Deborah Bethlehem’s scientific contributions

This study investigated verbal fluency abilities in a sub-group of Zulu-English bilingual speakers (n=35). Subjects were required to generate a list of animal names in English-only, Zulu-only, and then in bilingual mode, where both languages could be used. Results were analysed in terms of raw scores and the influence of language mode factors, as well as the effects of age of language acquisition, medium of education, and gender on performance. The results indicate that, if the individual has a high proficiency in both languages, and if both languages can for some reason not be assessed, it appears preferable to test verbal fluency in English (L2).