Local to Vocal: Neuro-linguistic Patterns of DLD in Bilingual and Trilingual Children through Generational and Environmental Lenses

Abstract

The paper aims to trace the neuro-linguistic patterns of Developmental Language Disorder(DLD) amongst bilingual/multilingual children by bridging the gap between the factors of environment and generational shift affecting linguistic acquisition. DLD is a perpetual linguistic difficulty experienced by children which creates a significant impact on everyday interaction or school learning (Bishop et al, 2016,2017). The research primarily aims at giving a complete analysis of the unique neuro-linguistic profiles of DLD, aside from the mere language differences in Bilingual and Trilingual children. The study makes use of three tools by incorporating both qualitative and quantitative cross sectional methods. It includes the Parent/Caregiver Questionnaire, Teacher/Therapist Questionnaire and Observational and Clinical Notes.Both online and offline interviews with parents and children were conducted to discuss environmental and generational factors affecting language acquisition. Findings demonstrate a slower acquisition of the Second Language(L2), difficulties with the grammatical structures and language processing deficits. Environmental factors were found to inherently influence the neuro-linguistic profiles of children. The study highlights the necessity of culturally and socially sensitive assessment tools for multilingual populations and clarifies the manner in which Generational and Environmental factors shape linguistic outcomes.

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