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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task
Published on: February 26, 2020
Does bilingualism change native-language reading? Cognate effects in a sentence context
Eva Van Assche1, Wouter Duyck, Robert J Hartsuiker
1Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. eva.vanassche@ugent.be
Abstract:
Becoming a bilingual can change a person's cognitive functioning and language processing in a number of ways. This study focused on how knowledge of a second language influences how people read sentences written in their native language. We used the cognate-facilitation effect as a marker of cross-lingual activations in both languages. Cognates (e.g., Dutch-English schip [ship]) and controls were presented in a sentence context, and eye movements were monitored. Results showed faster reading times for cognates than for controls. Thus, this study shows that one of people's most automated skills, reading in one's native language, is changed by the knowledge of a second language.
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