Chapter 2. From the spatial ego to cognitive control

Abstract

Ellen Bialystok’s early work from 1976–1988 has had a lasting influence on the fields of bilingualism and linguistics. This chapter reviews her seminal work establishing bilingualism as a cross-disciplinary area of study in 1976. It then explores Bialystok’s language processing research of the 1980’s, articulating two of her crucial, yet often overlooked achievements. First, Bialystok’s early information processing models for word-level representations set the stage for an explosion of cognitive bilingualism research by identifying cognitive processes involved in second language acquisition. Second, her work set a precedent for understanding the spectrum of language experiences and their complexities, providing essential insight into why even subtle distinctions should be considered and reported when describing bilinguals. Presciently, Bialystok’s early work anticipated current understandings and future directions for bilingualism research, making her sustained contributions to the area an invaluable asset for continued exploration.