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Which bilinguals reverse language dominance and why?

Mathieu Declerck1, Daniel Kleinman2, Tamar H Gollan3

  • 1Linguistics and Literary Studies Department, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.

Cognition
|July 8, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Balanced bilinguals show reversed language dominance effects more often due to overshooting language accessibility goals, not superior inhibitory control. Unbalanced bilinguals use more proactive control for picture naming.

Keywords:
Balanced bilingualismProactive controlReversed language dominance

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Area of Science:

  • Psycholinguistics
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Bilingualism Research

Background:

  • Bilinguals sometimes show reversed language dominance when naming pictures in mixed-language contexts.
  • This phenomenon is linked to inhibitory control or adjustments in language selection thresholds.
  • Understanding the conditions and reasons for reversed dominance is crucial for insights into language control.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the factors influencing reversed language dominance effects in bilingual picture naming.
  • To examine the relationship between language balance and the occurrence of reversed dominance.
  • To differentiate between inhibitory control and adaptation explanations for reversed dominance.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a large dataset of over 400 bilingual participants.
  • Employed a continuous and objective measure to assess language dominance.
  • Analyzed picture naming performance in both single-language and mixed-language blocks.

Main Results:

  • Larger reversed language dominance effects were observed in more balanced bilinguals within mixed-language blocks.
  • The change in dominance effects across block types was smaller for more balanced bilinguals, supporting the inhibitory control account.
  • Dominance reversal did not correlate with faster overall naming in mixed-language blocks.

Conclusions:

  • Reversed dominance is more probable in balanced bilinguals who may 'overshoot' when aiming for equal language accessibility.
  • Balanced bilinguals might not possess superior proactive control but rather a tendency to over-adjust.
  • Unbalanced bilinguals appear to exert more proactive control to aid picture naming in mixed-language settings.