Jürgen M. Meisel

On determining developmental stages in natural second language acquisition

Research on Second Language (L2) Acquisition, over the past ten years, has undergone substantial changes by shifting its focus of interest away from an analysis of linguistic structures alone, concentrating more on the learner himself or, rather, on the process of learning. It had become obvious that one of the major shortcomings in contrastive studies as well as in the usual kind of error analysis is that they lack thorough investigation of factors which determine the kind of approach a learner may take to acquire a second language. This again implies that it is more fruitful to study the process of learning itself instead of merely analysing its outputs. It is by now widely accepted that the learner takes an active part in the learning process and does not merely get trapped in structural gaps which linguists may find when comparing the source language (the learners L1) and the target language (L2).

Second Language Acquisition in Early Childhood

There is a broad consensus in the research literature on the acquisition of bilingualism that the simultaneous acquisition of two (or more) languages can be qualified as an instance of bilingual first language (2L1) development; see de Houwer (1995) for a summarizing discussion of this issue. 2L1 children differentiate from early on the linguistic systems of the languages to which they are exposed (Meisel 1989), they proceed through the same developmental phases as the respective monolinguals, and they are able to attain native competence in each of their languages; see Meisel (2001, 2004) for state-of-the-art summaries of the relevant research. It therefore seems to be justified to assert that the human Language Making Capacity (LMC) constitutes an endowment for multilingualism. If, however, two or more languages are acquired successively, a very different picture emerges from the literature reporting on investigations of this type of language acquisition. Although it is not possible to summarize in a few words the long and ongoing debate on similarities and differences between first (L1) and second (L2) acquisition, successive

Code-Switching in Young Bilingual Children: The Acquisition of Grammatical Constraints

This study examines the role of grammatical prerequisites on code-switching in young bilingual children. It is proposed that code-switching is constrained not only by grammatical properties of the languages involved; it is also regulated by principles and mechanisms of language use. Constraints on code-switching are therefore defined as processing principles that, however, depend on grammatical knowledge. They ensure that switching does not result in a violation of grammatical coherence, defined in terms of both linear sequencing and structural configuration. Some of these claims are tested empirically, analyzing the speech of two bilingual children acquiring French and German simultaneously. It is argued that even in the earliest uses of mixing, constraints are not violated; in many cases they do not apply because the relevant grammatical relations do not yet hold. Code-switching is nevertheless used from early on in accordance with these constraints, as soon as a certain kind of grammatical knowledge is accessible. Most importantly, functional categories have to be implemented in the childs grammar.

The weaker language in early child bilingualism: Acquiring a first language as a second language?

Past research demonstrates that first language (L1)-like competence in each language can be attained in simultaneous acquisition of bilingualism by mere exposure to the target languages. The question is whether this is also true for the “weaker” language (WL). The WL hypothesis claims that the WL differs fundamentally from monolingual L1 and balanced bilingual L1 and resembles second language (L2) acquisition. In this article, these claims are put to a test by analyzing “unusual” constructions in WLs, possibly indicating acquisition failure, and by reporting on analyses of the use of French by bilinguals whose dominant language is German. The available evidence does not justify the claim that WLs resemble L2. Instead, it shows that WL development can be delayed, but does not suggest acquisition failure. Finally, reduced input is unlikely to cause acquisition failure. The fundamental issue at stake is to explore the limits of the human language making capacity.

The Acquisition of verb placement : functional categories and V2 phenomena in language acquisition

Functional categories and verb placement in language development, J.M. Meisel the acquisition of the morphosyntax of finite verbs in English, A. Radford functional categories and early Swedish, C. Platzack accessing functional categories in Sesotho - interactions at the morpho-syntax interface, K. Demuth finiteness and verb placement in early child grammars - evidence from simultaneous acquisition of French and German in bilinguals, J.M. Meisel and N. Mueller language acquisition and competing linguistic representations - the child as arbiter, I. Gawlitzek-Maiwald et al the acquisition of agreement morphology and its syntactic consequences - new evidence on German child language from the Simone-Corpus, H. Clahsen and M. Penke verb movement, agreement, and tense in L2 acquisition, L. Eubank the ban on parameter resetting, default mechanisms, and the acquisition of V2 in Bernese Swiss German, Z. Penner routes to verb placement in early German and French - the independence of finiteness and agreement, M. Verrips, J. Weissenborn from the initial state to V2 - acquisition principles in action, T. Roeper the genesis of clausal structure, N. Hyams categories of first syntax, Be, Be+ing, and nothingness, V. Valian on the acquisition of functional categories - a general commentary, J. De Villiers.

