Language Use, Processing and Acquisition in Multilingual Contexts

Dear Colleagues,

Many studies have investigated the relationships between being mono-/bi-/multilingual and associated linguistic and language-related processing outcomes. However, much less is known about the influence of the diversity of languages in a society on these outcomes. That is, one does not necessarily need to speak multiple languages themselves to be influenced by their societal presence (Bice & Kroll, 2019; Fan et al., 2015; Tsimpli et al., 2020; Vogelzang et al., 2022; Wigdorowitz et al., 2020, 2022). In this view, a multilingual context is any context in which multiple languages are used in the environment—this is sometimes referred to as contextual linguistic diversity (Wigdorowitz et al., 2020, 2022; Wigdorowitz, under review). Many societies have high linguistic diversity, with different languages being spoken in different regions within the country, or even within the same region, based on historical development, migration, and globalization. In addition, there is increasing support for the idea that mono-/bi-/multilingualism are not merely 'states' or categorical experiences, but that there also exists great individual differences in language use and exposure within these groups (Caloi & Torregrossa, 2021; Castro et al., 2022; Kašćelan et al., 2022; Luk & Bialystok, 2013; Surrain & Luk, 2019; Torregrossa et al., 2021).

Accordingly, the central question of this Special Issue is to what extent language use and/or patterns of language exposure in multilingual contexts affect language acquisition, language processing, or other cognitive processes. We aim to bring together contributions dealing with this question from linguistic, sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic, and language acquisition perspectives. Works may proceed both by focusing on group behavior or on within-group heterogeneity. We call for studies investigating any languages or contexts, including non-Western contexts in the Global South and underrepresented populations (e.g., low socioeconomic contexts, minority language speakers). Both quantitative and qualitative methods will be considered.

This Special Issue encourages open science best practices.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of max. 400 words summarizing their intended contribution. These should be submitted to the corresponding guest editor (Dr. Margreet Vogelzang, mv498@cam.ac.uk) or to Languages Editorial Office (languages@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review in line with Languages review policy.

Manuscript length is flexible, but is typically between 8000 and 10000 words.

Tentative completion schedule

Abstract submission deadline: 15 May 2023
Notification of abstract acceptance: 1 June 2023
Full manuscript deadline: 15 November 2023

References

Bice, K., & Kroll, J. F. (2019). English only? Monolinguals in linguistically diverse contexts have an edge in language learning. Brain and Language, 196, 104644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2019.104644

Caloi, I., & Torregrossa, J. (2021). Home and school language practices and their effects on heritage language acquisition: A view from heritage Italians in Germany. Languages, 6(1), Article 50. https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6010050

Castro, S., Wodniecka, Z., & Timmer, K. (2022). Am I truly monolingual? Exploring foreign language experiences in monolinguals. PLoS ONE, 17(3), e0265563. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0265563

Fan, S. P., Liberman, Z., Keysar, B., & Kinzler, K. D. (2015). The exposure advantage: Early exposure to a multilingual environment promotes effective communication. Psychological Science, 26(7), 1090–1097. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615574699

Kašćelan, D., Prévost, P., Serratrice, L., Tuller. L., Unsworth, S., & De Cat, C. (2022). A review of questionnaires quantifying bilingual experience in children: Do they document the same constructs? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 25, 29–41. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728921000390

Luk, G., & Bialystok, E. (2013). Bilingualism is not a categorical variable: Interaction between language proficiency and usage. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25(5), 605–621. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2013.795574

Surrain, S., & Luk, G. (2019). Describing bilinguals: A systematic review of labels and descriptions used in the literature between 2005–2015. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 22(2), 401–415. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728917000682

Torregrossa, J., Andreou, M., Bongartz, C., & Tsimpli, I. M. (2021). Bilingual acquisition of reference. The role of language experience, executive functions and cross-linguistic effects. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 24(4), 694–706. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728920000826

Tsimpli, I., Vogelzang, M., Balasubramanian, A., Marinis, T., Alladi, S., Reddy, A., & Panda, M. (2020). Linguistic diversity, multilingualism, and cognitive skills: A study of disadvantaged children in India. Languages, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/languages5010010

Vogelzang, M., Carston, R., & Tsimpli, I. M. (2022). When we verb a noun: Processing and understanding denominal verbs through pragmatic inferences. Cambridge Language Sciences Annual Symposium. http://doi.org/10.33774/coe-2022-dzznv

Wigdorowitz, M. (under review). The case for contextual linguistic diversity in bilingualism research.

Wigdorowitz, M., Pérez, A. I., & Tsimpli, I. M. (2020). A holistic measure of contextual and individual linguistic diversity. International Journal of Multilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2020.1835921

Wigdorowitz, M., Pérez, A. I., & Tsimpli, I. M. (2022). Sociolinguistic context matters: Exploring differences in contextual linguistic diversity in South Africa and England. International Multilingual Research Journal, 16(4), 345–364. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2022.2069416

Dr. Margreet Vogelzang
Prof. Dr. Jacopo Torregrossa
Dr. Mandy Wigdorowitz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.