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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 6, 2026

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Published on: February 26, 2020

Head start for target language in bilingual listening.

Ian Fitzpatrick¹, Peter Indefrey¹

¹Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.

|October 23, 2013

Summary

Bilinguals process both meanings of interlingual homophones, with the target language having a processing advantage in L2 contexts. This processing advantage is also seen in language switches between L1 and L2.

Keywords:

Bilingualism EEG Event-related-potentials LPC Language N400

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Published on: December 14, 2012

Area of Science:

Psycholinguistics
Neuroscience of Language
Bilingualism

Background:

Bilinguals constantly manage two languages, influencing speech processing.
Interlingual homophones present unique challenges due to shared form and distinct meanings.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the activation of non-target language semantic features in bilingual speech.
To examine the temporal dynamics of semantic processing for interlingual homophones and language switches.

Main Methods:

Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record brain activity in Dutch-English bilinguals.
Participants listened to sentences in their L1 (Dutch) and L2 (English) containing interlingual homophones or language switches.
Contextual bias (target, non-target, or incongruent) manipulated homophone processing, while language switches varied in semantic congruence.

Main Results:

In L2, non-target biased homophones elicited an early N400, while target biased homophones showed a later negativity.
No significant N400 effects were found for biased homophones in L1 contexts.
Both congruent and incongruent language switches elicited an N400 and a Late Positive Component (LPC).

Conclusions:

Bilinguals activate both meanings of interlingual homophones regardless of context.
A target-language advantage in semantic processing exists for homophones in L2 contexts.
This target-language advantage extends to both L1-to-L2 and L2-to-L1 language switches.