In the preceding chapters we have discussed the bilingual individual's language development and behaviour. We have insisted all along that the roots of this behaviour are to be found in social interactions which occur in social networks; both are embedded in broader social structures, such as groups, classes, etc. In the present chapter we analyse, from a social psychological perspective, the relationships between the individual and the sociocultural group or groups around him when two or more languages are in contact.

More specifically we focus on the following: the relationship between language and culture (Section 8.1); the development of ethnolinguistic identity (Section 8.2); bilinguality and ethnolinguistic identity (Section 8.3); bilinguality, perceptions and attitudes (Section 8.4) and the social psychological aspects of L2 acquisition (Section 8.5).

The bilingual's development and behaviour cannot be considered independently from society, its structure and its cultural dimension. It must be borne in mind that the development of language, and hence of bilinguality, is part and parcel of the socialisation process through which a child becomes a member of a given social group (see Section 4.1.1). The psychological mechanisms which result from this process should therefore be analysed within the framework of society and of the cultures in which they develop.

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

All definitions of culture agree that language is an important part of culture. There is a consensus that culture is a complex entity which comprises a set of symbolic systems, including knowledge, norms, values, beliefs, language, art and customs, as well as habits and skills learned by individuals as members of a given society.