Bilingualism, Trilingualism and multingualism

Bilingualism, Trilingualism and multingualism

Bilingualism and multilingualism are highly complex and multidimensional linguistic, psychological, and social behaviors. This chapter discusses the key issues at the intersection of bilingualism, multilingualism, and second language (L2) acquisition.

Growing interest in multilingual acquisition in recent years has challenged some of the existing approaches and premises that heretofore were widely accepted in bilingualism and second‐language acquisition (SLA) research.

bilingualism/multilingualism and looking at the variability and complexity of their characteristics as they are nested in wider social contexts. It then discusses the related theoretical, methodological, and applied issues that contribute to the understanding of bilingual/multilingual acquisition. 

The chapter focuses on three major issues in SLA: the construct of language proficiency; the effect of age of exposure to L2 acquisition and additional language acquisition; and cross‐linguistic influences among languages. 

It finally discusses the influence of, first language (L1) that has gained substantial attention in sla. 

Debate about the costs and benefits of bi- and multilingualism at an individual and societal level has been raging for more than 100 years. Research on bilingual and trilingual first language acquisition has shown that children can acquire multiple languages from birth without adverse effects. Current research adopts a holistic view of the phenomenon.

Psycholinguistic, social psychological, psychological, and econometric studies show clear benefits for bi- and multilinguals: higher levels of cognitive control, creativity, tolerance of ambiguity, open-mindedness, cultural empathy, income, and less communicative anxiety. 

Language preferences for the communication of emotions among bi- and multilinguals are linked to the emotional resonance of the languages, which has consequences for psychotherapy with bi- and multilinguals.