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Simultaneous bilingualism is a form of bilingualism that takes place when a child becomes bilingual by learning two languages from birth. Both languages are acquired in the form of first languages. McLaughlin, 1978 suggested that the cut-off point for considering a child to be learning two languages simultaneously as opposed to successively be set at 3 years of age. Further, De Houwer, 1990 has argued that only continuous exposure to two languages from birth on can ensure that the child is not learning one language through the other. Most people agree that equitable and long-term exposure to two languages is best assured by the One person, one language approach. Ideally, children in such situations acquire both languages at an equal rate. In that case, they might acquire each of their two languages like monolingual children of the respective languages, ie. the acquisition of both languages in simultaneous bilingualism can be like Language 1(L1) acquisition. A number of researchers including Meisel, De Howver and Schlyter have argued that this is the 'true' form of simultaneous bilingualism. The other pattern for language development is that both parents speak both languages to the child.

History
Ronjat, in 1931 published a detailed description of his son Louis’ simultaneous acquisition of German and French. Louis showed remarkable progress in both the languages with very little confusion. Ronjat attributed Louis’s lack of confusion to the fact that both parents used only one language with him. This conclusion was brought into doubt in 1949 when Leopold published the last volume of a detailed diary of his daughter’s (Hildegard) simultaneous acquisition of English and German. He claimed that the parents made sure that only one parent- one language strategy was used. Yet Hildegard passed through a stage when she used words from both languages, a fact that Leopold interpreted as a sign that she had confused her two languages and was functioning as a Monolingual.

Language Dominance and Bilingual Input
Proficiency is said to be one the easiest ways in which language dominance can be defined. According to Matthews and Yip, dominance is distinguished as a property of the bilingual mind and a concept of language knowledge, from proficiency, as a concept of language use. Quantity of input is an important factor in language dominance. Bilingual children have their input space divided, so the amount of exposure to each language at any given time is smaller than that of monolinguals. When the input is lower than balanced, one of the two languages might develop faster or show greater complexity at a given age. This language is said to be dominant. Schlyter in 1993 suggested that children growing up with two languages acquire the weaker language, usually the one that is not shared by the society at large, like a second language. Another view of dominance given by Lanza in 2004 is that “Language dominance is essentially a psycholinguistics phenomenon closely inter-meshed with sociolinguistic parameters”. As a psycholinguistic phenomenon, language dominance be characterized as a property of the mind, albeit influenced by sociolinguistic parameters such as quantity of input and influencing aspects of performance such as fluency. Thus, it can be concluded that language dominance and bilingual input share an important relationship which plays an important role in development of simultaneously bilingual individuals.

Unitary language system hypothesis
A three stage model for early bilingual development was proposed by Volterra and Taeschner.

I. The bilingual child has only one lexical system comprising words from both languages.

II. Development of two distinct lexical systems although the child applies “the same syntactic rules to both languages".

III. Differentiation of two linguistic systems, lexical as well as syntactic.

At first, bilingual children have a single fused linguistic representation. Later, by the age of three, they begin to differentiate their two native languages.

Implication: Young bilinguals show language delay relative to monolinguals.

Support for this hypothesis: Young bilinguals in the one-word stage acquire words mostly in one but not both languages e.g., if the word 'cap' is acquired one language, it is not acquired in the other language. This suggests that initially, the young bilinguals do not differentiate between their two native vocabularies.

Drawback of this hypothesis: Bilingual children mix their languages because they lack appropriate lexical items in one language but it is possible that they find it in the other language. Therefore, they compensate by borrowing vocabularies from other language. This habit of mixing declines as a child learns to understand standards set by parents and shows awareness of his own ability to meet them. Slobin argues that acquisitional strategies that are independent of language, might be the reason behind mixing in bilingual childran.

Separate language system hypothesis
In contrast to the Unilateral theory, the Dual or separate language system hypothesis states that bilinguals have a separate system for the L1 and L2. They start learning from this system right from the start, such they both languages can be acquired simultaneously.

- Bilingual children show language mixing which is constrained by grammatical rules.

- sociolinguistic factors play an influential role, such as language mixing pattern of parents.

- Confusion does not cause mixing but instead pattern demonstrates the bilingual child's distinct ability and representations of the two languages from a young stage.

In 1989, Genesee argued:

“...contrary to most extant interpretations, bilingual children develop differentiated language systems from the beginning and are able to use their developing languages in contextually sensitive ways. A call for more serious attention to the possible role of parental input in the form of mixed utterances is made.”

Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP) Model or the Iceberg Analogy
Jim Cummins developed a model that much more accurately demosnstrated the workings of the mind in with regard to bilingual acquisition. It is called the common underlying proficiency (CUP) model or ‘iceberg analogy’. The CUP model is presented in the form of two icebergs. The icebergs are separate above the surface – that is, the two languages are obviously different in outward conversation. Underneath the surface, they are fused, and the two languages work together. This is where an individual stores his two languages. Both languages operate through a single central processing system from which both languages can contribute to, access, and use.

Baker, 2006 helped summarize the CUP model in the following points:

• There is one integrated source of thought despite the language in which the individual is operating.

• Bilingualism and multilingualism are only possible due to people's capacity to easily store two or more languages. It is relatively quite easy for people to work with two or more languages.

