Third Language Acquisition and Linguistic Transfer

Acquiring a third language is different from acquiring a second, and all instances of non-native language acquisition are not the same. This book provides evidence that acquiring an additional language in bilinguals reveals things about the links between language and mind, brain, and cognition. It also offers an expanded systematic review of the field of multilingual morphosyntactic transfer and provides recommendations for the future emerging field.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 338 pages
Publication date: 09 June 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Are all instances of non-native language acquisition simply one and the same? Is acquiring a third language the same as acquiring a second? In this first book-length study of the topic, the authors systematically walk the reader through the evidence to answer these questions. They suggest that acquiring an additional language in bilinguals (of all types) is unique, and reveals things about the links between language and mind, brain, and cognition, which are otherwise impossible to appreciate. The patterns of linguistic transfer and what motivates it when there are choices (as can only be seen starting in third language acquisition) underscores a key concept in linguistic and psychological sciences: economy.

Overviewing the subfields examining multilingual acquisition and processing, this book offers an expanded systematic review of the field of multilingual morphosyntactic transfer, as well as providing recommendations for the future emerging field.

ISBN-13: 9781107443433