International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
Organization of the words according to L1 morphology
Organization of the syllables according to L1 phonology
Organization of the phonemes according to L1 phonetics
Organization of the words according to L2 morphology
Organization of the syllables according to L2 phonology
Organization of the phonemes according to L2 phonetics
Table 1. Coordinate bilingualism (modified from Paradis, 1987, p. 435)
Alternatively, compound bilingualism develops in an environment where the two languages are mixed, where
"two languages are spoken interchangeably by the same people and in the same situations" (De Groot, 2011, p.
131). As a result of this linguistic environment, the bilingual mixes the two languages and interlingual
interferences occur, from and toward each language. He or she is thus not able to detect the important conceptual
differences between the two languages, and needs to use both linguistic systems for thinking and
communicating.
As shown in Table 2, the lexicon of a compound bilingual includes, for each linguistic level, a store for the
native language (L1), a store for the foreign language (L2), and a mixed store.
L1
COMPOUND BILINGUALISM
L2
L1 + L2
Organization of L1 semantic units Organization of L1 + L2 semantic units Organization of L2 semantic units
Organization of the sentence according to
L1 syntax
Organization of the sentence according to L1 + L2
syntax
Organization of the sentence according
to L2 syntax
Organization of the words according to L1 Organization of the words according to L1 + L2 Organization of the words according to
morphology
morphology
L2 morphology
Organization of the syllables according to
L1 phonology
Organization of the syllables according to L1 + L2
phonology
Organization of the syllables according
to L2 phonology
Organization of the phonemes according to Organization of the phonemes according to L1 + L2 Organization of the phonemes
L1 phonetics
phonetics
according to L2 phonetics
Table 2. Compound bilingualism (based on Paradis, 1987, p. 438)
Here are some examples of compound bilingualism:
• Organization of L1 + L2 semantic units: *J’ai mal à mon ojo instead of "oeil", in French-L2 from Spanish-
L1. The user avoids the diphthong [oe + j] and uses the L1 term.
• Organization of the sentence according to L1 + L2 syntax: *Étudie français instead of "J’étudie le français",
in French-L2 from Spanish-L1. The user omits the personal pronoun and the article of L2 syntax.
• Organization of the words according to L1 + L2 morphology: *la troca instead of "truck", in English-L2
from Spanish-L1. The user uses the root word in English-L2 (truck) and the morphology of the feminine of
Spanish-L1 (-a).
• Organization of the syllables according to L1 + L2 phonology: *torabajo instead of "trabajo", in Spanish-L2
from Japanese-L1. The user inserts vowels in the syllables of Spanish-L2 that combine two consonants
(tra/tre/tri/tro/tru).
• Organization of the phonemes according to L1 + L2 phonetics: *la troca instead of "truck", in English-L2
from Spanish-L1. The user uses the phoneme /o/ of Spanish-L1 instead of the phoneme /Å/ of English-L2. 1
Ronjat (1913) stated that coordinate bilingualism will be achieved provided that the "one person-one
language" scheme is followed in the user’s environment. In this way, the bilingual develops two clearly distinct
systems and skillfully manages them. With such an organized practice, he or she becomes a true bilingual with
double communicative competence (Hymes, 1975) as well as a good translator who clearly distinguishes
between the two systems (Ervin & Osgood, 1954).
Relevant studies in the field of neurology confirm the existence of these two types of bilingualism. The
Canadian psychoneurologist Michel Paradis (1981, 2004) reports, indeed, two types of cerebral storage systems.
The first system is large and "extended", and contains the components of both languages. Thus, both linguistic
systems function based on the same neuronal mechanisms and, in case of aphasia, both are affected. This type of
storage supports the hypothesis of compound bilingualism. On the other hand, Paradis describes an independent
and "dual" storage system in which both languages are located in the same language area of the brain, but each
language has mechanisms of its own. In this case, aphasia affects only one language. This type of storage would
correspond to coordinate bilingualism.
COMPLETE vs. INCOMPLETE BILINGUALISM
The proficiency level of each language is also a criterion for classifying bilingualism. In this sense, Weinreich
(1953) describes a subordinate bilingualism which indicates an imbalance in the development of the two
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