• Individuals can acquire information processing and educational skills through two languages as well as through one language. Both tasks work through the same central processor.

Bilingual Acquisition vs Monolingual Acquisition
Monolingual is a term used to describe an individual who knows or speaks only one language. As found by Pavlenko, 2002,“Adults in various regions and countries of the world continue learning additional languages throughout their lives; neither age nor aptitude is considered an important factor in the learning process”.

Bilingual is a term used to construe individuals who are fluent in more than one language and use those languages on a regular basis. According to research,babies that are raised in bilingual homes get a perpetual boost by the time they reach the age of 8 months that promotes resilient thinking and sharpens their mind, they can distinguish the sounds between both languages that they are regularly exposed to.

Language Development in Children
Various cues used by bilingual babies to distinguish the two languages are lip movements, mouth gestures, silent talking faces, the rhythm of jaw opening and closing and a comprehensive ensemble of facial movements.

Language development in Children usually passes through the ensuing Phases:

Stage-1
Between birth to 3, classified as the early phase, children render progress in phonology, syntax, morphology and semantics have a vocabulary of about 1000 words and use language for various purposes like responding and requesting.

Stage-2
Between ages 3 to 4 classified as the middle phase,children acquire more accurate pronunciations,increase the length and complexity of their sentences,involve interrogative words to test their hypotheses,ascertain their perceptions of time and quantity,may have more extensive vocabulary even though their comprehension of the same is limited,engage in speech modification which is effective, appropriate and incorporate politeness maxims to a certain degree.

Stage-3
Finally in the late phase which is between 5 to 6,children will use more than six words per sentence in each acquired language, which shows prominent advancement in semantics and comprehension for both languages. Their apprehension of language register is competent with regard to the setting and person.They are able to adjust speech to the needs of their listeners and are more productive with clarifying meanings attached to their words.

The Bilingual Paradox
During Language development, Children mix their languages to varying degrees with their own developing language preference, this is not a sign of linguistic confusion but a common phenomenon for bilingual and multilingual people more appropriately explained as code switching.

The reasons that paradoxical views of bilingual acquisition persist are that even though bilingual language acquisition is the norm in many parts of the world and has fueled a widespread belief that young children can effortlessly acquire two or more languages, there is also the belief that early bilingual language exposure may cause language confusion as well as significant delay in language development. This is prominently known as `bilingual paradox'.

Parents and educationists possess the general angst that exposing a child to another language too early may interfere with ‘normal’ language development.

Contemporary scientific research done to determine whether young bilinguals are tacitly aware of their dual language acquisition as compared to one, illustrated two classes of hypotheses namely; unitary and differentiated language systems.Unitary language system hypothesis asserts that children exposed to two languages first have a single fused linguistic representation, and it is only by age of 3 that they begin to differentiate their two native languages. This assertion of children's initial linguistic knowledge being fused implies that they undergo protracted language development as they sort out their two input languages which is consistent with the inkling of public perception of language delay in young bilinguals.

So as to get a better understanding of differentiated language system hypotheses, a classic study, depicted that very young bilinguals in the one word stage have few semantically corresponding words across their two languages hence suggesting that young bilinguals do not initially differentiate between their two languages.

It therefore shows that bilingual toddlers incorporating rudimentary sentences around age 2 and beyond frequently mix words from both languages in their 2- or 3-word combinations. Thus, the suggestion persists that the language mixing seen in bilingual children exhibits regular grammatical patterns and is directly influenced by sociolinguistic factors. Language mixing is also sensitive to the specific language used by the adults around bilingual children. This is an additional demonstration of the bilingual child's distinct representations of their two input languages from an early age. These empirical studies are usually begun after important early language milestones have already passed or are in progress and each of the two classes of hypotheses above reflects a different side of the `bilingual paradox' coin.

Advantages of Bilingualism
One of the several advantages of being bilingual is multitasking. This is because their attention span and executive functioning is more advanced; they are therefore better at selective attention on specific features while ignoring the other salient misleading features and are capable of switching between tasks that require attention to different instructions.

Bilingual children discern how language works as having two different language systems which makes the structure of the language less unobstructed, this leads to spontaneous understanding of other languages as well.

These few advantages persist as the two languages of bilinguals are always active and bilinguals have to filter out one language when they speak the other, they thus have a massive practice of control mechanisms that require controlled attention and inhibition of conflicting cues that allows them to limit interference between their languages.

Bilingualism also proves to be beneficial as a cognitive advantage,this is because regular use of two languages appears to delay the onset of Alzheimer's and even Dementia.

Aging bilinguals thus have better cognitive functioning as compared to aging monolinguals.

Interference vs Interlanguage
Interference is a term that is currently decreasingly used as it is considered as negative and derogatory.It usually occurs in second language acquisition when vocabulary and syntax patterns from a learner's first language causes errors in second language performance.(Encyclopedia of Bilingualism)

Interference usually occurs when there is no clear L1 dominance which means that the current bilingual did not become so simultaneously but is semilingual and therefore there is cross language confusion.

Interlanguage is an intermediate form of language used by second language learners in the process of learning a language.Interlanguage consists of transfers from first language and is thus an approximation system with regard to grammar and communication.(Encyclopedia of Bilingualism)

All bilinguals are at some stage of Interlanguage which results in them needing L1 to process information.Therefore Interlanguage is a scaffold and not a crutch.