Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T04:25:49.110Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - The Development of Childhood Multilingualism in Languages of Different Modalities

from Part One - Becoming and Being a Multilingual Child

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2022

By
Laura Kanto
Edited by
Anat Stavans  and
Ulrike Jessner
Anat Stavans
Affiliation:
Beit Berl College, Israel
Ulrike Jessner
Affiliation:
Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck, Austria
Get access

Summary

Multilingualism is not only limited to people or communities using multiple spoken languages, and complex linguistic diversity of signing communities is often seen among signers. This chapter focuses on the special type of multilingualism of children who are acquiring both sign language(s) and spoken language(s) from their linguistic environment, also referred to as bimodal multilingualism. As sign languages and spoken languages are partly produced and received in two different modalities (visual-gestural and vocal-auditory), the multilingualism of these children involves two different modalities. This chapter discusses the bimodal multilingualism of hearing and deaf children who are acquiring both sign and spoken languages. The chapter describes the multifaceted linguistic landscape and environment of bimodal multilingual children, the access of bimodal multilingual children to different languages, and the use of different languages in a variety of social contexts. Additionally, the chapter illustrates the process of bimodal multilingual language acquisition and challenges to maintain the acquired language abilities as heritage language users, as well as the attainments and usage of hybrid linguistic resources.

Keywords

bimodal multilingualismKODAkids of deaf adultsCODAheritage signersign language acquisitionlinguistic environmentcode-blending
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Childhood Multilingualism , pp. 38 - 57
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barni, M., Kolyva, K., Machetti, S., & Palove, R. (2014). Linguistic landscape theory in language learning. In Pixel, ed., Conference Proceedings, The Future of Education. Padua: Libreriauniversitaria.it edizioni, Webster, pp. 333–36.Google Scholar
Bishop, M. (2010). Happen can’t hear: An analysis of code-blends in hearing, native signers of American Sign Language. Sign Language Studies, 11(2), 205–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byers-Heinlein, K. (2013). Parental language mixing: Its measurement and the relation of mixed input to young bilingual children’s vocabulary size. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 16(1), 32–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cenoz, J. (2013). Defining multilingualism. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 33, 3–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2008). The linguistic landscape as an additional source of input in second language acquisition. IRAL-International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 46(3), 267–87.Google Scholar
Chen Pichler, D., Lillo-Martin, D., & Palmer, J. L. (2018). A short introduction to heritage signers. Sign Language Studies, 18(3), 309–27.Google Scholar
Chen Pichler, D., Reynolds, W., & Palmer, J. L. (2019). Multilingualism in signing communities. In Montanari, S. & Quay, S., eds., Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Multilingualism: The Fundamentals. De Gruyter Mouton, pp. 175–202.Google Scholar
Chen Pichler, D., Reynolds, W., Palmer, J., Muller de Quadros, R., Kozak, V., & Lillo-Martin, D. (2017). Heritage signers: Bimodal bilingual children from deaf families. In Choi, J., Demirdache, H., Lungu, O., & Voeltzel, L., eds., Language Acquisition at the Interfaces: Proceedings of GALA 2015. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 247–69.Google Scholar
Costello, B., Fernández, J., & Landa, A. (2006). The non-(existent) native signer: Sign language research in a small deaf population. In Quadros, R., ed., Ninth Theoretical Issues in Sign Language Research conference (TISLR 9). Petropόlis: Editora Arara Azul, pp. 77–94.Google Scholar
Curdt-Christiansen, X. L., & Lanza, E. (2018). Language management in multilingual families: Efforts, measures and challenges. Multilingua, 37(2), 123–30.Google Scholar
De Houwer, A. (2007). Parental language input patterns and children’s bilingual use. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28(3), 411–24.Google Scholar
De Houwer, A. (2017). Early multilingualism and language awareness. In Cenoz, J., Gorter, D., & May, S., eds., Language Awareness and Multilingualism. Berlin: Springer International Publishing, pp. 83–97.Google Scholar
De Meulder, M. (2016). The Power of Language Policy: The Legal Recognition of Sign Languages and the Aspirations of Deaf Communities. PhD dissertation, University of Jyväskylä (Jyväskylä Studies in Humanities 301).Google Scholar
