New STINT network grant to Gullberg: Unravelling the multilingual mind

Our knowledge of multilingualism is based almost exclusively on Western European conditions where societal monolingualism is seen as the norm. For reasons of validity and generalizability, it is therefore important position to broaden the knowledge base to include contexts where multilingualism is the norm and not the exception. In this project, researchers and graduate students at the Centre for Languages and Literature, LU Humanities Lab, and Stellenbosch University will investigate multilingualism in South Africa, a country with 11 official languages. The project provides a unique opportunity to examine how the everyday use of more than two languages affects language users and language processing. Ultimately, the project will open new vistas on the human capacity for language. The project will also contribute to resource building in that expertise in the Humanities Lab will help create the first psycholinguistic lab in Africa. The kick-off meeting takes place in Pretoria March 16-17.