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Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

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Phonological processing differences in bilinguals and monolinguals.

Henna Tamminen¹, Maija S Peltola, Heidi Toivonen

¹Department of Phonetics, University of Turku, Finland; Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Turku, Finland. henna.tamminen@utu.fi

International Journal of Psychophysiology : Official Journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology

|October 17, 2012

Summary

Balanced bilinguals exhibit slower speech sound processing compared to monolinguals, indicating intertwined phonological systems that may hinder language access. This research explores bilingualism and speech perception.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Neuroscience
Psycholinguistics
Speech Perception

Background:

Bilingualism involves managing multiple phonological systems.
The interaction between these systems can influence cognitive processing.
Previous research has explored cognitive differences between monolinguals and bilinguals.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if balanced bilinguals and monolinguals perceive speech sounds differently.
To determine if phonological systems in bilinguals interact, affecting language processing.
To examine the impact of bilingualism on preattentive speech sound processing.

Main Methods:

Comparing mismatch negativity (MMN) responses between Finnish monolinguals and Finnish-Swedish bilinguals.
Utilizing individually selected, native language speech stimuli.
Analyzing MMN latency as an indicator of preattentive processing speed and strength.

Main Results:

Balanced bilinguals demonstrated significantly longer MMN latency compared to monolinguals.
This suggests that preattentive speech sound processing is slower and weaker in bilinguals.
The findings indicate an intertwined nature of the two phonological systems in bilinguals.

Conclusions:

The intertwined phonological systems in balanced bilinguals appear to impede exemplar access.
Bilingualism influences the efficiency of preattentive speech sound processing.
Cognitive control mechanisms in bilinguals may underlie these observed differences in processing speed.