Brossura

ISBN 10: 052171656X ISBN 13: 9780521716567

Casa editrice: Cambridge University Press, 2014

If languages influence the way we think, do bilinguals think differently in their respective languages? And if languages do not affect thought, why do bilinguals often perceive such influence? For many years these questions remained unanswered because the research on language and thought had focused solely on the monolingual mind. Bilinguals were either excluded from this research as 'unusual' or 'messy' subjects, or treated as representative speakers of their first languages. Only recently did bi- and multilinguals become research participants in their own right. Pavlenko considers the socio-political circumstances that led to the monolingual status quo and shows how the invisibility of bilingual participants compromised the validity and reliability of findings in the study of language and cognition. She then shifts attention to the bilingual turn in the field and examines its contributions to the understanding of the human mind.

Book Description:

If language influences the way we think, does it mean that bilinguals think differently in their respective languages? Interweaving cutting edge research, case studies and personal experience, this book will take you on a quest to unlock the mysteries of the bilingual mind.

About the Author:

Aneta Pavlenko is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Temple University, Philadelphia and President of the American Association of Applied Linguistics (AAAL). Her book Emotions and Multilingualism (Cambridge, 2005) won the 2006 Book of the Year Award of the British Association of Applied Linguistics.