Language and Bilingual Cognition

This innovative volume provides a state-of-the-art overview of the relationship between language and cognition with a focus on bilinguals. It brings together contributions from international leading figures in various disciplines and showcases contemporary research on the emerging area of bilingual cognition.

The first part of the volume discusses the relationship between language and cognition as studied in various disciplines, from psychology to philosophy to anthropology to linguistics, with chapters written by some of the major thinkers in each discipline. The second part concerns language and cognition in bilinguals. Following an introductory overview and contributions from established figures in the field, bilingual cognition researchers provide examples of their latest research on topics including time, space, motion, colors, and emotion. The third part discusses practical applications of the idea of bilingual cognition, such as marketing and translation.

The volume is essential reading for researchers and postgraduate students with an interest in language and cognition, or in bilingualism and second languages.

Part 1. Language and Cognition. Introduction. V. Cook, Relating Language and Cognition: The Speaker of One Language. C. Swoyer, How Does Language Affect Thought? J. Lucy, Language and Cognition: The View from Anthropology. V. Evans, Language and Cognition: The View from Cognitive Linguistics. V.C. Mueller Gathercole, Interactive Influences of Language and Cognition. B. Tversky, Tools For Thinking. Part 2. Bilingual Cognition. Introduction. B. Bassetti, V. Cook, Relating Language and Cognition: The Second Language User. A. Wierzbicka, Bilingualism and Cognition: The Perspective from Semantics. S. Ervin-Tripp, Advances in the Study of Bilingualism: A Personal View. D.W. Green, Bilingual Worlds. P. Athanasopoulos, Color and Bilingual Cognition. K.R. Coventry, P. Guijarro-Fuentes, B. Valdés, Spatial Language and Second Language Acquisition. N. Czechowska, A. Ewert, Perception of Motion by Polish-English Bilinguals. H. Hendriks, M. Hickmann, Expressing Voluntary Motion in a Second Language: English Learners of French. J.-Y. Chen, J.-J. Su, Chinese-English Bilinguals’ Sensitivity to the Temporal Phase of an Action Event Is Related to the Extent of their Experience with English. B. Bassetti, The Grammatical and Conceptual Gender of Animals in Second Language Users. G. Salvato, Space and Gesture in L2 Users: The Interpretation of Italian Emblematic Gestures. D. Cunningham, J. Vaid, H.C. Chen, Yo No Lo Tiré, Se Cayó Solito, ‘I Did Not Throw It, It Just Fell Down’: Interpreting and Recounting Accidental Events in Spanish and English. M. Siegal, C. Kobayashi Frank, L. Surian, E. Hjelmquist, Theory of Mind and Bilingual Cognition. H. Knickerbocker, J. Altarriba, Bilingualism and the Impact of Emotion: The Role of Experience, Memory, and Sociolinguistic Factors. M. Besemeres, Emotions in Bilingual Life Narratives. Part 3. Applications and Implications of Bilingual Cognition. Introduction. V. Cook, Linguistic Relativity and Language Teaching. J. House, Translation and Bilingual Cognition. P. Sercombe, T. Young, Culture and Cognition in the Study of Intercultural Communication. D. Luna, Advertising to the Buy-Lingual Consumer. Envoi. K. Brooke, Bilinguals Save the World.