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Crosslinguistic influence in language and cognition

Article in International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism · May 2011

DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2011.555993

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 International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 367

Crosslinguistic influence in language and cognition, by S. Jarvis and A. Pavlenko,

New York, Routledge, 2008, 304 pp., US$95.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-0-8058-3885-
5; US$39.95 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-415-87981-1

Crosslinguistic influence (CLI) is a term used to define the effect that one language
has on the usage or knowledge of another language. Also known as linguistic
transfer, the study of CLI in cognitive linguistics has provided a vital gateway to the
understanding of how languages interact and function in the multilingual mind.
In Crosslinguistic influence in language and cognition, Jarvis and Pavlenko take their
readers on a comprehensive journey of CLI both in speech production and in
comprehension and provide a much-needed review of empirical and theoretical
studies of CLI. One particular caveat to the book is its innovative exploration of a
variety of aspects of linguistic transfer that have received little attention in previous
studies: semantic and conceptual transfer, lateral transfer, and reverse transfer. In an
exceptional and inclusive resource, Jarvis and Pavlenko not only provide an
interesting analysis of previous work but also entice current researchers and
newcomers to the field to consider innovative ideas, methodologies, theoretical
frameworks, and future research questions. Both specialists in this area and those
who are unfamiliar with the study of CLI will find this book to be a valuable resource
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and will be impressed by the way in which Jarvis and Pavlenko clearly present
previous research and cleverly propose new directions in the field.
The wealth of research focusing on CLI has significantly grown since Odlin’s
(1989) review that was published more than two decades ago. In addition to this
augmentation of studies, Jarvis and Pavlenko point out that subsequent to that
review, CLI has taken on a variety of directions that no longer identify it as a
phenomenon for which no linguistic measures can confirm its existence. Therefore,
the goal of the book is threefold: to review previous research, to discuss and put forth
a neo-Whorfian approach to CLI studies, and to outline a comprehensive discussion
on the internal and external factors that lead to or constrain CLI processes. The
authors thread an extensive discussion on the interdisciplinary nature of CLI that
helps to achieve the goals of the book and to demonstrate to the readers its
complicated effects on language and cognition.
The book consists of seven chapters. Chapter 1 serves as an introductory chapter
dedicated to summarizing previous research and theoretical and empirical directions
that CLI studies have taken in recent years. The chapter is essential in contextualiz-
ing how current research questions have originated from pioneering work. Jarvis’ and
Pavlenko’s ability to weave together and explain the intricate relationship that exists
between the various types of linguistic transfer (e.g. phonological, conceptual,
lexical, and pragmatic) additionally helps to frame subsequent chapters. At the end
of Chapter 1, Jarvis and Pavlenko introduce an exceptional method to analyze and
classify CLI across a multiple-dimensional scheme that helps their readers to easily
understand how different types of CLIs interact with one another. The authors
identify 10 dimensions (e.g. directionality, form, outcome, and mode) that truly
demonstrate that any given error should not be limited to one type of transfer. They
provide the example of an L2 speaker of English who pronounces ‘sleep’ as ‘slip’.
This is exemplary in showing that a variety of potential types of transfer for this
‘mispronunciation’ could help classify it across all 10 of the identified dimensions.
 368 Book reviews

