While many people in the world are bilingual or multilingual, most research on language and the brain historically has investigated language processing, learning and use in monolinguals.
Researchers now are broadening their scope as more neurolinguists and psycholinguists are studying the organization of language in the bilingual brain and sociolinguists are studying bilingual language use.
Among the things they have discovered is that multilingualism does not create a disadvantage for children in school but actually gives them an advantage in the educational system. Children who learn two languages from infancy don’t confuse their two languages even during early stages of learning and the cognitive advantages of bilingualism persist from infancy to old age.
The Marshall M. Weinberg Symposium 2012: Bilingualism, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. March 29 in the Rackham Amphitheatre, will examine issues that connect bilingualism and cognition, from bilingual children’s and adults’ language acquisition to bilingual social interactions to bilingualism in education.
The symposium is an annual interdisciplinary event that focuses on cognitive science and includes a philosophical commentary. It is endowed by Weinberg, a U-M alumnus and major donor. A reception will follow the symposium, which is free and open to the public.
Five internationally known linguists and a philosopher will discuss the implications of the research for theories of human cognition.
The symposium begins with a welcome by LSA Dean Terrence J. McDonald at 9 a.m., followed by an introduction on bilingualism and the brain.
Karen Emmorey, director of the Laboratory for Language and Cognitive Neuroscience at San Diego State University, will discuss “Bimodal Bilingualism: When Language Is Both Spoken and Signed” from 9:25-10:20 a.m.
Peter Auer, professor of Germanic linguistics at the University of Freiburg, will discuss “From Language Mixing to ‘Mixed Languages’: When Style Becomes Grammar” from 10:20-11:15 a.m.
Fred Genesee, professor of psychology at McGill University in Quebec, will discuss “Early Bilingualism: Perils and Possibilities” from 11:40 a.m.-12:35 p.m.
Nuria Sebastian-Galles, professor of psychology at the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, will discuss “Creeping and Scooting on Two Languages” from 2-2:55 p.m.
Jurgen Meisel, professor of Romance studies and linguistics at the University of Hamburg and University of Calgary, will discuss “Child Bilingualism: Two First Languages or Early Second Language Acquisition?” from 2:55-3:50 p.m.
Gilbert Harman, professor of philosophy at Princeton University, will discuss “Philosophical Implications of Bilingualism” from 4:15-5:10 p.m. A panel discussion will follow.
For more information, go to tinyurl.com/89r6yvx.
