Discusses the modeling hypothesis, in which bilingual children's rates of code mixing are related to rates of mixing in the input addressed to them, and the assumption that children are sensitive to code mixing in the input and can adjust their own rates in accordance with the input. Reports a study of six bilingual toddlers recorded during play…

Discusses explanations regarding bilingual children's codemixing, including that it is influenced by the particular discourse strategies parents use in conversation with their children. Five French-English bilingual families in Montreal were examined for parental style of response, children's rates of codemixing, and effects of responses on…

Addresses the question of whether young children's code-mixing obeys the same structural constraints as bilingual adults code mixing. Examines data from bilingual French-English bilingual children filmed in conversation with both parents at 6-month intervals from age 2 to age 3 years, 6 months. Children's code-mixed utterances were examined for…

Results of research of children's evaluative reactions to bilingual code switching indicate that children by at least 11 years of age are aware of situational, interpersonal, and intergroup factors in dyadic interactions involving interlocutors from distinct ethnolinguistic groups. Suggests that manipulations of the research technique could be…

A study was conducted to examine children's use of social factors as bases for evaluating different patterns of code switching in dyadic social interaction. The factors were role-related and social norms, interpersonal accommodation, intergroup biases, and socio-cultural status. An initial study was conducted of monolingual and bilingual English…

Examined language differentiation in bilingual toddlers prior to the emergence of functional categories. The children were observed with each parent separately and both together. Results indicate that while these children did code mix, they were able to differentiate between their two languages. There was some evidence that language dominance…

Investigates the potential interference between the grammars of French-English bilingual children, ages two to three years. The study examined their acquisition of functional categories, specifically the properties of INFL (finiteness and agreement) and negation. Results indicate that these children evidence no transfer, acceleration, or delay in…

Examined whether there is an earlier developmental stage than 2 years of age when bilingual children do not use their languages in pragmatically differentiated ways. Analyses of recordings of four French-English bilingual children in Canada during free play sessions with their mothers and fathers suggest a stage very early in development when…