ABSTRACT

The Influence of Social Context on Bilingualism When I was growing up, my younger brother had a difficult time rolling his Spanish r’s He would say fe-do-ca-dil for fer-ro-ca-ril (r as in rhinoceros and c as in cat), which in English means train. English speakers can probably empathize with my brother, as the Spanish /r/ is also difficult to pronounce in the English language. In trying to be a good brother, I would design various phonetic exercises for my brother to practice (“say RRRRAAAA”), but the more I tried, the more self conscious he would be, and the less he would try. My brother’s agony strikes at the heart of social psychology, which can be loosely defined as the influence people have on each other. If you have learned a second language as an adult, you know the role that others have played in your level of fluency and mastery. If others pressured you or made fun of you, it probably took you longer to learn that second language; likewise, if others were supportive, it probably took you less time.