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Related Experiment Videos

Language switching mechanisms in simultaneous interpreters: an ERP study.

Alice Mado Proverbio1, Giuliana Leoni, Alberto Zani

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126 Milano, Italy. mado.proverbio@unimib.it

Neuropsychologia
|August 26, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Bilingual interpreters show reduced brain lateralization for language processing, especially during code-switching between their native (L1) and second (L2) languages. This suggests distinct neural organization for semantic integration in bilinguals.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Bilingualism involves managing multiple languages, requiring inhibitory control over non-target languages.
  • The neural underpinnings of code-switching and language switching in bilinguals are not fully understood.
  • Event-related potentials (ERPs) offer insights into the timing and localization of cognitive processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neurofunctional mechanisms of code-switching in simultaneous interpreters.
  • To compare language processing in native (L1) and second (L2) languages within bilingual individuals.
  • To examine the neural basis of semantic integration during language switching.

Main Methods:

  • Recorded ERPs in professional Italian interpreters and monolingual controls during a semantic judgment task.

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  • Presented sentences in Italian (L1), English (L2), or mixed-language (L1/L2) conditions.
  • Analyzed ERPs time-locked to the final word, focusing on lexical and code-switching effects.
  • Measured reaction times (RTs) for sentence comprehension.

    • Main Results:

    • Interpreters exhibited less hemispheric lateralization for linguistic processing in L2 compared to L1.
    • Early effects of lexical and code-switching were observed at left anterior sites (140-200 ms).
    • Larger N400 amplitudes for L2 in mixed-language conditions indicated greater processing load, not seen in unmixed conditions.
    • Interpreters were faster in L2-to-L1 switches than L1-to-L2 switches.

    Conclusions:

    • Bilingualism, particularly with later L2 acquisition, leads to a different functional organization of semantic integration systems.
    • Reduced lateralization in L2 processing suggests more bilateral neural engagement in interpreters.
    • The findings highlight distinct neural mechanisms for processing native versus non-native languages and during code-switching.