The Cognitive Neuroscience of Bilingualism

An introduction to bilingualism from the perspective of neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and psycholinguistics.

John W. Schwieter (Author), Julia Festman (Author)

9781316647790, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 19 October 2023

260 pages
22.9 x 15.1 x 1.5 cm, 0.41 kg

'Accessible to non-specialists, this book presents a comprehensive review of the key issues in bilingual brain research. The multidisciplinary perspectives and methodologies are well described and explained, along with clear illustrations of new topics covering language and the environment, culture, child-adult learning differences, and many more, all in simple and concise terms.' Ping Li, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, China

The Cognitive Neuroscience of Bilingualism presents an introduction to the neural bases and cognitive processes of the bilingual brain. It covers foundational knowledge required for study in the area of bilingualism, including prominent theories and research methodologies, and the state of research in relevant fields of psycholinguistics, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience. Major topics include bilingual development and brain plasticity; aphasia and the bilingual brain; cross-linguistic effects of bilingualism; bilingual lexical and conceptual memory; and cognitive and neurocognitive effects of bilingualism. This book represents the first of its kind to bring together the various psychological and theoretical issues of bilingualism with respect to language processing and representation, while providing insight into the 'reality' of the bilingual brain.

1. Theories and methods in the cognitive neuroscience of bilingualism: an introduction
2. Neural representations and language processing in the bilingual brain
3. Bilingualism, language development, and brain plasticity
4. Aphasia and the bilingual brain
5. Cross-linguistic effects of bilingualism
6. Bilingual lexical and conceptual memory
7. Cognitive and neurocognitive effects of bilingualism
8. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Cognition & cognitive psychology [JMR]