Bilinguals and Trauma: Psycholinguistic and Sociolinguistic Considerations

211 

Research-Oriented Paper 

Non-language specific 

English 

Heidi Shaker  
Loyola University Maryland

Heidi Shaker  
Loyola University Maryland

Empirical studies show that many coordinate bilinguals demonstrate language independence, meaning that they acquire and maintain two separate language codes. Language independence has significant psychological implications, since different variations of object relations, ego boundaries, psychic structures, as well as attachment systems are encoded into each language. Psycholinguistics and trauma studies intersect when trauma causes a person to fragment into different self-states, which then become organized and contained within different languages. In such cases, coordinate bilinguals may distance themselves from trauma or dissociate from themselves through their language choice. This presentation will present findings from psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics related to bilingualism and trauma. It will explore linguistic strategies that bilinguals often use to manage and process trauma, as well as pedagogical implications for the foreign language classroom.

This presentation aims to present findings from psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics related to bilingualism and trauma. It explores linguistic strategies that coordinate bilinguals may use to manage and process trauma, as well as pedagogical implications for the foreign language classroom.

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