Chapter 1 Introduction to the Study of Bilingualism
Chapter 2 The Bilingual Speech Community
Chapter 3 The Bilingual Brain and the Bilingual Individual
Chapter 4 Code-switching and Communicative Competence
Chapter 5 The Bilingual Child
Chapter 6 Bilingualism and Education
Chapter 7 Attitudes towards Bilingualism
Chapter 8 Conclusion
Notes
References
Index
Description
Since it was first published in 1989, Suzanne Romaine's book has been
recognized as the most authoritative introduction to the sociolinguistics
and psycholinguistics of bilingualism. The new edition has been completely revised to incorporate
recent work in this fast developing field. Throughout the book, bilingualism is seen as both a
societal and cognitive phenomenon. Professor Romaine explores various aspects of bilingual behaviour,
such as code switching and language mixing, in terms of their social functions within the bilingual
speech community as well as in terms of neurolinguistic organization in the
individual speaker. The author also assesses the positive and negative claims made for the effects of
bilingualism on children's cognitive, social and academic development, and examines the assumptions
behind various language policies and programs for bilingual children. In all this, Professor Romaine draws on
her own research with Panjabi/English bilinguals in Britain, and Tok Pisin/English bilingual children in Papua
New Guinea.