Processing Code-Switches in the Presence of Others: An ERP Study

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Bilingualism Research

Background:

• Code-switching (using multiple languages in conversation) is influenced by social context.
• Bilinguals must adapt their language control based on the perceived language abilities of others present.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how social context, specifically the assumed language knowledge of others, affects language control during code-switching comprehension.
• To examine the neural mechanisms (using EEG) underlying this context-dependent language control.

Main Methods:

• Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to record brain activity in Spanish-English bilinguals.
• Participants read sentences containing code-switches while interacting with either another bilingual or a monolingual.
• Off-line judgments assessed participants' sensitivity to the social context's language knowledge.

Main Results:

• Code-switches elicited an early fronto-central positivity in EEG.
• This effect was reduced when participants were with a bilingual compared to a monolingual.
• A late positive complex for switches was smaller in the presence of a bilingual, particularly for participants sensitive to social cues.

Conclusions:

• Bilinguals dynamically adjust language control based on the perceived language proficiency of their interlocutor.
• The presence of a bilingual facilitates code-switching comprehension, suggesting activation of both languages.
• Findings support dynamic control models of bilingual language processing, where social context modulates language control mechanisms.