De Meulder, M., Krausneker, V., Turner, G., & Conama, J. B. (2019). Sign language communities. In Hogan-Brun, G. & O’Rourke, B., eds., The Palgrave Handbook of Minority Languages and Communities. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 207–32.Google Scholar
De Meulder, M., Kusters, A., Moriarty, E., & Murray, J. J. (2019). Describe, don’t prescribe. The practice and politics of translanguaging in the context of deaf signers. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 40(10), 892–906.Google Scholar
De Weerdt, D., & De Weerdt, L. (2017). Little Leon signing and speaking. Kieli, koulutus ja yhteiskunta, www.kieliverkosto.fi/article/little-leonsigning-and-speaking/.Google Scholar
Emmorey, K., Borinstein, H. B., Thompson, R., & Gollan, T. H. (2008). Bimodal bilingualism. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 11(1), 46–61.Google Scholar
Emmorey, K., Giezen, M. R., & Gollan, T. H. (2016). Psycholinguistic, cognitive, and neural implications of bimodal bilingualism. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19(2), 223–42.Google Scholar
Emmorey, K., Petrich, J. A., & Gollan, T. H. (2012). Bilingual processing of ASL–English code-blends: The consequences of accessing two lexical representations simultaneously. Journal of Memory and Language, 67(1), 199–210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gagarina, N., Klop, D., Kunnari, S., Tantele, K., Välimaa, T., Balčiūnienė, I., & Walters, J. (2012). MAIN: Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives. Berlin: Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft.Google Scholar
Gathercole, V. C. M., & Thomas, E. M. (2009). Bilingual first-language development: Dominant language takeover, threatened minority language take-up. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 12(2), 213–37.Google Scholar
Gharibi, K., & Boers, F. (2017). Influential factors in incomplete acquisition and attrition of young heritage speakers’ vocabulary knowledge. Language Acquisition, 24(1), 52–69.Google Scholar
Gorter, D. (2018). Linguistic landscapes and trends in the study of schoolscapes. Linguistics and Education, 44(1), 80–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grosjean, F. (2010). Bilingual: Life and Reality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Hammer, C. S., Davison, M. D., Lawrence, F. R., & Miccio, A. W. (2009). The effect of maternal language on bilingual children’s vocabulary and emergent literacy development during Head Start and kindergarten. Scientific Studies of Reading, 13(2), 99–121.Google Scholar
Hanhikoski, C. (2020). Linguistic Environment of Children Acquiring Finnish Sign Language. MA dissertation, University of Jyväskylä.Google Scholar
Herdina, P., & Jessner, U. (2002). A Dynamic Model of Multilingualism: Perspectives of Change in Psycholinguistics. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hiddinga, A., & Crasborn, O. (2011). Signed languages and globalization. Language in Society, 40(4), 483–505.Google Scholar
Hoff, C., Core, C., Place, S., Rumiche, R., Señor, M., & Parra, M. (2012). Dual language exposure and early bilingual development. Journal of Child Language, 39(1), 1–27.Google Scholar
Hoffmann, C. (2001). The status of trilingualism in bilingualism studies. In Cenoz, J., Jessner, U., & Hufeisen, B., eds., Looking Beyond Second Language Acquisition: Studies in Tri- and Multilingualism, Vol. 6. Tübingen: Stauffenburg, pp. 13–25.Google Scholar
Hofmann, K., & Chilla, S. (2015). Bimodal bilingual language development of hearing children of deaf parents. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 30(1), 30–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanto, L. (2016). Two Languages, Two Modalities. A Special Type of Early Bilingual Language Acquisition in Hearing Children of Deaf Parents. Acta Universi Tatis Ouluensis. B Humaniora, 141. Oulu: University of Oulu.Google Scholar
Kanto, L., Huttunen, K., & Laakso, M. (2013). Relationship between the linguistic environments and early bilingual language development of hearing children in deaf-parented families. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 18(2), 242–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kanto, L., Laakso, M., & Huttunen, K. (2017). Use of code-mixing by young hearing children of deaf parents. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 20(5), 947–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lanza, E., & Curdt-Christiansen, X. L. (2018). Multilingual families: aspirations and challenges. International Journal of Multilingualism, 15(3), 231–32.Google Scholar
Lillo-Martin, D., de Quadros, R. M., Chen Pichler, D., & Fieldsteel, Z. (2014). Language choice in bimodal bilingual development. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01163.Google Scholar
