Our language changes very rapidly, accompanying political, social and cultural trends, as well as the evolution of science and technology. The Internet, especially the social media, has accelerated this process of change. This poses a severe challenge for both human beings and natural language processing (NLP) systems, which usually only model a…

In her Keynote Article, Paradis discusses the role of the interface between bilingual development and specific language impairment (SLI) on two different levels. On the level of theoretical explanations of SLI, Paradis asks how domain general versus domain-specific perspectives on SLI can account for bilingual SLI, as well as what bilingual SLI…

Much research has posited a developmental sequence approach in second-language acquisition. This study reexamines the original social-psychological research upon which the multidimensional model is based and shows that it is incorrect because of faulty analysis. It also examines the limited applicability/generalizability of the developmental…

Notes that, in Spanish, there is empirical support for the notion that, in visual word recognition, the syllables initially activate competing lexical candidates. Presents experiments intended to explore these inhibitory processes and discusses the applicability of the data to a dual-route model and the time course of syllabic processing. (55…

Examines evidence offered to support the idea of a sensitive period for second language acquisition. Findings indicate that there is insufficient evidence to accept the claim that mastery of a second language is determined wholly, or even primarily, by maturational factors. (34 references) (Author/CK)