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Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 16, 2026

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

Published on: February 26, 2020

Revisiting bilingual processing: insights from L1 transfer in L2 acquisition.

Huanhuan Yin¹, Martin J Pickering¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Brain and Language

|October 1, 2025

Summary

Second language (L2) learners leverage their first language (L1) knowledge, leading to L1 transfer influencing L2 processing. This study suggests L1 transfer, not just on-line activation, explains many bilingual language processing effects.

Area of Science:

Psycholinguistics
Second Language Acquisition
Bilingualism

Background:

MacWhinney's Competition Model posits L2 learners utilize existing L1 representations.

Keywords:

Bilingual language processing Competition model L1 transfer Second language acquisition Selective lexical access

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L1 transfer leaves lasting effects on bilinguals' L2 lexicon and processing.

Traditional views attribute some effects to on-line cross-language activation.