Abstract

How are words organized in the bilingual mind? How are they linked to concepts? How do bi- and multilinguals process words in their multiple languages? The first aim of this volume is to offer up-to-date answers to these questions. Its second aim is to provide readers with detailed step-by-step introductions to a variety of methodological approaches used to investigate the bilingual lexicon, from traditional neurocognitive and psycholinguistic approaches to the more recent ones that examine language use in context.

Dr. Aneta Pavlenko is an Associate Professor at the College of Education, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. She has lectured widely in Europe, North America, and Japan, and published numerous scientific articles and book chapters on sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics of bilingualism and second language acquisition. She is an author of Emotions and Multilingualism (Cambridge University Press, 2005), co-author of Crosslinguistic Influence in Language and Cognition (with Scott Jarvis; Routledge, 2008), editor of Bilingual Minds (Multilingual Matters, 2006) and co-editor of Negotiation of Identities in Multilingual Contexts (Multilingual Matters, 2004).

Conceptions of language representation are changing. Words are not static entries in a mental dictionary. Instead they are part of human communication, ever contextualised in people and their lives, languages, meanings, interactions, and selves. In bringing together lead researchers in the various relevant disciplines, Aneta Pavlenko produces a compelling account of this important new perspective as it applies to bilingualism. Despite its interdisciplinarity, this is rigorous research, with each approach following its own characteristic steps. It is exciting too, as together these chapters reveal the intricate rhythms of the bilingual lexicon. The approach, and Pavlenko’s enthusiasm, are catching. This is a vibrant and readable volume – pick it up, and join the dance.