Advances in the Study of Bilingualism

Bilingual Construction of Two Systems 77

Table 4.6

Predictions regarding acceleration or delay by home language group

Prediction

In whom?

ENGLISH

WELSH

A. Similar structures:

ComparativeSuperlativeFutureUniversal/Exhaustive Quantifi

cation

Existential/Non-Universal Quantifi

cation

Acceleration

1. ALL BILINGUALS: Bilinguals will exceed

monolinguals

BILS

> MONS

n.a.

2. DOMINANT IN OTHER LANGUAGE: Those

dominant in other language will carry over to this language

OWH

> OEH,

WEH

OEH

> OWH,

WEH

3. BALANCED BILINGUALS: Balanced

bilinguals will transfer between languages

WEH

> OEH,

WEH

WEH

> OEH,

WEH

B. Dissimilar structures:

PassivePresent PerfectTime conjunctionsOS Relative ClausesSS Relative ClausesSO Relative Clauses

Deceleration

1. ALL BILINGUALS

BILS

< MONS

n.a.

2. DOMINANT IN OTHER LANGUAGE

OWH

< OEH,

WEH

OEH

< OWH,

WEH

3. BALANCED BILINGUALS

WEH

< OEH,

WEH

WEH

< OEH,

WEH