Morphology

• Examples and type of morphology
• Affixation (prefixes, suffixes)
• Morphological processes
• Compounding (word formation by combining two or more words to form one new word)
• Root-and-pattern derivations
• Bilingualism is defined as "knowing" two languages (Valdez & Figueora, 1994).
• People use the term "bilingualism" in different ways.
• For some, it means an equal ability to communicate in two languages.
• For others, it simply means the ability to communicate in two languages, but with greater skills in one language.
• Bloomfield defines bilingualism as "a native like control of two languages".
• Hearing two languages regularly during pregnancy puts infants on the road to bilingualism by birth.
• According to new findings in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, infants born to bilingual mothers (who spoke both languages regularly during pregnancy) exhibit different language preferences than infants born to mothers speaking only one language.
• Compound Bilingualism: Here, the person learns the two languages in the same context where they are used concurrently, so that there is a fused representation of the languages in the brain.
• This is the case when a child is brought up by bilingual parents, or those from two different linguistic backgrounds.
• This is additive in nature.
• Being bilingual can lead to a number of benefits in various aspects such as cognitive benefits, curriculum advantages, cultural benefits, employment advantages, communication advantages and tolerance of other languages and cultures.
• The bilinguals can have some specific advantages in thinking as they have two or more words for each idea and object.
• Bilinguals are more sensitive to the needs of the listener than the monolinguals.
• Being bilingual enhances and enriches a person's mental development.
• The latest research has proved that the bilinguals are better at IQ tests as compared to the monolinguals.
• Being bilingual may boost your brain power as research suggests that the growing numbers of bilingual speakers may have an advantage that goes beyond communication.
• Children taught a second language at an early age demonstrated improved cognitive abilities over control groups on tests of cognitive function and IQ tests.
• Bilinguals exhibited a cognitive flexibility believed to be developed from their experience in dealing with two languages.
• Bilingual students achieved higher scores on creativity, metalinguistic awareness, and reading achievement tests.
• Bilingualism helps slow cognitive decline in later years as bilingual patients with Alzheimer's showed symptoms between four and five years later than in monolingual patients.
• Bilingual children performed significantly better than than monolingual children on both verbal and nonverbal intelligence tests.
• Bilingual children showed improved performance on memory tests over monolingual children.
• Bilingual children outperformed monolingual children on problem solving tests.
• Bilingual people are known to show some of the following dominant traits, which are themselves subject to different interpretations: code-switching, dominance, and flexibility.
• Being bilingual helps ward off early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly.
• The Separate Systems Hypothesis proposes that children simultaneously develop two lexicons and two grammars, one for each of the languages.
• Code switching can also be used for wider sociolinguistic reasons: to indicate solidarity with another speaker; for humour; to signal a change of attitude or relationship; or to include or exclude someone from the conversation.
• When somebody is learning another language, they may use code switching to compensate for a lack of knowledge in that language.
• Bilinguals use code switching for a wide range of other purposes as well: emphasising on clarifying a point, reinforcing a request, substituting a word, and expressing a concept that does not have a direct equivalent in the other language.
• Code-switching is a term in linguistics referring to using more than one language or dialect in conversation.
• The Unitary System Hypothesis proposes that children first construct one lexicon and one grammar, and then later add another.
• Young bilinguals have language delay relative to monolinguals according to the Unitary Language System Hypothesis.
• The biggest issue with being bilingual is the mix-up of words, terms and grammar.
• Bilingual children mix because they lack appropriate lexical items in one language but have them in the other language, according to the Separate Language System Hypothesis.
• Bilinguals, who can speak at least two languages fluently, have the ability to use elements of both languages when conversing with another bilingual.