First and second language acquisition : parallels and differences

Infants and very young children develop almost miraculously the ability of speech, without apparent effort, without even being taught – as opposed to the teenager or the adult struggling without, it seems, ever being able to reach the same level of proficiency as five-year-olds in their first language. This useful textbook serves as a guide to different types of language acquisition: monolingual and bilingual first language development and child and adult second language acquisition. Unlike other books, it systematically compares first and second language acquisition, drawing on data from several languages. Research questions and findings from various subfields are helpfully summarized to show students how they are related and how they often complement each other. Specific facts about language, such as where the verb is placed, are used as examples to explain ‘big questions’ like the nature of the human Language Making Capacity. The essential guide to studying first and second language acquisition, it will be used on courses in linguistics, modern languages and developmental psychology.

Bilingual language acquisition and theories of diachronic change: Bilingualism as cause and effect of grammatical change *

Children acquiring their first languages are frequently regarded as the principal agents of diachronic change. The causes and the precise nature of the processes of change are, however, far from clear. The following discussion focuses on possible changes of core properties of grammars which, in terms of the theory of Universal Grammar, can be characterized as reflecting different settings of parameters. In such cases, learners develop grammatical competences differing from those of speakers of the previous generation who provided the primary data serving as input for the developmental processes. It has been argued that reanalyses of this type must be conceived of as instances of transmission failure. Yet acquisition research has demonstrated that the human Language Making Capacity is extraordinarily robust, thus leading to the question of what might cause unsuccessful acquisition. Changing frequencies in use or exposure to data containing ambiguous or even contradictory evidence are unlikely to suffice as causes for this to happen. Language acquisition in multilingual settings may be a more plausible source of grammatical reanalysis than monolingual first language development. The study of contemporary bilingualism can therefore contribute to an explanation of diachronic change. Yet one such insight is that simultaneous acquisition of two languages (2L1) typically leads to a kind of grammatical knowledge in each language which is qualitatively not different from that of the respective monolinguals, obliging us to look for other sources of transmission failure. 2L1 acquisition in settings where one language is “weaker” than the other has been claimed to qualify as such. But I will argue that even such problematic cases do not provide convincing evidence of reanalysis. If, on the other hand, children receive sustained input from second language learners, or if their onset of acquisition is delayed, this can indeed lead to incomplete acquisition. I conclude that successive acquisition of bilingualism plays a crucial role as a source of grammatical change. In order for such changes to happen, however, grammar-internal and language-external factors may have to concur.

Neural circuitry of the bilingual mental lexicon: Effect of age of second language acquisition

Numerous studies have proposed that changes of the human language faculty caused by neural maturation can explain the substantial differences in ultimate attainment of grammatical competences between first language (L1) acquirers and second language (L2) learners. However, little evidence on the effect of neural maturation on the attainment of lexical knowledge in L2 is available. The present functional magnetic resonance study addresses this question via a cross-linguistic neural adaptation paradigm. Age of acquisition (AoA) of L2 was systematically manipulated. Concrete nouns were repeated across language (e.g., French-German, valise(suitcase)-Koffer(suitcase)). Whereas early bilinguals (AoA of L2<3years) showed larger repetition enhancement (RE) effects in the left superior temporal gyrus, the bilateral superior frontal gyrus and the right posterior insula, late bilinguals (AoA of L2>10years) showed larger RE effects in the middle portion of the left insula and in the right middle frontal gyrus (MFG). We suggest that, as for grammatical knowledge, the attainment of lexical knowledge in L2 is affected by neural maturation. The present findings lend support to neurocognitive models of bilingual word recognition postulating that, for both early and late bilinguals, the two languages are interconnected at the conceptual level.

Editorial: State of BLC

As Bilingualism: Language and Cognition (BLC) enters its 12th year of publication, we the editors of the journal are pleased to report to the BLC readers that the state of the journal is strong.

Revisiting Universal Grammar

This paper sketches various specific scenarios within the Principles and Parameter Theory under which the question of whether Universal Grammar remains accessible to second language learners should be addressed. It also discusses some implications of several approaches to this issue and offers some speculation as to how the question is to be reformulated in the context of the Minimalist Program.