BILINGUALISM AND ACCESS TO THE SPANISH LANGUAGE BY RUSSIAN-ROMANIAN BILINGUALS

Abstract

http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/sm-2017-0014

Bilingualism is a complex process involving a variety of characteristics, amongwhich we can distinguish a particular system of a language, as well as the ability to use it incommunication. Apart from the mere fact of acquiring the knowledge of a second language,bilingualism also implies the development of specific linguistic structuring and brainfunctioning different from those of a monolingual individual. This fact is crucial at the timeof comprehension and, consequently, learning of a third language and this is why it hasbeen studied by analysing the understanding ability of bilingual informants to refer toa third language without the prior learning of this language and the comparison ofthe results with those obtained for monolingual individuals presenting each language. Thus,the hypothesis involved considers individuals presenting bilingualism between two differentlanguage families (on the example of Russian-Romanian bilingualism) manifesting betterunderstanding of a language from one of the language families they speak natively (on theexample of the Spanish language) in comparison with monolingual people presenting one ofthe languages considered in bilingual individuals (i.e. Russian and Romanian monolinguals).This difference between bilingual and monolingual people in the access to a third languagemainly involves the difference in the way of thinking and analysing the acquired linguisticdata, resulting in a more effective capacity for understanding. The specification of brainorganization and the analysis of linguistic data are due to the creation of specificpsycholinguistic strategies by the bilingual individual.