This book is part of the series Studies in Bilingualism, which focuses on the psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic aspects of bilingualism. There is much anecdotal evidence that suggests that bilinguals often feel as though they have different personalities depending on which language they are speaking, and this volume clearly illustrates this phenomenon. Koven uses discourse-centered approaches to document how Portuguese-French bilingual participants live with and explore their multiple identities based on their two languages.

This volume is organized into three sections: theoretical and ethnographic context, bilinguals’ identity performance, and individual speaker profiles. Part 1, “Theoretical and Ethnographic Context,” includes an introduction, which provides an overview of the book and a brief background of the literature involving bilingualism and identity, as well as two other chapters. Chapter 2, “Discourse-Semiotic Approaches to Bilingual Selfhood,” explores more deeply the relationship of different identities across languages, whereas chapter 3, “Ethnographic and Sociolinguistic Contexts of Luso-Descendants in France and Portugal,” is a sociocultural exploration of the identities that come with being a Luso-descendant who lives in France.

Part 2, “Bilinguals’ Identity Performance,” is composed of four chapters. Chapter 4, “Bilinguals’ Reflections about the Impact of Two Languages on Context and Self,” describes the participants’ personal reactions to how they feel when they speak French and Portuguese. Chapters 5 and 6, “Enacting Bilingual Selves in Narrative,” are examinations of the actual discourse patterns used by the participants when speaking the two languages. Chapter 7, “Listeners’ Perceptions of Bilinguals in Each Language,” explores third-party perceptions of the dialogue in these languages. Part 3, entitled “Individual Speaker Profiles,” includes detailed profiles of two of the bilingual participants. Chapters 8 and 9 focus on the individual experiences of Teresa and Isabel, respectively, giving the book an ethnographic perspective. The book’s conclusion, which offers a synthesis of the work as a whole, is also included in this section.

This volume is an excellent example of successful qualitative research and would be a useful reference for any researcher in this field. From a pedagogical standpoint, this book would be extremely useful as a text for a course in discourse analysis and as a supplemental text for a qualitative research class. However, at $165.00 for the hardcover edition, the price is prohibitively expensive for graduate students; at the time of this review, no paperback edition was available. Nonetheless, it is a title that should appear on the reference list for any qualitative research methodology course.

This book offers a unique perspective on the intricacies involved in being bilingual. Although many bilinguals will confirm that they somehow feel like they have different personalities when speaking two different languages, there has been very little systematic documentation of this phenomenon. In this volume, which is the result of a methodologically sound empirical study, Koven successfully illustrates both self-perceptions and external perceptions of bilinguals interacting in their two languages and the repercussions thereof. Through discourse-centered approaches, the author systematically elucidates for the reader how bilinguals and those who interact with bilinguals can see distinct personalities arise with distinct languages.