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8 - Code-Switching among Bilingual and Trilingual Children

from Part Two - Cognition and Faculties in Multilinguals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2022

By
Jeanine Treffers-Daller
Edited by
Anat Stavans  and
Ulrike Jessner
Anat Stavans
Affiliation:
Beit Berl College, Israel
Ulrike Jessner
Affiliation:
Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Austria
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Summary

This chapter focuses on one of the most remarkable characteristics of bilinguals, namely their ability to effortlessly switch between two languages, and to combine grammar rules and words from each in one sentence. It offers a summary of what we know about the ways in which bilingual children code-switch and how this skill develops over time. Attention is paid to the variability in the patterns found in data sets from typologically different languages and social contexts. Analyses are also offered of the relationship between code-switching and language proficiency or language dominance. Differences or similarities with respect to switching among bilingual and trilingual children are discussed as well. Particular attention is given to the difficult issue of the (lack of) separation of grammars in code-switching, and to what extent code-switching patterns found among children differ from those of adults. Finally, there is a focus on the impact of code-switching on cognitive control. The chapter finishes with a summary of the key points and an outlook towards the future.

Keywords

code-switchingcodemixingcongruent lexicalizationbilingualismtrilingualismadaptive control hypothesis
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Childhood Multilingualism , pp. 190 - 214
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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