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The untouchables

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 April 2016

ANA T. PÉREZ-LEROUX
ANA T. PÉREZ-LEROUX*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
*
Address for correspondence: Professor Ana T. Pérez-Leroux, Director, Cognitive Science Program, University of Toronto, University College, room F201, 15 King's College Circle, Toronto ON M5S 3H7, Canadaat.perez.leroux@utoronto.ca
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Extract

Carroll's critique (Carroll) of the field of bilingualism yields strong directives. Let us not study specific groups of bilinguals, and make big claims about bilingual learning. Let us not study one domain, say vocabulary, and generalize to bilinguals’ language. These are all valid points. She also voices strong skepticism about how current literature deals with language experience:

“Much of the bilingual exposure literature making claims about quantity or quality of exposure is little more than speculation, built from a ‘logic’ about amounts of exposure that will not bear close scrutiny.” (8)

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Type
Peer Commentaries
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , January 2017 , pp. 31 - 32
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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References

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