Includes bibl. references, glossary and subject index.

CHAPTER 1. Components of verbal communication Implicit and explicit memory -- Pragmatics -- Motivation and affect -- The Activation Threshold Hypothesis -- Conclusion

CHAPTER 2. Implicit and explicit language processes The nature of implicit rules -- Knowledge is not automatic and competence is not controlled -- The role of metalinguistic knowledge in L2 language acquisition -- The role of implicit/explicit memory in bilingual aphasia and amnesia -- The fundamental import of implicit/explicit memory for the study of bilingualism -- The critical period hypothesis -- Conclusion

CHAPTER 3. Bilingual aphasia Recovery patterns -- Attempted explanations -- The assessment of bilingual aphasia -- Implications of implicit/explicit memory dissociation for bilingual aphasia -- The contribution of bilingual aphasia research -- Implication for rehabilitation -- Conclusion

CHAPTER 4. Cerebral lateralization and localization Differential lateralization -- Differential localization -- Conclusion

CHAPTER 5. Neurofunctional modularity Characteristics of neurofunctional modules -- Neurofunctional subsystems -- Evidence of modularity -- Cognition : The subsystems Hypothesis generalized -- The human organ analogy -- Conclusion

CHAPTER 6. Neuroimaging studies of the bilingual brain What do neuroimaging studies of language evidence -- How do we know -- The problems with neuroimaging studies -- The need for a neurolinguistically informed theory -- Results cannot be generalized from single words to "language" -- Looking for converging evidence -- Conclusion

CHAPTER 7. An integrated perspective on bilingualism What is represented vs. how it is organized and processed -- Neurofunctional modularity -- Language and thought in bilinguals -- The Direct Access Hypothesis - The Subsystems Hypothesis - The integration of pragmatics -- The integration of conscious and unconscious processing -- The integration of motivation and affect -- The integration of the various hypothetical constructs -- Basic principles of an integrated neurolinguistic theory of bilingualism -- Conclusion

"This volume is the outcome of 25 years of research into the neurolinguistic aspects of bilingualism. In addition to reviewing the world literature and providing a state-of-the-art account, including a critical assessment of the bilingual neuroimaging studies, it proposes a set of hypotheses about the representation, organization and processing of two or more languages in one brain. It investigates the impact of the various manners of acquisition and use of each language on the extent of involvement of basic cerebral functional mechanisms. The effects of pathology as a means to understanding the normal functioning of verbal communication processes in the bilingual and multilingual brain are explored and compared with data from neuroimaging studies. In addition to its obvious research benefits, the clinical and social reasons for assessment of bilingual aphasia with a measuring instrument that is linguistically and culturally equivalent in each of a patient’s languages are stressed. The relationship between language and thought in bilinguals is examined in the light of evidence from pathology. The proposed linguistic theory of bilingualism integrates a neurofunctional model (the components of verbal communication and their relationships: implicit linguistic competence, metalinguistic knowledge, pragmatics, and motivation) and a set of hypotheses about language processing (neurofunctional modularity, the activation threshold, the language/cognition distinction, and the direct access hypothesis)." / "Ce volume est le fruit de 25 années de recherche sur les aspects neurolinguistiques du bilinguisme. En plus d’examiner la littérature mondiale et de fournir un compte rendu de pointe, y compris une évaluation critique des études bilingues de neuroimagerie, il propose un ensemble d’hypothèses sur la représentation, l’organisation et le traitement de deux langues ou plus dans un cerveau. Il étudie l’impact des différentes manières d’acquisition et d’utilisation de chaque langue sur l’étendue de l’implication des mécanismes fonctionnels cérébraux de base. Les effets de la pathologie comme moyen de comprendre le fonctionnement normal des processus de communication verbale dans le cerveau bilingue et multilingue sont explorés et comparés aux données d’études de neuroimagerie. En plus de ses avantages évidents pour la recherche, les raisons cliniques et sociales de l’évaluation de l’aphasie bilingue avec un instrument de mesure qui est linguistiquement et culturellement équivalent dans chacune des langues d’un patient sont soulignées. La relation entre le langage et la pensée dans les bilingues est examinée à la lumière des preuves de la pathologie. La théorie linguistique proposée du bilinguisme intègre un modèle neurofonctionnel (les composantes de la communication verbale et leurs relations : compétence linguistique implicite, connaissance métalinguistique, pragmatique et motivation) et un ensemble d’hypothèses sur le traitement du langage (modularité neurofonctionnelle, seuil d’activation, distinction langage/cognition, hypothèse d’accès direct)."