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Grammatical processing in two languages: How individual differences in language experience and cognitive abilities
Kinsey Bice1,2, Judith F Kroll3
1Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University.
Journal of Neurolinguistics
|January 4, 2021
Summary
Bilinguals show varied language processing, with proficiency influencing their native language (L1) and dominant second language (L2) differently than monolinguals, whose processing relies on stable factors like working memory.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Language experience, including bilingualism, leads to variations in language processing.
- Event-related potential (ERP) research, specifically the N400 and P600 components, reveals differences in syntactic violation processing between monolinguals and bilinguals.
- Previous studies have examined monolingual and bilingual processing separately, but direct comparisons within the same bilingual individuals are lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare language processing variations in the non-dominant native language (L1) and dominant second language (L2) of heritage bilinguals with monolingual L1 processing.
- To investigate the influence of individual differences, such as working memory and language proficiency, on ERP responses in bilinguals and monolinguals.
- To explore how the language of task performance affects ERPs in bilingual speakers.
Main Methods:
- Examined sentence processing using event-related potentials (ERPs) in heritage bilinguals and monolinguals.
- Compared ERP variations (N400, P600) in heritage bilinguals' non-dominant L1 and dominant L2 against monolinguals' L1 processing.
- Correlated ERP data with individual differences in working memory capacity and language proficiency.
Main Results:
- Heritage bilinguals exhibited smaller N400 and P600 responses in their non-dominant L1 compared to monolinguals.
- Working memory was a key factor for monolingual L1 processing, while proficiency was more related to bilinguals' non-dominant L1 processing.
- The N400 component was absent when bilinguals processed the language they learned to read in first, but larger when processing their other language.
Conclusions:
- Proficient bilinguals employ shared neural mechanisms for both languages, though processing factors may differ.
- Bilingualism enhances language system adaptability, allowing fluid performance under varying conditions like increased proficiency.
- Language processing in monolinguals is linked to stable cognitive factors (e.g., working memory), unlike the dynamic factors influencing bilingual processing.
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