Francois Grosjean
Encyclopedia
François Grosjean is a Professor Emeritus and former Director of the Language and Speech Processing Laboratory at the University of Neuchâtel
(Switzerland
). His specialty is psycholinguistics
and his domains of interest are the perception, comprehension and production of language, be it speech
or sign language
, in monolinguals and bilinguals. He also has interests in biculturalism
, applied linguistics
, aphasia
, sign language
, and natural language processing
. He is better known for his work on bilingualism in which he has investigated the holistic view of bilingualism, language mode, the complementarity principle, and the processing of code-switching
and borrowing. In one of his most-cited papers, Grosjean argues that hearing-impaired children have the right to grow up bilingual, learning two languages—namely, sign language
and spoken language
.
Grosjean was born in Paris
(France
) in 1946 and spent his youth in France, Switzerland and England
. He received his degrees up to the Doctorat d'Etat from the University of Paris
, France. He started his academic career at the University of Paris 8 and then left for the United States in 1974, where he taught and did research in psycholinguistics at Northeastern University. While at Northeastern, Grosjean was also a Research Affiliate at the Speech Communication Laboratory at MIT. In 1987, he was appointed professor at the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland; he founded the Language and Speech Processing Laboratory and headed it for twenty years. In addition to his academic appointments, Grosjean has lectured occasionally at the Universities of Basel
, Zurich
and Oxford
. In 1998, he cofounded Bilingualism: Language and Cognition
, a Cambridge University Press journal
.
University of Neuchâtel
The University of Neuchâtel is a French-speaking university in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The University has five faculties and more than a dozen institutes, including arts and human sciences, natural sciences, law, economics and theology. The Faculty of Arts and Human Sciences is the largest...
(Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
). His specialty is psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistics
Psycholinguistics or psychology of language is the study of the psychological and neurobiological factors that enable humans to acquire, use, comprehend and produce language. Initial forays into psycholinguistics were largely philosophical ventures, due mainly to a lack of cohesive data on how the...
and his domains of interest are the perception, comprehension and production of language, be it speech
Speech
Speech is the human faculty of speaking.It may also refer to:* Public speaking, the process of speaking to a group of people* Manner of articulation, how the body parts involved in making speech are manipulated...
or sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
, in monolinguals and bilinguals. He also has interests in biculturalism
Biculturalism
Biculturalism in sociology involves two originally distinct cultures in some form of co-existence.A policy recognizing, fostering or encouraging biculturalism typically emerges in countries that have emerged from a history of national or ethnic conflict in which neither side has gained complete...
, applied linguistics
Applied linguistics
Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of study that identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems...
, aphasia
Aphasia
Aphasia is an impairment of language ability. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write....
, sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
, and natural language processing
Natural language processing
Natural language processing is a field of computer science and linguistics concerned with the interactions between computers and human languages; it began as a branch of artificial intelligence....
. He is better known for his work on bilingualism in which he has investigated the holistic view of bilingualism, language mode, the complementarity principle, and the processing of code-switching
Code-switching
In linguistics, code-switching is the concurrent use of more than one language, or language variety, in conversation. Multilinguals—people who speak more than one language—sometimes use elements of multiple languages in conversing with each other...
and borrowing. In one of his most-cited papers, Grosjean argues that hearing-impaired children have the right to grow up bilingual, learning two languages—namely, sign language
Sign language
A sign language is a language which, instead of acoustically conveyed sound patterns, uses visually transmitted sign patterns to convey meaning—simultaneously combining hand shapes, orientation and movement of the hands, arms or body, and facial expressions to fluidly express a speaker's...
and spoken language
Spoken language
Spoken language is a form of human communication in which words derived from a large vocabulary together with a diverse variety of names are uttered through or with the mouth. All words are made up from a limited set of vowels and consonants. The spoken words they make are stringed into...
.
Grosjean was born in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) in 1946 and spent his youth in France, Switzerland and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He received his degrees up to the Doctorat d'Etat from the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
, France. He started his academic career at the University of Paris 8 and then left for the United States in 1974, where he taught and did research in psycholinguistics at Northeastern University. While at Northeastern, Grosjean was also a Research Affiliate at the Speech Communication Laboratory at MIT. In 1987, he was appointed professor at the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland; he founded the Language and Speech Processing Laboratory and headed it for twenty years. In addition to his academic appointments, Grosjean has lectured occasionally at the Universities of Basel
University of Basel
The University of Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland, and is considered to be one of leading universities in the country...
, Zurich
University of Zurich
The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
and Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. In 1998, he cofounded Bilingualism: Language and Cognition
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition is a peer-reviewed linguistics journal, focusing on the study of multilingualism. The journal is currently published by Cambridge University Press and was cofounded by François Grosjean in 1998....
, a Cambridge University Press journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
.
Books
- Grosjean, F. (1982). Life with Two Languages: An Introduction to Bilingualism. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
- Lane, H. and Grosjean, F. (Eds.). (1982). Recent Perspectives on American Sign Language. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.
- Grosjean, F. and Frauenfelder, U. (Eds.). (1997). A Guide to Spoken Word Recognition Paradigms. Hove, England: Psychology Press.
- Grosjean, F. (2008). Studying Bilinguals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Grosjean, F. (2010). Bilingual: Life and Reality. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.
- Grosjean, F. & Dommergues, J-Y. (2011). La statistique en clair. Paris, France: Ellipses Edition.