Language and Migration (Paperback)

Language is learned through associative learning mechanisms, say connectionists. Many linguists suggest that language is governed by rules. On the other hand, the dual mechanism model provides a compromise between the rule-based and the associative memory based models to explain certain linguistic processes. In this book, the author explores these theories in the context of second language learning. The highlight of the study presented is an experiment on South Asian immigrants, stratified into groups according to their age of arrival in England. The participants were tested on a word formation task; information about the linguistic input was elicited by means of a questionnaire. Results derived from the task can be interpreted as supportive of the dual mechanism model. However, the results of the questionnaire support a connectionist account. With these mixed results, the author expounds the relationship between language learning and age of arrival of immigrants learning a second language. The book also offers an insight into the sociological aspects of language learning and migration.