Modularity in Bilingualism as an Opportunity for Cross‐Discipline Discussion

Abstract

As a first approximation, modular approaches to the study of bilingualism attempt to analyze the relevant cognitive components that make up a person's knowledge of two languages and his or her ability to use them. The objective would be to describe in what way, in fact, these components might be characterized as autonomous domains and how they interact with other components. Far from a unified approach to the problem of modeling linguistic competence and language proficiency, modularity is a concept that has given rise to a great diversity of views. Perhaps, as a blessing in disguise, this divergence could favor a greater openness for the coming together of new lines of discussion, especially in applied linguistics where major theoretical differences can often be temporally set aside. Why this is true is an interesting question in its own right, I suspect, having something to do with the modularity concept itself. Be that as it may, the study of bilingualism will serve to provide us with some limited common ground to explore the possibilities.