Phonology in Multilingual Grammars

This book uses linguistic theory to explain the complex knowledge that bilinguals have about the sound systems (phonology) of the languages they know. John Archibald probes the nature of the underlying mental grammar of bilinguals, providing examples to build the argument that such a grammar is richly structured and highly complex. He emphasizes that phonology is about cognition, not the physics of sound. By showing that second language learners' grammars are complex (even when they speak with an accent), this book helps overcome some of the negative stereotypes of non-native speakers around the world.

John Archibald has been a Professor of Linguistics at the University of Victoria since 2010, following 19 years in the Linguistics Department at the University of Calgary. He specializes in the field of second language acquisition, particularly second language phonology. He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, and has previously been President of the Canadian Linguistic Association and co-editor of Second Language Research and the TESL Canada Journal. His many publications include Contemporary Linguistic Analysis (8th edition, 2015; co-edited with William O'Grady) and over 50 articles and book chapters in journals such as Second Language Research, Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, and Studies in Second Language Acquisition.