Bilingualism beyond language: Taking the double personality hypothesis seriously
Type de matériel :
52
Do bilingual individuals have a “double personality”? In addition to personal anecdotes from bilingual individuals themselves, recent scientific evidence brings some support to this hypothesis. We first survey some features of the bilingual brain, followed by findings suggesting that the first (L1) and second (L2) language of a bilingual individual determine, depending on the language's use and context, different self-perceptions, cultural attitudes, emotional reactions, social stereotypes, decision making, and moral judgments. Hence, bilingualism largely extends beyond the domains of language and communication, and integrates cultural and individual—especially affective—factors, modulating the individual and his/her behavior in a broad fashion. The magnitude of this intra-individual variability remains to be defined, as well as its social, neuroscientific, and clinical implications.
Réseaux sociaux