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From: Pat Roberts
Date: 11 Oct 2010
Time: 16:22:22 -0500
Remote Name: 74.198.12.4
Yes, bilingualism is so very interesting. Glad you think so too ! The behaviour you describe is very common. To avoid a feared sound or a word where it seems stuttering is likely, B-PWS often switch to the other language. This is obviously an avoidance strategy in someone who normally stays in a single language. In some communities where many people speak both languages, it is acceptable for people to mix languages in a single conversation, or even a single sentence. In these cases, it takes a bit of probing, discussing with the client to figure out when this is "because I know we both speak both languages" and when it is an avoidance trick.