Applied Neuropsychology: Adult ISSN: 2327-9095 (Print) 2327-9109 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/hapn21 Private speech in simultaneous and early Spanish/ English bilinguals Alfredo Ardila, Kate Benettieri, Yoandra Church, Angela Orozco & Carlos Saucedo To cite this article: Alfredo Ardila, Kate Benettieri, Yoandra Church, Angela Orozco & Carlos Saucedo (2017): Private speech in simultaneous and early Spanish/English bilinguals, Applied Neuropsychology: Adult, DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2017.1370422 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23279095.2017.1370422 Published online: 04 Oct 2017. Submit your article to this journal View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=hapn21 Download by: [Florida International University] Date: 04 October 2017, At: 08:48 APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY: ADULT https://doi.org/10.1080/23279095.2017.1370422 none defined Private speech in simultaneous and early Spanish/English bilinguals Alfredo Ardila, Kate Benettieri, Yoandra Church, Angela Orozco and Carlos Saucedo Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA ABSTRACT KEYWORDS This study analyzed private speech in a group of sixty Spanish–English bilinguals. A Private Speech Private speech; simultaneous Questionnaire including questions about seven different conditions, that is, spiritual thinking (e.g., bilingualism; Spanish/ praying, meditating), dreaming, thinking, problem-solving, recalling past events, recalling English bilingualism; information, and dealing with stress, was designed. Furthermore, the sample was divided into successive bilingualism; verbal thought two subgroups: born in the United States (simultaneous bilinguals) and born outside the United States but arriving to the country before the age of 10 (early successive bilinguals). In both groups and for all the seven conditions, English was more frequently used in private speech, and English was also the dominant language in our participants. Early bilinguals, however, more frequently used Spanish in different private speech situations. These findings suggest that the linguistic environment during early life has a significant impact on the language selected in different internal language situations, but the dominant language is more frequently used in private speech conditions. Introduction plays an important role on diverse situations, including but not limited to memory, problem solving, thinking, The idea that there is a private speech—internal and emotional release. Private speech may be converted language for ourselves—has a long history. Beginning in inner speech. Examples of inner speech include with Plato (Theaetetus 189e–190a and Sophist 263e) silently recalling past events, going over future plans, frequently has been proposed that thinking means to and creating mental scenarios to recreate a particular use a private speech; this idea has been expressed situation or solve a problem (Morin, 2012). According by diverse authors throughout history. Vygotsky to Pavlenko (2011), inner speech is expressed in an (1934/2012) systematized the concept of inner speech identifiable linguistic code. Assuming that there is a when he referred to three different types of speech: language that we use for thinking and other subjective “external speech” (or “social speech,” that is, the activities, the following question arises: What language speech used in social interactions), “egocentric speech” do bilinguals prefer to use? (or “private speech,” the speech for ourselves), and Larsen, Schrauf, Fromholt, and Rubin (2002) studied “inner speech” (internalized social speech). Important Polish immigrants in Denmark and their use of inner to note, there is a process of “internalization” in which speech for autobiographical memories retrieval. The the first is transformed into the second and finally into authors found that memory recalls in the native Downloaded by [Florida International University] at 08:48 04 October 2017 the third. As a matter of fact, private speech represents a language (i.e., Polish) dropped significantly after immi- kind of halfway between “external” and “inner” speech gration to Denmark. In addition, they found significant but with very distinctive properties. Private speech is differences in inner speech usage relative to age of neither social communication nor silent thought, but immigration. Those individuals who migrated later in vocalized thought (Ehrich, 2006; Jones, 2009; Vygotsky, adulthood tended to have more instances of inner 1934/2012). speech in Polish when compared to those who migrated The analysis of private speech, or the “activity of in their early years. Such findings might indicate talking to oneself in silence” (Morin, 2012, p. 436), that memory representation and retrieval are closely offers a window to the individual’s subjective world. associated to the linguistic system in which those events The language we speak may also be used for recalling (i.e., autobiographical) took place. Therefore, memories past-events, engaging in deep-thought, or thinking may be linguistically encoded and dependent on the before giving a solution to a problem. Private speech CONTACT Dr. Alfredo Ardila [email protected] Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8 Street, Miami, FL 33199. © 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC 2 A. ARDILA ET AL. language in which the individual experienced those females, 419 males) speaking a total of 77 different L1 s, memories. a further analysis of internal speech in bilinguals and Grosjean (2010) conducted a survey with bilinguals multilinguals was advanced. There were 221 bilinguals, and trilinguals in which the question “in what language 362 trilinguals, 390 quadrilinguals, and 486 pentalin- you think” was presented; that is, what is the internal guals. Data were collected through an on-line question- language (private speech) used to talk to ourselves: naire (Dewaele & Pavlenko, 2001–2003). Analysis of 70% of the participants replied “both languages” or variance (ANOVAs) confirmed that languages acquired “all languages” (for trilinguals). Grosjean consider that later in life are less likely to be used for internal this answer is not surprising, because bilinguals use (emotional) speech compared to early acquired their languages for different purposes, in different languages. Significant differences in language choice domains of life, and with different people. Therefore, for general use, inner speech, and inner emotional the private and inner speech in bilinguals can be either speech in the L2, L3, L4, and L5 were disclosed. These one, depending the specific context. languages were used less frequently for inner speech Jimenez-Jimenez (2013) studied bilingual’s than for general use and even less frequently for production of private speech during problem-solving emotional inner speech. tasks. Thirty bilingual individuals were divided into Similarly, a study by Dewaele (2015) compared the three groups: English dominant, Spanish dominant, language preferences of 1,454 adult multilinguals for and balanced bilinguals (i.e., individuals who expressed inner speech and for emotional inner speech in their to be equally comfortable using both languages). The different languages. It was found that bilinguals tend author concluded that language dominance plays a cen- to use their first dominant language for emotional inter- tral role in the language participants’ used to express nal dialogs (i.e., “the language of the heart”). Language their verbalized thinking, especially when solving logic, dominance was again a determining factor for recreat- mathematical, and visual-spatial problems. Instances of ing feelings and expressing anger. Those individuals private speech were consistent with the dominant lan- who acquired a second language (L2) later in life signifi- guage of the individuals. Balanced bilinguals, however, cantly reported using their native/dominant language use both languages fairly equally during different tasks. (L1) more frequently for emotional internal speech This study suggests that internal speech may be directly expression. However, when individuals do use their L1 linked to language dominance: when individuals and become totally assimilated in the L2 culture, L1 acquired higher levels of proficiency in both languages, ceases to serve this function, and L2 becomes the they can encode “thought” in any of the languages avail- preferred language for emotional internal speech. able to them when encountered with problem-solving Language used in dreaming represents a very tasks. De Guerrero (2005) analyzed inner speech and idiosyncratic type of communication. Grosjean (2010) mental rehearsal in second language (L2) in a sample found in a survey that almost as many bilinguals as of 472 Spanish-speaking university English as a second trilinguals (64% in all) said that they dreamed in one language (ESL) students. She concluded that inner or the other language, depending on the dream (when speech serves the following functions: as a memory a language was involved, of course). The conclusion aid for L2 words, self-instructional, evaluative, prepara- seems evident: depending on the situation and the tory, dialogic, play, and affective. person we are dreaming about, we will use the one Downloaded by [Florida International University] at 08:48 04 October 2017 It has been suggested