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All about bilingualism, in science and in life: the benefits and controversies, the individual experience, and the social significance. Nearly half the world''s people are bilingual, but many have no clear understanding of what--aside from being fluent in more than one language--bilingualism means. This lively introduction by linguist Penelope Gardner-Chloros covers everything a bilingual (or curious monolingual) individual might want to know. The book discusses how bilingualism affects brain development and performance in the young and old, its social and political significance throughout time and around the globe, and how people experience and describe it. Gardner-Chloros looks at how both children and adults, become bilingual, how this affects learning, and what it means to be a bilingual family or family member. Drawing on the latest research, she offers a comprehensive but accessible account of the cognitive effects of bilingualism, and how the bilingual brain differs from the monolingual one. With the help of real examples, she outlines the impact of bilingualism on everyday speech and writing, from formal literature to social media, and lets speakers of various languages and backgrounds describe, in their own words, their experience of bilingualism and its impact on their lives. Informative, engaging, and wide-ranging,
List of contents
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Why Bilingualism Matters
Chapter 2: Becoming Bilingual
Chapter 3: The Bilingual Experience
Chapter 4: Bilingual Cognition
Chapter 5: The Bilingual Brain
Chapter 6: Bilingual Speech
Chapter 7: Bilingualism in Writing
Chapter 8: Bilingualism Past, Present and Future
Glossary
Notes
Further Readings
Books
Bilingual Songs
Index
Series List
Author Bio
About the author
Penelope Gardner-Chloros is Professor Emerita in Sociolinguistics and Language Contact at Birkbeck, University of London. She formerly worked as a conference interpreter for the European Union and the Council of Europe. She is the author of Code-switching.
