The Role of Language and Emotion in Therapy with Bilingual Clients.

Language appears at multiple, levels of representation in memory. In most cases, languages have a particular system of sounds (phonology), meaning (semantics), form (orthography), and common usage (pragmatics). For a bilingual speaker, these appear for two different sets of concepts. Sometimes, these concepts overlap, as is the case for translations. In other cases, languages have separate representations for language-specific ideas. In this article, the cognitive models that are currently used to describe multiple language representation in memory will be described with reference to how form and meaning are related across languages. How one acquires a new language will be reviewed as well as the development of connections between languages. Next, word types will be mentioned such as concrete, abstract, and emotion with an eye towards how they are uniquely coded in a dominant versus a subordinate language. Emotion words tend to be more closely tied to the native or dominant language, than to a secondary or subordinate language. A discussion of this finding will lead directly into a discussion of how emotion-laden information can best be expressed through the strategic use of language switching and language mixing, and of how a bilingual form of therapy can provide positive outcomes within a counseling or clinical setting. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/GCP)* Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. The Role of Language and Emotion in Therapy with Bilingual Clients Jeanette Altarriba, Ph.D. University at Albany, State University of New York Abstract Language appears at multiple levels of representation in memory. In most cases, languages have a particular system of sounds (phonology), meaning (semantics), form (orthography), and common usage (pragmatics). For a bilingual speaker, these appear for two different sets of concepts. Sometimes, these concepts overlap, as is the case for translations. In other cases, languages have separate representations for languagespecific ideas. In this article, the cognitive models that are currently used to describe multiple language representation in memory will be described with reference to how form and meaning are related across languages. How one acquires a new language will be reviewed as well as the development of connections between languages. Next, word types will be mentioned such as concrete, abstract, and emotion with an eye towards how they are uniquely coded in a dominant versus a subordinate language. Emotion words tend to be more closely tied to the native or dominant language, than to a secondary or subordinate language. A discussion of this finding will lead directly into a discussion of how emotion-laden information can best be expressed through the strategic use of language switching and language mixing, and of how a bilingual form of therapy can provide positive outcomes within a counseling or clinical setting.Language appears at multiple levels of representation in memory. In most cases, languages have a particular system of sounds (phonology), meaning (semantics), form (orthography), and common usage (pragmatics). For a bilingual speaker, these appear for two different sets of concepts. Sometimes, these concepts overlap, as is the case for translations. In other cases, languages have separate representations for languagespecific ideas. In this article, the cognitive models that are currently used to describe multiple language representation in memory will be described with reference to how form and meaning are related across languages. How one acquires a new language will be reviewed as well as the development of connections between languages. Next, word types will be mentioned such as concrete, abstract, and emotion with an eye towards how they are uniquely coded in a dominant versus a subordinate language. Emotion words tend to be more closely tied to the native or dominant language, than to a secondary or subordinate language. A discussion of this finding will lead directly into a discussion of how emotion-laden information can best be expressed through the strategic use of language switching and language mixing, and of how a bilingual form of therapy can provide positive outcomes within a counseling or clinical setting.