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Combined Invasive Subcortical and Non-invasive Surface Neurophysiological Recordings for the Assessment of Cognitive and Emotional Functions in Humans

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Bilingual language control: an event-related brain potential study.

Ingrid K Christoffels¹, Christine Firk, Niels O Schiller

¹Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University, The Netherlands. ichristoffels@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

|March 30, 2007

Summary

Bilinguals experience language switching costs equally across both languages. However, mixed language contexts slow down the first language (L1) more than the second language (L2).

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Area of Science:

Psycholinguistics
Cognitive Neuroscience
Computational Linguistics

Background:

Bilingual language processing involves managing multiple languages.
Understanding language switching mechanisms is crucial for comprehending bilingual cognition.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural and behavioral costs associated with switching between first (L1) and second (L2) languages in bilingual speakers.
To examine the influence of cognate status and language context (blocked vs. mixed) on language switching.

Main Methods:

Event-related potentials (ERPs) and naming latencies were recorded from unbalanced German (L1)-Dutch (L2) bilinguals.
Participants performed a picture-naming task under blocked (monolingual) and mixed (alternating) language conditions.
Cognate status of translation equivalents was manipulated to assess phonological activation.

Main Results:

Cognate facilitation was observed in both L1 and L2, indicating phonological activation of the non-target language.
Language switching incurred similar costs for both L1 and L2, with ERP modulations observed.
Mixed language contexts led to slower L1 naming latencies and distinct ERP effects compared to L2.

Conclusions:

Bilingual language control involves both sustained and transient components.
Language switching costs are symmetrical, but mixed contexts differentially impact L1 processing.
Findings contribute to theories of bilingual language production and control.