A new study by a pair of researchers from Florida Atlantic University, recently published in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, reveals that bilingual children of immigrant parents display markedly different conversational styles depending on the language they speak each time – or, if you will, a different cultural personality for each language.
We used Claude to bring, in one language, the thrilling bilingual conclusions.
The study, which focused on Spanish- and English-speaking toddlers in South Florida, found that they adhered more to the 'standards' of Latin American cultures when speaking Spanish, compared to more 'American' behavior when speaking English.
The pattern was due to mothers maintaining distinct cultural communication practices, despite living in the United States;
When interacting in Spanish, mothers talked more and listened less to children compared to the more egalitarian style of dialogue typical of English speakers.
Accordingly, children spoke less in the conversations they had in Spanish, emphasizing listening.
But in switching to English, the conversation became more 'balanced', similar to Americans of European descent.
Study author Dr. Erica Hoff concludes that immigrant mothers figuratively switch between cultural mindsets using a "dimmer switch for cultural mores." Length of time living in the U.S. also affected acculturation, with longer exposure subtly shifting mothers' interactions in Spanish toward The more 'talkative' American standard.
And yet, a cultural difference is still evident between conversations conducted in the two languages.
The study emphasizes that children's social norms may be misinterpreted as difficulty in the English language in school settings.
Dr. Hoff points out that "they are not going to be talkative - and it's not because they know less or are less capable.
It's because that's what they were taught."
Bottom line, the research shows that children pick up different cultural characteristics from conversations in different languages, and over time develop the ability to switch between different cultural identities in conversations in the same languages, at the same time as changing the vocabulary and accent.
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