The interest in the acquisition of third and additional languages that has developed in the last few years can be seen in an increasing number of publications that try to identify processes that are different when the acquisition of a second language and other languages are compared (see, e.g., Cenoz, Reference Cenoz2009; Jessner, Reference Jessner2006; Safont, Reference Safont2005; or articles published in the International Journal of Multilingualism). This volume is an example of such an interest and reviews research on the acquisition of third and additional languages. This volume is relatively short and contains six chapters and a conclusion. The first chapter, “The Multilingual Learner and Speaker,” is an introduction to the area of third (or additional) language acquisition as different from SLA and includes a discussion of the terminology. Chapters 2 and 3, “Factors Affecting Non-Native Language Influence” and “What Can Be Transferred from One or More Non-Native Language to Another,” focus on crosslinguistic influence by analyzing both the factors that affect the influence of previously acquired languages and the different elements that are transferred to the target language. The fact that learners can transfer elements from a second language and not only from the first when acquiring additional languages is crucial to the distinction between SLA and the acquisition of additional languages. The next two chapters, “Multilingual Speech Production” and “The Multilingual Lexicon,” focus on the psycholinguistic processes involved in language processing and the characteristics of the multilingual lexicon. Chapter 6, “Prior Language Knowledge, Cognitive Development and the Language Acquisition Process,” summarizes research on the possible advantages that bilinguals and multilinguals can have over monolinguals when learning languages. The role of metalinguistic awareness is associated with these advantages.
The main conclusion of the volume is that there are enough differences between SLA and the acquisition of additional languages to consider multilinguals as learners and speakers in their own right. De Angelis also considers that even limited exposure to a second language can influence the acquisition of additional languages. The volume is clearly written and is an up-to-date account of the main differences between SLA and the acquisition of additional languages. The chapters on crosslinguistic influence are the strongest, providing a state-of-the-art account of research on the topic, with the exception of studies on the pragmatic and discourse levels. One of the limitations of this volume is that it focuses on the psycholinguistic aspects of language acquisition and gives little attention to social and emotional aspects. This shortcoming is justified to a certain extent because the author’s aim is to focus on “multilinguals’ acquisition and production processes” (p. 1). Within this more psycholinguistic focus, an overview of studies that use neuroimaging would have been welcome to see if these studies also confirm the trends reported in this volume. In conclusion, this volume is an important contribution not only for those interested in the acquisition of additional languages but also for scholars working on different aspects of SLA.
