Abstract
AbstractThis entry addresses three obvious issues that arise from any consideration of the topic of bilingualism and age. The first has to do with the relationship between maturational age and the characterization of bilingualism—the question of whether or not there is a clear empirical distinction between “early” and “late” bilingualism, relatable to a specific age; the second concerns the vexed question of whether maturational constraints—as the critical period claims—impede progress in bilinguals who begin their second language after their early years toward a very high (“native‐like”) degree of proficiency in both languages; and the third relates to the methodology of investigating maturational constraints, specifically examining the possible desirability of using the proficiency of early bilinguals rather than that of native speakers as the yardstick in the evaluation of the ultimate attainment of later L2 beginners.