This multidimensional method of categorizing CLI is an extraordinary way to

introduce the interdisciplinary nature of the complex study of CLI.
Chapter 2 discusses methodological approaches to identifying and measuring
CLI. The chapter is divided into five sections. At the beginning of the chapter, Jarvis
and Pavlenko comment on the faulty assumption that CLI is a ‘know-it-when-you-
see-it’ phenomenon. As the reader can see from this chapter, however, this claim is
certainly not the case given that CLI can be over- or undergeneralized and even
falsely ‘diagnosed’. As such, the remaining sections of Chapter 2 highlight
advantages and disadvantages of two categorical psycholinguistic methodologies
that researchers can use to tease apart how CLI can be defined and investigated. The
authors identify these methods as intrasubjective or intersubjective. The former tends
to focus more on the individual speaker (e.g. case studies and psycholinguistic
experiments) while making generalizations to a larger group, whereas the latter is
concerned with investigating CLI as a societal phenomenon. Jarvis and Pavlenko are
successful in carefully identifying the types of methodological considerations that
have been used to study CLI; this is essential to the interpretation of subsequent
chapters.
The goal of Chapter 3 is to highlight and review previous studies across all the
major areas of linguistics (phonology, morphology, lexis, syntax, semantics, etc.).
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While doing so, Jarvis and Pavlenko provide an admirable and encompassing
exploration of CLI as both positive and negative types of linguistic transfer.
Additionally, they do not limit this review to one area of communication, but instead
discuss the effects of CLI in both speech perception and production, in written and
spoken form, and as intentional or unintentional phenomena. The authors point out
a notable underlying theme that should be key in CLI research, namely the
understanding of how languages interact in the mind and not the prediction that
transfer will (or will not) happen in any given context.
In Chapters 4 and 5, Jarvis and Pavlenko focus their discussion on conceptual
transfer and change. Chapter 4 explores conceptual transfer within a variety of
domains such as gender, number, space, and motion, while Chapter 5 discusses
developmental aspects of CLI, in particular regarding the way in which one’s
linguistic knowledge, usage, and development leads to changes in the conceptual
system. In Chapter 4, the authors take a sensible and forthcoming approach to
defining the relationship between language and the conceptual system. It begins with
a presentation of a nonexhaustive list examining conceptual transfer across eight
foundational domains. Although the studies referred to in this chapter center on
forward transfer (i.e. when already acquired concepts give rise to L1 conceptual
transfer effects), Jarvis and Pavlenko make it clear that transfer is not a ‘one-way
street’. As such, Chapter 5 provides references to compelling evidence of reverse
transfer or conceptual change (i.e. how nonnative languages have the potential to
modify already acquired concepts).
Chapter 6 provides an exceptional outlet for understanding individual differences
and external factors that contribute to (or constrain) occurrences of transfer (e.g.
proficiency, language activation levels, and typological differences between lan-
guages). The chapter appears to take a step back in order to expand on the
discussions put forth in previous chapters. In doing so, it demonstrates a shift of
attention from ‘cases of transfer to the more fundamental investigation of what
makes something likely to be transferred in the first place’ (174). Additionally, and
perhaps most importantly, Jarvis and Pavlenko point out that over the last few
 International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 369

decades, a lengthy list of factors affecting transfer has been compiled and revised by
researchers (Andersen 1983; Ellis 1994; Jarvis 2000; Kellerman 1983; Odlin 1989;
Odlin and Jarvis 2004; Pavlenko 2000). The authors effectively synthesize this
information and propose a sensible, organized way to categorize the variables that
indicate the occurrence or nonoccurrence of transfer. The five identified categories
are individually described in detail in the chapter.
In Chapter 7, Jarvis and Pavlenko conclude the book by outlining a host of
implications that the findings in CLI discussed in previous chapters have on theories,
methodologies, and pedagogies. The authors provide important discussions vital to
the current state and development of the field including implications for applied
linguistics and theoretical models of bi- and multilingual representation, processing,
and acquisition. All investigators interested in conducting research in CLI
and
especially those concerned with the mental lexicon
will benefit immensely from the
theoretical and methodological suggestions provided in this chapter.
In Crosslinguistic influence in language and cognition, Jarvis and Pavlenko have
created a state-of-the-art review of CLI studies including its development over the
last several decades, its current state in the field, and the directions it should take in
the context of insightful theoretical, methodological, and empirical considerations.
Furthermore, the book has provided an integrated approach to the interaction and
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influences that languages have on one another in the mind. It goes without saying
that this book makes a valuable contribution to the fields of cognitive linguistics,
multilingualism, and language acquisition and is not only a desirable material to have
for all scholars interested in furthering their understanding of CLI but also an ideal
supplementary text to use in graduate and undergraduate courses.

References
Andersen, R. 1983. Transfer to somewhere. In Language transfer in language learning, ed.
S. Gass and L. Selinker, 177
201. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Ellis, R. 1994. The study of second language acquisition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Jarvis, S. 2000. Methodological rigor in the study of transfer: Identifying L1 influence in the
interlanguage lexicon. Language Learning 50, no. 2: 245
309.
Kellerman, E. 1983. Now you see it, now you don’t. In Language transfer in language learning,
ed. S. Gass and L. Selinker, 112
34. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Odlin, T. 1989. Language transfer: Cross-linguistic influence in language learning. Cambridge,
UK: Cambridge University Press.
Odlin, T., and S. Jarvis. 2004. Same source, different outcomes: A study of Swedish influence
on the acquisition of English in Finland. International Journal of Multilingualism 1, no. 2:
123
40.
Pavlenko, A. 2000. L2 influence on L1 in late bilingualism. Issues in Applied Linguistics 11,
no. 2: 175
205.

DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2011.555993 John W. Schwieter

Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada
jschwieter@wlu.ca
# 2011, John W. Schwieter

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