刊讯｜SSCI 期刊《双语：语言与认知》2024年第1-3期

BILINGUALISM: LANGUAGE AND COGNITION

Volume 27, Issue 1-3, 2024

Bilingualism: Language and Cognition（SSCI一区，2023 IF：2.5，排名：28/297）2024年第1-3期共发文39篇，其中研究性论文34篇，综述文章2篇，勘误、编者按、观点和注册报告各1篇。研究论文涉及执行功能、语码转换、认知储备、外语效应、说祖语者等方面。主题包括成人双语研究的临床问题、语言习得等。欢迎转发扩散！

往期推荐：

目录

Issue 1

Research Article

■ Morphological segmentations of Non-Māori Speaking New Zealanders match proficient speakers, by Forrest Panther, Wakayo Mattingley, Jen Hay, Simon Todd, Jeanette King, Peter J. Keegan, Pages 1-15.

■ The Foreign Language Effect on Tolerance of Ambiguity, by Silvia Purpuri, Nicola Vasta, Roberto Filippi, Li Wei, Claudio Mulatti, Pages 16-24.

■ Linking frequency to bilingual switch costs during real-time sentence comprehension, by Lauren K. Salig, Jorge R. Valdés Kroff, L. Robert Slevc, Jared M. Novick, Pages 25-40.

■ The role of bilingualism in paired-associate and cross-situational word learning, by Anne Neveu, Margarita Kaushanskaya, Pages 41-56.

■ German-dominant Vietnamese heritage speakers use semantic constraints of German for anticipation during comprehension in Vietnamese, by Aine Ito, Huong Thi Thu Nguyen, Pia Knoeferle, Pages 57-74.

■ Nouns are not always processed faster than verbs in bilingual speakers: effects of language distance, by Mohammad Momenian, Adam John Privitera, Brendan Weekes, Pages 75-83.

■ Do more proficient writers use fewer cognates in L2? A computational approach, by Liat Nativ, Yuval Nov, Noam Ordan, Shuly Wintner, Anat Prior, Pages 84-94.

■ Role of bilingual experience in children’s context-sensitive selective trust strategies, by W. Quin Yow, Xiaoqian Li, Pages 95-106.

■ Neuroplasticity and cognitive reserve effects in the Caudate Nucleus of young bilingual adults, by Federico Gallo, Liliia Terekhina, Yury Shtyrov, Andriy Myachykov, Pages 107-116.

■ A comparison of structural brain differences in monolingual and highly proficient multilingual speakers, by Ludmila Midrigan-Ciochina, Kayla P. Vodacek, Srinija Balabhadra, David P. Corina, Pages 117-127.

■ An ERP study on novel word learning in an immersive virtual reality context, by Lu Jiao, Mengrui Zhu, Zijie Xu, Guanzhu Zhou, John W. Schwieter, Cong Liu, Pages 128-136.

■ The role of cognitive control in bilingual language comprehension: An event-related potential study of dense code-switching sentences, by Siyi Jiang, Lvheng Ma, Baoguo Chen, Pages 137-153.

■ Moral judgments in native, regional, and foreign languages, by Francesca Peressotti, Anna Lorenzoni, Michele Miozzo, Pages 154-163.

■ Bilingual profiles differentially predict executive functions during early childhood: A latent profile analysis, by Hwajin Yang, Germaine Y. Q. Tng, Wee Qin Ng, Sujin Yang, Pages 164-177.

■ Executive functions are modulated by the context of dual language use: diglossic, bilingual and monolingual older adults, by Najla Alrwaita, Carmel Houston-Price, Lotte Meteyard, Toms Voits, Christos Pliatsikas, Pages 178-203.

■ How useful are native language tests for research with advanced second language users?, by Hanke Vermeiren, Marc Brysbaert, Pages 204-213.

