Third or Additional Language Acquisition (Second Language Acquisition)

Third or Additional Language Acquisition examines research on the acquisition of languages beyond the L2 withing four main areas of inquiry: crosslinguistic influence, multilingual speech production models, the multilingual lexicon and the impact of bi/multilingualism on cognitive development. The book critically examines the evidence available keeping two main questions in mind. The first is whether multilinguals should be considered as learners and speakers in their own right and, consequently, whether the distinction between Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism, and Third or Additional Language Acquisition and Multilingualism is fully warranted. The second is how proficient in a non-native language learners are supposed to be before they can begin to be classified as multilingual learners in empirical research "Third or Additional Language Acquisition examines research on the acquisition of languages beyond the L2 within four main areas of inquiry: crosslinguistic influence, multilingual speech production models, the multilingual lexicon and the impact of bi/multilingualism on cognitive development. The book critically examines the evidence available keeping two main questions in mind. The first is whether multilinguals should be considered as learners and speakers in their own right, and consequently whether the distinction between Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism, and Third or Additional Language Acquisition and Multilingualism is fully warranted. The second is how proficient in a non-native language learners are supposed to be before they can begin to be classified as multilingual learners in empirical research."--Jacket Contents List of illustrations Chapter 1. The Multilingual Learner and Speaker Chapter 2. Factors Affecting Non-native Language Influence Chapter 3. What Can be Transferred from One or More Non-native Language to Another Chapter 4. Multilingual Speech Production Chapter 5. The Multilingual Lexicon Chapter 6. Prior Language Knowledge, Cognitive Development and the Language Acquisition Process Chapter 7. Conclusion References