Bilingualism and language awareness in young children

Abstract

This paper explores the concept of Language Awareness (LA) in relation to the acquisition of two languages by very young children. It has become a commonplace to allege the heightened LA of young bilinguals, and tests have been devised to characterise its features. A distinction is drawn between fully‐fledged LA and what may be its rudimentary forerunner — ‘speaker awareness’, preceding the child's apprehension of codes as such. Factors favouring bilingual development, and bilingual outcomes, are reviewed, as the background to the argument that bilinguals’ enforced awareness of linguistic diversity triggers their response to codes. Recent research (Karniol, 1990, 1992) has purported to reveal new types of LA, and claimed that awareness of codes per se is a prerequisite for the ability to develop a second language. The data supporting this claim, and its consequences, are investigated, and earlier studies of bilingualism reviewed in order to throw light on the type of evidence young children might need to achieve this awareness. It is suggested that communicative intent, rather than traditional tests, is a key variable in determining how LA is to be detected and assessed.