Abstract
Bilingualism that arises from different reasons (such as wars, migrations, geographical proximity, and trade, tourism, marriages, living to better standards, work and education) affects children, so children have to grow up in environments where more than one language is spoken. There are various arguments about whether being a bilingual for a child is advantageous or disadvantageous. The studies carried out in this field have shown that the disadvantage can be converted into advantageous situations on condition that the process about the acquisition or learning of the second language has been managed well. From this point of view, the importance of concepts such as language development in early childhood period, views on language development, bilingualism, language acquisition and teaching in early years will be explained in detail in the bilingualism in the early childhood section.
TopBackground
Language and Communication
Language, both oral and written, is an important communication tool for people to learn and teach their feelings, thoughts, experiences and cultural values (Sevinç, 2003; Samovar et al., 2015; Bonvillain, 2019). One of the functions of language is to represent thoughts and the other is to convey these thoughts. Conveying thoughts to another person and receiving the thoughts of another person leads to mutual communication. Communication a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior. İt is a process that has existed since the beginning of life and has been dynamic with the evolution of humanity. All living creatures made message transfer with a unique way of communication. Only humanity used an extraordinary and fascinating way in this transfer. Although voice and voice-based call systems exist in many animal species, the transition from voice to word and verbal expression is evolutionary. This behavior, which makes man superior to other living beings, is called “ability to use language via speech” or simply “speech-language” (Sless, 1981; Sperber & Wilson, 1986; Topbaş, 2010; Enderby et al., 2013; Yule, 2016).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Language acquisition: is the process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive and comprehend language (in other words, gain the ability to be aware of language and to understand it), as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate.
Language Development: is the process by which children come to understand and communicate language during early childhood.
Communication: the exchange of meanings between individuals through a common system of symbols.
Early Childhood: the period from birth to eight years old, is a time of remarkable growth with brain development at its peak.
Language Education: teaching and learning a language. It also includes the efforts made by a learner to improve his/her native language. Language education is a branch of applied linguistics.
Language: a system of conventional spoken, manual, or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, express themselves.
Types of Bilingualism: Depending on the age in which an individual has acquired a second language or in what way or how is he/she acquired more than one language, they are classified into different types of bilingualism.
Bilingualism: (or multilingualism) is the phenomenon of speaking and understanding two or more languages.