Bilingualism and Linguistic Interference
Bilingualism refers to the ability of an individual to use two or more languages proficiently. While bilingualism offers numerous cognitive, cultural, and economic advantages, it can also lead to a phenomenon known as linguistic interference. Linguistic interference occurs when features of one language influence the production or comprehension of another language in a bilingual or multilingual individual. This influence can manifest in various linguistic aspects, including phonology, syntax, morphology, and vocabulary. 1. Phonological Interference: Phonological interference involves the influence of one language's sound patterns on the pronunciation of another language. This can result in the transfer of accent, intonation, or specific phonetic features from one language to another. Example: Consider the English word "school." A Malayalam-English bilingual speaker might unintentionally replace the English "s" sound with the Malayalam retrof