Edwards, Malcolm and Dewaele, Jean-Marc (2007) Trilingual conversations: a window into multicompetence. International Journal of Bilingualism 11 (2), pp. 221-242. ISSN 1367-0069.
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Abstract
A recurrent theme in the literature on trilingual language use is the question of whether there is a specific “trilingual competence.” In this paper we consider this question in the light of codeswitching patterns in two dyadic trilingual conversations between a mother and daughter conducted in (Lebanese) Arabic, French, and English. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of codeswitching in both conversants shows that, despite the fact that both subjects are fluent in all three languages, uses of switching are significantly different for mother and daughter across a number of features, including relative frequency of different switch types, and the incidence of hybrid constructions involving items from two or more languages. The subjects appear to display qualitatively distinct profiles of competence in the trilingual mode. This in turn leads to the conclusion that the facts of trilingual language use are best characterized in terms of “multicompetence” (Cook, 1991). The paper concludes with some further reflections on the uniqueness of trilingual language use (an “old chestnut” in trilingualism research, cf. Klein, 1995).
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | codeswitching, language mode, multicompetence, language dominance, trilingualism |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication |
| Depositing User: | Administrator |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Oct 2007 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Aug 2023 12:29 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/594 |
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