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Differential bilingual laterality: mythical monster found in Wales
Judith Evans1, Lance Workman, Peter Mayer
1School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Glamorgan, Pontypridd, Wales, CF37 1DL, United Kingdom.
Brain and Language
|October 22, 2002
Summary
This study investigated bilingual brain laterality, finding that later-learned languages show greater right hemisphere processing. The language environment during development significantly influences this right hemisphere shift in bilingual individuals.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Research on bilingual brain laterality has yielded conflicting results, questioning the existence of differential processing.
- Previous studies often lack detailed information on language acquisition age and environment, crucial factors for understanding brain lateralization in bilinguals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To reexamine differential bilingual laterality in English-Welsh bilinguals.
- To investigate the influence of age and environment of language acquisition on brain lateralization patterns.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a split visual field paradigm to assess language processing.
- Compared four groups of bilinguals with varying ages and environments of acquisition for English and Welsh.
Main Results:
- Evidence supports greater right hemisphere processing for a later-learned language in bilingual individuals.
- The pattern of brain lateralization in bilinguals is significantly affected by the developmental language environment.
- A more pronounced right hemisphere shift for the later-learned language was observed in individuals raised in environments where the language was not regularly heard.
Conclusions:
- Bilingual language acquisition leads to differential brain lateralization, favoring right hemisphere involvement for later-learned languages.
- Environmental factors during development play a critical role in shaping the neural organization of bilingual language processing.