On the state of the multi-competent mind

Extensive research into second language acquisition and bilingualism has brought about the realization that knowledge of more than one language has a profound impact on the individual, who as a result is likely to diverge from the monolingual population not only in terms of observable linguistic ability but also with regard to general knowledge and cognition. To embrace this finding and give it a firm theoretical footing, COOK (1996: 65, 2002, 2003) coined the term multi-competence, which he defined as “knowledge of more than one language in the same mind”. This definition expands the Chomskyan notion of competence, which adopted the model of the ideal monolingual speaker/hearer who was in possession of a fairly homogeneous, if not monolithic, body of knowledge as a result of UG-constrained interactions with the environment. However, multi-competence does not imply monolingual command of either the L1 or L2. In fact, COOK (2005) understands it as a state of mind containing the L1 along with the L2 interlanguage, where the latter is seen as a system in its own right, an idea developed by SELINKER (1974) and refined by L2 acquisition research (ARABSKI, 1979, 1997; CORDER, 1981 a; LARSEN-FREEMAN, 1976 b)