ABSTRACT
The bilingual self is born as the result of emergence of primordial consciousness within the undifferentiated matrix of the mother-infant relationship. Establishment of a secure enough self, in turn, enable the subsequent emergence and slow development of reflective representational thought that is part of the process of separation and individuation out of the undifferentiated mother-infant state. The work of John Bowlby and those influenced by him is summarized, along with contemporary neuroscience research into infant-mother attachment and the emergence of self and language. The language of primordial consciousness commences in the latter stage of gestation from a matrix including the neural capacity for primordial consciousness as evinced by REM stage sleep, the coming on line of the auditory system, and the crucial catalytic force of maternal voice and expression. The maternal contribution is called motherese or IDL. The mother tongue is a language unto itself and not simply a stage in the development of thought and language. The language of reflective representational thought begins around the second and third year when there is sufficient myelination and development of the frontal lobes. The process of development of reflective representational thought is outlined including the development and meaning of pronouns, continuous mental representations, and self-object differentiation.
