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Preface

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 January 2010

Virginia Yip
Affiliation:
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Stephen Matthews
Affiliation:
The University of Hong Kong
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Summary

Compared to mastering a single language, the process of becoming bilingual in the child's first few years of life has been much less comprehensively studied, and therefore remains all the more enigmatic and intriguing. The title of this book, The Bilingual Child, is intended to refer generically to a child who learns two languages in early childhood. The book tells the stories of how six children became bilingual in Cantonese and English given exposure to both languages from birth. We provide a detailed account of how childhood bilingualism develops naturally in response to the two languages in their environment. This intimate account is presented through our dual perspectives as parent-researchers continuously observing and participating in our own three children's bilingual experience.

Parents and researchers alike often raise basic questions such as the following about children's bilingual development:

  • Are two languages too many for a child?

  • Do children confuse the two languages?

  • Can they be equally proficient in both?

  • If children have a ‘language instinct’ as has often been suggested, how does this instinct cope with two languages at the same time?

While the book reports an abundance of research findings, we also hope to alleviate some typical concerns of parents and demonstrate that two languages are not a burden for a child, and that children have the ability to differentiate the two languages from early on. They can develop high proficiency in both, though one language may develop ahead of the other.

Type
Chapter
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The Bilingual Child
Early Development and Language Contact
, pp. xiv - xvi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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  • Preface
  • Virginia Yip, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Stephen Matthews, The University of Hong Kong
  • Book: The Bilingual Child
  • Online publication: 08 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620744.002
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Preface
  • Virginia Yip, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Stephen Matthews, The University of Hong Kong
  • Book: The Bilingual Child
  • Online publication: 08 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620744.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Preface
  • Virginia Yip, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Stephen Matthews, The University of Hong Kong
  • Book: The Bilingual Child
  • Online publication: 08 January 2010
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511620744.002
Available formats
×