Erratum

■ RER-LX: A new scale to measure reduced emotional resonance in bilinguals’ later learnt language – ERRATUM, by Wilhelmiina Toivo, Christoph Scheepers, Jean-Marc DeWaele, Pages 214.

Issue 2

Editorial

■ Introduction: Clinical aspects of bilingualism research in adults, by Marco Calabria, Federico Gallo, Swathi Kiran, pp. 215-216.

Research Article

■ Cross-language interference in bilinguals with neurodegenerative disorders, by Marco Calabria, Pages 217-228.

■ Bilingual Abstract Semantic Associative Network Training (BAbSANT): A Russian–English case study, by Teresa Gray, Julia Palevich, Chaleece Sandberg, Pages 229-245. 

■ Multilevel factors predict treatment response following semantic feature-based intervention in bilingual aphasia, by Michael Scimeca, Claudia Peñaloza, Swathi Kiran, Pages 246-262.

■ Hippocampal adaptations in Mild Cognitive Impairment patients are modulated by bilingual language experiences, by Toms Voits, Jason Rothman, Marco Calabria, Holly Robson, Naiara Aguirre, Gabriele Cattaneo, Víctor Costumero, Mireia Hernández, Montserrat Juncadella Puig, Lidón Marín-Marín, Anna Suades, Albert Costa, Christos Pliatsikas, Pages 263-273.

■ Examining the relation between bilingualism and age of symptom onset in frontotemporal dementia, by Jessica de Leon, Stephanie M. Grasso, Isabel Elaine Allen, Danielle P. Escueta, Yvette Vega, Malihe Eshghavi, Christa Watson, Nina Dronkers, Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini, Maya L. Henry, Pages 274-286.

Opinion

■ The unique role of bilingualism among cognitive reserve-enhancing factors, by Federico Gallo, Jubin Abutalebi, Pages 287-294.

Issue 3

Research Article

■ Are multiword frequency effects stronger in non-native than in native speakers?, by Tomomi Ishida, Pages 295-305.

■ The neural basis of Number and Person phi-features processing: An fMRI study in highly proficient bilinguals, by Simin Meykadeh, Arsalan Golfam, Seyed Amir Hossein Batouli, Werner Sommer, Pages 306-321.

■ Wanna contraction in first language acquisition, child second language acquisition, and adult second language acquisition, by Haerim Hwang, Pages 322-333.

■ Heritage language development and processing: Non-canonical word orders in Mandarin–English child heritage speakers, by Jiuzhou Hao, Vasiliki Chondrogianni, Patrick Sturt, Pages 334-349.

■ Glottalizing at word junctures: Exploring bidirectional transfer in child and adult Spanish heritage speakers, by Gemma Repiso-Puigdelliura, Pages 350-362.

■ Cross-language activation of idiom meanings: Evidence from French– Vietnamese– and Indonesian–English bilinguals, by Debra Jared, Pearley Nguyen, Alyssa Grant-Pereira, Qamara Rizkyana, Mirrah Maziyah Mohamed, Pages 363-376.

■ Cross-linguistic influence in the simultaneous bilingual child’s lexicon: An eye-tracking and primed picture selection study, by Elly Koutamanis, Gerrit Jan Kootstra, Ton Dijkstra, Sharon Unsworth, Pages 377-387.

■ The role of oral vocabulary when L2 speakers read novel words: A complex word training study, by Ali Behzadnia, Signy Wegener, Audrey Bürki, Elisabeth Beyersmann, Pages 388-399.

■ Both L1 and L2 proficiency impact ToM reasoning in children aged 4 to 6. Painting a more nuanced picture of the relation between bilingualism and ToM, by Marta Białecka, Zofia Wodniecka, Karolina Muszyńska, Marta Szpak, Ewa Haman, Pages 400-418.

■ Roles of bilingualism and musicianship in resisting semantic or prosodic interference while recognizing emotion in sentences, by Cassandra Neumann, Anastasia Sares, Erica Chelini, Mickael Deroche, Pages 419-433.