Lillo-Martin, D., Koulidobrova, H., Quadros, R. D., & Chen Pichler, D. (2012). Bilingual language synthesis: Evidence from WH-questions in bimodal bilinguals. In Proceedings of the 36th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (Vol. 302). Somerville: Cascadilla Press, pp. 302–14.Google Scholar
Macalister, J. (2010). Emerging voices or linguistic silence? Examining a New Zealand linguistic landscape. Multilingua, 29(1), 55–75.Google Scholar
Mieszkowska, K., Łuniewska, M., Kołak, J., Kacprzak, A., Wodniecka, Z., & Haman, E. (2017). Home language will not take care of itself: Vocabulary knowledge in trilingual children in the united kingdom. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01358.Google Scholar
Mitchell, R. E., & Karchmer, M. A. (2004). Chasing the mythical ten percent: Parental hearing status of deaf and hard of hearing students in the United States. Sign Language Studies, 4(2), 138–63.Google Scholar
Montanari, S. (2010). Translation equivalents and the emergence of multiple lexicons in early trilingual development. First Language, 30(1), 102–25.Google Scholar
Montanari, S. (2013). Productive trilingualism in infancy: What makes it possible? World Journal of English Language, 3(1), 62–77.Google Scholar
Palmer, J. (2015). ASL Word Order Development in Bimodal Bilingual Children: Early Syntax of Hearing and Cochlear-Implanted Deaf Children from Signing Families. PhD dissertation, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Paradis, J. (2007). Early bilingual and multilingual acquisition. In Auer, P. & Li, W., eds., Handbook of Multilingualism and Multilingual Communication. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 15–44.Google Scholar
Paradowski, M. B., & Bator, A. (2018). Perceived effectiveness of language acquisition in the process of multilingual upbringing by parents of different nationalities. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 21(6), 647–65.Google Scholar
Place, S., & Hoff, E. (2011). Properties of dual language exposure that influence 2-year-olds’ bilingual proficiency. Child Development, 82(6), 1834–49.Google Scholar
Pearson, B. Z., Fernández, S.C., Lewendag, V., & Oller, D. K. (1997). The relation of input factors to lexical learning by bilingual infants (ages 10 to 30 months). Applied Psycholinguistics, 18(1), 41–58.Google Scholar
Petitto, L.A., Katerelos, M., Levy, B., Gauna, K., Tétreault, K., & Ferraro, V. (2001). Bilingual signed and spoken language acquisition from birth: Implications for the mechanisms underlying early bilingual language acquisition. Journal of Child Language, 28(6), 453–96.Google Scholar
Pizer, G. (2018). To be seen and/or heard: Audience design in bimodal bilingual families. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 24: https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1517723.Google Scholar
Pizzo, L. (2016). d/Deaf and hard of hearing multilingual learners: The development of communication and language. American Annals of the Deaf, 161(1), 17–32.Google Scholar
Quinto-Pozos, D. (2009). Code-switching between sign languages. In Bullock, B. & Toribio, J., eds., The Handbook of Code-Switching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 221–37.Google Scholar
Reynolds, W. (2018). Young bimodal bilingual development of referent tracking in signed narratives: Further justification of heritage signer status. Sign Language Studies, 18(3), 328–54.Google Scholar
Sivunen, N. (2019). An ethnographic study of deaf refugees seeking asylum in Finland. Societies, 9(1), https://doi.org/10.3390/soc9010002.Google Scholar
Swanwick, R. (2017). Translanguaging, learning and teaching in deaf education. International Journal of Multilingualism, 14(3), 233–49.Google Scholar
Tang, G., & Sze, F. (2018). Bilingualism and sign language research. In De Houwer, A., & Ortega, L., eds., The Cambridge Handbook of Bilingualism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 483–509.Google Scholar
Thordardottir, E. (2011). The relationship between bilingual exposure and vocabulary development. International Journal of Bilingualism, 15(4), 426–45.Google Scholar
Tuller, L., (2015). Clinical use of parental questionnaires in multilingual contexts. In Armon-Lotem, S., de Jong, J. & Meir, N., eds., Assessing Multilingual Children: Disentangling Bilingualism from Language Impairment. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, pp. 301–30.Google Scholar
Vere, A. (2014). Bimodal Trilingual Language Acquisition: A Case Study Looking at the Linguistic Development of a Hearing Child with Deaf Parents. MA thesis, University of Malta.Google Scholar
Unsworth, S. (2013). Assessing the role of current and cumulative exposure in simultaneous bilingual acquisition: The case of Dutch gender. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 16(1), 86–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zeshan, U., & Panda, S. (2015). Two languages at hand: Code-switching in bilingual deaf signers. Sign Language & Linguistics, 18(1), 90–131.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×