ABSTRACT
All second language learners have one thing in common: knowledge of a first language. This chapter focuses on the neurocognitive effects of learning a second language based on previous knowledge that is present from having already learned a language, otherwise known as cross-linguistic transfer. Specifically, this chapter highlights various historical perspectives that have shaped the field of cross-linguistic transfer, as well as the current critical issues and findings. Emphasis is placed primarily on transfer at three different linguistic levels; phonological, lexical, and syntactic. These levels are explored through a neurocognitive lens in order to investigate the neurological underpinnings that constitute the role that a first language may (or may not) have on the representation and processing of a second language.
