Bilingualism

· MIT Press
5.0
1 review
Ebook
250
Pages
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More

About this ebook

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, Bilingualism is the indispensable resource on a common but little understood phenomenon of far-reaching personal, social, political, and historical significance.

Ratings and reviews

5.0
1 review
Casa Artista Courses
March 2, 2025
This new book is a really easy read but still gives loads of information for anyone who speaks, or wants to speak, more than one language. Recommended!!
Did you find this helpful?

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.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.