title: Lexical processing and organization in bilingual first language acquisition: Guiding future research.
abstract: A rich body of work in adult bilinguals documents an interconnected lexical network across languages, such that early word retrieval is language independent. This literature has yielded a number of influential models of bilingual semantic memory. However, extant models provide limited predictions about the emergence of lexical organization in bilingual first language acquisition (BFLA). Empirical evidence from monolingual infants suggests that lexical networks emerge early in development as children integrate phonological and semantic information. These findings tell us little about the interaction between 2 languages in early bilingual memory. To date, an understanding of when and how languages interact in early bilingual development is lacking. In this literature review, we present research documenting lexical-semantic development across monolingual and bilingual infants. This is followed by a discussion of current models of bilingual language representation and organization and their ability to account for the available empirical evidence. Together, these theoretical and empirical accounts inform and highlight unexplored areas of research and guide future work on early bilingual memory. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors: Joint Doctoral Program in Language and Communicative Disorders.
authors: Stephanie
authors: 0000-0003-3791-9494
authors: S
authors: DeAnda
authors: Department of Psychology, Concordia University.
authors: Diane
authors: D
authors: Poulin-Dubois
authors: Department of Psychology, Université de Genève.
authors: Pascal
authors: P
authors: Zesiger
authors: Department of Psychology, San Diego State University.
authors: Margaret
authors: M
authors: Friend
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development; D008568:Memory; D008960:Models, Psychological; D019303:Multilingualism; D012660:Semantics