Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Language Development01:22

Language Development

831
Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
831
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

704
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
704
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

746
Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.
746
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

3.4K
Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
3.4K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

What 5000 babies can tell us about developing minds and how to study them.

Communications psychology·2026
Same author

Keeping an Eye on Looking Measures: Towards More Robust Developmental Methods.

Developmental science·2026
Same author

Bilingual Families Align Their Languages During Naturalistic Interactions: Evidence from Two Bilingual Communities.

Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland)·2026
Same author

Chinese Singaporean Children's Expectations About Peer Group Norms in the Context of Wealth and Ethnicity.

Developmental science·2026
Same author

A corpus-assisted discourse study of parental concerns regarding multilingual child-rearing.

Journal of multilingual and multicultural development·2025
Same author

Reading in two languages: Parents' strategy and language use across book formats during bilingual shared reading.

Bilingual research journal·2025

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 13, 2026

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
08:05

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Published on: June 30, 2020

8.0K

Parental Language Mixing in Montreal: Rates, Predictors, and Relation to Infants' Vocabulary Size.

Alexandra Paquette1, Krista Byers-Heinlein1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke St. West, PY-033, Montréal, QC H4B 1R6, Canada.

Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|October 29, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Parental language mixing in bilingual children is common but context-dependent. In Montreal, French-English bilinguals mixed less than heritage-language bilinguals, with mixing showing minimal impact on vocabulary growth.

Keywords:
bilingualismcode-switchinglanguage mixingvocabulary development

More Related Videos

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task
05:31

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Published on: February 26, 2020

15.5K
Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
06:35

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm

Published on: April 28, 2016

35.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 13, 2026

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
08:05

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques

Published on: June 30, 2020

8.0K
Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task
05:31

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Published on: February 26, 2020

15.5K
Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
06:35

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm

Published on: April 28, 2016

35.0K

Area of Science:

  • Psycholinguistics
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Sociolinguistics

Background:

  • Language mixing is prevalent in bilingualism but its predictors and effects on child vocabulary are debated.
  • Research often overlooks contexts with two societal languages, like Montreal, where French and English coexist alongside heritage languages.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate parental language mixing in French-English and heritage-language bilingual children in Montreal.
  • To examine the prevalence, predictors, motivations, and vocabulary development effects of language mixing.

Main Methods:

  • Archival data from 398 bilingual children (7-34 months) in Montreal.
  • Comparison of French-English societal bilinguals and heritage-language bilinguals.
  • Assessment of language mixing patterns and vocabulary size.

Main Results:

  • Language mixing was less frequent in French-English bilinguals than heritage-language bilinguals.
  • Mixing predictors differed: dominance for French-English, societal status for heritage-language bilinguals.
  • Mixing motivations included word uncertainty, translation gaps, and teaching; minimal association with vocabulary size.

Conclusions:

  • Parental language mixing strategies are adaptive and vary by sociolinguistic context.
  • Language mixing does not appear to be detrimental to early bilingual vocabulary acquisition.