Crosslinguistic Influence in Language and Cognition (review)

This book provides an overview of empirical findings and competing theoretical models concerning cross-linguistic influence (CLI). Most importantly, it makes a valuable contribution by presenting a critical analysis of the new trend of CLI that studies the effect of transfer at the conceptual level. This has tremendous implications for the long-controversial question of the relationship between language and cognition.

The book consists of seven chapters. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the historical findings and recent trends in CLI research, as well as a description of a scheme for characterizing different types of CLI. Chapter 2 discusses the important methodological issues for identifying and measuring CLI as a psycholinguistic (as opposed to a societal) phenomenon. For example, the authors consider what obligatory evidence is required in order to determine if certain instances can be considered as transfer, and what factors can trigger or constrain transfer.

In chapter 3, the authors review studies that investigate the phenomena of transfer occurring in the dimension of linguistic forms and structures (as opposed to the conceptual dimension) and discuss four categories of linguistic transfer: phonological/orthographic transfer, lexical/ semantic transfer, previously neglected morphological/syntactic transfer, and discursive, pragmatic and sociolinguistic transfer. The limitations of the research in each area are also pointed out, which could be fruitful areas for future research.

Chapter 4 focuses on cross-linguistic effects at the conceptual level. The authors first differentiate the conceptual levels of representation from the semantic levels of representation. This particular point is very noteworthy, because many studies tend to wrongly assume that semantic representations and conceptual representations are the same thing (Vigliocco & Vinson, 2007). The authors then examine the cross-linguistic differences that may cause conceptual transfer and the experimental evidence of the occurrence of transfer in eight foundational domains: objects, emotions, personhood, gender, number, time, space, and motion. However, the authors’ argument about the manifestation of CLI in the above domains seems a little bit weak, since to date there have not been enough experimental studies providing evidence of the actual occurrence of such transfer. Although the authors list cross-linguistic differences that may cause conceptual transfer, it is known that cross-linguistic differences do not necessarily cause transfer.

In chapter 5, the authors discuss evidence of conceptual change as manifested in L2 influence on L1 conceptualization. They identify five possible types of conceptual transfer: the internalization of new L2 based concepts, the restructuring of the existing concepts, the convergence of both L1 and L2 features into a unitary concept, the shift from L1 to L2 based conceptualization, and the attrition of previously learned concepts. Chapter 6 discusses five types of factors that affect transfer. These factors can be linguistically and psycholinguistically induced (e.g., cross-linguistic similarity, markedness, and prototypicality); cognitively and developmentally constrained (e.g., level of cognitive maturity and metacognitive and metalinguistic awareness); related to language experience and knowledge (e.g., age and language proficiency); related to the learning environment (e.g., formal learning vs. naturalistic learning); and related to language use (e.g., idiolect and task type). The above factors often interact with one another or with CLI and thus affect transfer in a complex way.

In the final chapter, chapter 7, the key findings and arguments presented throughout the book are reviewed and analyzed. The implications of the CLI research for applied linguistics and models of bi-and multilingualism are also discussed. In addition, the authors point to directions for future CLI research in terms of both methodology and areas for research.

This book will be of benefit to a diverse audience. For researchers and students interested in CLI, it clearly illustrates what has been done and what remains to be done in this area and reminds them of important methodological concerns that are necessary for a successful empirical CLI study. This book is a good resource for instructors intending to teach a course on this topic. In addition, the diverse manifestations of CLI it describes have pedagogical implications for language teachers, although this...