possible explanations for these findings related to challenges for clinical practice as well as insights for future research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenging the Paradigm of Bi/Multilingual Research)
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18 pages, 792 KiB  
Article
Amplifying Parental Views about Language Choice When Raising Multilingual Children: Towards a Family-Centered Approach in Professional Contexts
by Paula Bellón, Silvia Nieva and Rena Lyons
Languages 2024, 9(7), 250; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9070250 - 16 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1649
Abstract
Multilingualism has become the norm in families all over the world. These families need to juggle their children’s linguistic identity and integration in their contexts. They may also need professional advice about which language(s) they should use at home, especially when children present [...] Read more.
Multilingualism has become the norm in families all over the world. These families need to juggle their children’s linguistic identity and integration in their contexts. They may also need professional advice about which language(s) they should use at home, especially when children present with developmental disorders. There is a dearth of studies addressing the role parental views play in home-language maintenance with children with developmental disorders. This study is conducted in Spain, where Spanish is the national language, along with local languages in certain regions, as well as foreign languages. This qualitative study aimed to deepen our understanding of the views about language choice of multilingual families whose children have either typical language development or a developmental disorder in Spain. We recruited 26 parents of multilingual children aged between 5 and 10 years, from different linguistic backgrounds. Semi-structured online interviews were conducted. The data were analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. The findings illustrate the complexity and nuance of parents’ views and decisions regarding language choice in their contexts. The themes included identity and belonging, as well as the influences of external advice on parental decisions. It is important that professionals such as speech–language therapists understand these views to enable them to deliver family-centered care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenging the Paradigm of Bi/Multilingual Research)
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18 pages, 395 KiB  
Article
Who Are Bilinguals? Surfacing Teacher Candidates’ Conceptions of Bilingualism
by Minhye Son and Elisabeth H. Kim
Languages 2024, 9(6), 208; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9060208 - 6 Jun 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1363
Abstract
This qualitative study delved into the perceptions of “bilingualism” among 60 students in a teacher education program, drawing on survey responses at the outset of their training. Informed by the translanguaging framework, we analyzed teacher candidates’ responses to identify a range of views [...] Read more.
This qualitative study delved into the perceptions of “bilingualism” among 60 students in a teacher education program, drawing on survey responses at the outset of their training. Informed by the translanguaging framework, we analyzed teacher candidates’ responses to identify a range of views spanning from minimalist to maximalist and from monoglossic to heteroglossic perspectives of bilingualism. Our analysis revealed many teacher candidates had a strict and narrow definition of bilingualism based on minimalist and monoglossic standards, especially when considering their own bilingual identities, legitimizing only speakers with native-like proficiency in all language domains in two languages as true bilinguals. Interestingly, their conceptions of bilingualism, as future educators, tended to be more maximalist and heteroglossic when they considered the bilingual potential of their future students. These findings will contribute and challenge the discourses that favor and idealize perfect balanced bilingualism. Implications for research and practice for teachers and teacher educators in bilingual settings are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenging the Paradigm of Bi/Multilingual Research)

Other

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27 pages, 893 KiB  
Systematic Review
The Complexity in Bilingual Code-Switching Research: A Systematic Review
by William Rayo, Aldo M. Barrita, Lianelys Cabrera Martinez and Ivan Carbajal
Languages 2024, 9(6), 217; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages9060217 - 13 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 6783
Abstract
This systematic review explored how researchers operationalized bilingualism when investigating the relationship between bilingual code-switching experience and cognition. Through a PRISMA-guided systematic review of thirty-two studies with original data, published in English, focusing on adult non-clinical samples, with bilingualism as a key variable, [...] Read more.
This systematic review explored how researchers operationalized bilingualism when investigating the relationship between bilingual code-switching experience and cognition. Through a PRISMA-guided systematic review of thirty-two studies with original data, published in English, focusing on adult non-clinical samples, with bilingualism as a key variable, we aimed to understand the prevalence of these issues. Criteria for inclusion required an assessment of bilingualism beyond language proficiency or age of acquisition, and consideration of naturalistic code-switching behaviors. We report our results through an analysis of themes that included aspects of language that are considered when measuring bilingualism and code-switching experience. We present our findings and offer insights for future research, advocating for the inclusion of sociocultural factors and more complex analytical modeling in bilingualism research to foster an evolution in the field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Challenging the Paradigm of Bi/Multilingual Research)
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