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Verbal and gestural expression of motion and spatial events / L’expression verbale et gestuelle du mouvement et de l’espace: New evidence from different age groups and linguistic environments / nouveaux arguments en provenance de différents groupes d’âge et de différents environnements linguistiques
Edited by Kateřina Fibigerová, Jean-Marc Colletta and Michèle Guidetti
[Language, Interaction and Acquisition 9:1] 2018
► pp. 69–100

French-English bilingual children’s motion event communication shows crosslinguistic influence in speech but not gesture

| University of Alberta
| University of Central Lancashire
| University of Alberta

Bilinguals sometimes show crosslinguistic influence from one language to another while speaking (or gesturing). Adult bilinguals have also shown crosslinguistic influence in gestures as well as speech, suggesting an underlying conceptualization that is similar for both languages. The primary purpose of the present study is to test if the same is true of simultaneous French-English bilingual children in speaking and gesturing about motion. If so, they might show different patterns from both French and English monolinguals. Furthermore, we examined whether there were developmental changes between early and middle childhood. French-English bilingual and French and English monolingual children watched two cartoons and described them. In speech, the bilinguals differed from the English monolinguals, using more lexicalizations of the Path of motion in token numbers but not in type. They did not differ from the French monolinguals. In gestures, all children used a majority of Path gestures. There were few age-related changes. We argue that in speech, the bilinguals conceptualize their two languages differently, but show some crosslinguistic influence due to processing. Gestures may not show this same pattern, because they serve to highlight the important parts of the discourse.

Keywords: French English bilingual children, gesture, motion, crosslinguistic influence
Article outline
  • 1.Bilingualism impacts language usage and representation
    • 1.1Crosslinguistic differences in the expression of motion events
      • 1.1.1Monolinguals
      • 1.1.2Bilinguals
    • 1.2Development of motion event expressions in children
      • 1.2.1Monolinguals
      • 1.2.2Bilinguals
    • 1.3Conceptualization, processing, and crosslinguistic influence
    • 1.4This study
      • 1.4.1Confounding issues
  • 2.Methods
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Materials and procedure
    • 2.3Coding
      • 2.3.1Word types in the narrative
      • 2.3.2Coding speech for motion events
      • 2.3.3Coding gesture for motion events
      • 2.3.4Reliability of coding
    • 2.4Analyses
  • 3.Results
    • 3.1Total number of word types
    • 3.2Lexicalization patterns in speech
      • 3.2.1Path types
      • 3.2.2Path tokens
      • 3.2.3Manner tokens
    • 3.3Motion encoded in gesture
  • 4.Discussion
    • 4.1Bilinguals and crosslinguistic influence
      • 4.1.1Crosslinguistic influence and shared conceptualization
      • 4.1.2Crosslinguistic influence and competition among lemmas
      • 4.1.3Patterns inconsistent with both explanations
    • 4.2Gesture
    • 4.3Potentially confounding issues
      • 4.3.1Limitations and future directions
  • 5.Conclusion
  • References
Published online: 9 May 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lia.15006.mil
References

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