■ RER-LX: A new scale to measure reduced emotional resonance in bilinguals’ later learnt language, by Wilhelmiina Toivo, Christoph Scheepers, Jean-Marc Dewaele, Pages 434-446.

■ The effect of foreign language and psychological distance on moral judgment in Turkish–English bilinguals, by Melisa Yavuz, Aylin C. Küntay, Susanne Brouwer, Pages 447-459.

■ Emotion effects in second language processing: Evidence from eye movements in natural sentence reading, by Enze Tang, Hongwei Ding, Pages 460-479.

Review Article

■ 73% of the observed bilingual (dis)advantageous effects on cognition stem from sociolinguistic factors: A systematic review, by Camilla Masullo, Vittoria Dentella, Evelina Leivada, Pages 480-494.

■ Cross-linguistic influence in the bilingual lexicon: Evidence for ubiquitous facilitation and context-dependent interference effects on lexical processing, by Lyam M. Bailey, Kate Lockary, Eve Higby, Pages 495-514.

Registered Report

■ Cross-language semantic and orthographic parafoveal processing by bilingual L1 German–L2 English readers, by Leigh B. Fernandez, Christoph Scheepers, Shanley E. M. Allen, Pages 515-529.

摘要

Morphological segmentations of Non-Māori Speaking New Zealanders match proficient speakers

Forrest Panther, The New Zealand Institute for Language, Brain & Behaviour (NZILBB), University of Canterbury

Wakayo Mattingley, The New Zealand Institute for Language, Brain & Behaviour (NZILBB), University of Canterbury

Jen Hay, The New Zealand Institute for Language, Brain & Behaviour (NZILBB), University of Canterbury, Department of Linguistics, University of Canterbury

Simon Todd, The New Zealand Institute for Language, Brain & Behaviour (NZILBB), University of Canterbury, Department of Linguistics, University of California

Jeanette King, The New Zealand Institute for Language, Brain & Behaviour (NZILBB), University of Canterbury, Aotahi: School of Māori and Indigenous Studies, University of Canterbury

Peter J. Keegan, Te Puna Wānanga, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Auckland

Abstract Previous research has shown that non-Māori Speaking New Zealanders have extensive latent knowledge of Māori, despite not being able to speak it. This knowledge plausibly derives from a memory store of Māori forms (Oh et al., 2020; Panther et al., 2023). Modelling suggests that this ‘proto-lexicon’ includes not only Māori words, but also word-parts; however, this suggestion has not yet been tested experimentally.

We present the results of a new experiment in which non-Māori speaking New Zealanders and non-New Zealanders were asked to segment a range of Māori words into parts. We show that the degree to which segmentations of non-Māori speakers correlate to the segmentations of two fluent speakers of Māori is stronger among New Zealanders than non-New Zealanders. This research adds to the growing evidence that even in a largely ‘monolingual’ population, there is evidence of latent bilingualism through long-term exposure to a second language.

Key words Bilingualism, Māori, Mental Lexicon, Second Language Acquisition, Morphology, Phonology, Implicit Learning

The Foreign Language Effect on Tolerance of Ambiguity

Silvia Purpuri, University of Trento

Nicola Vasta, University of Trento

Roberto Filippi, IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society

Li Wei, IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society

Claudio Mulatti, University of Trento

Abstract Previous research has shown that bilingual speakers may be more tolerant to ambiguity, they might perceive situations of ambiguity more interesting, challenging and desirable (e.g., Dewaele & Li, 2013). To our knowledge, no data are available addressing the question whether the language in use can have an effect on the personality trait of tolerance of ambiguity (ToA). This study investigated whether and how reading statements in a second language (L2), as opposed to the native language (L1), affects ToA. 387 Italian–English bilingual adults completed a questionnaire measuring levels of ToA either in English or Italian. Results revealed that processing information in L2 promoted higher scores of ToA overall and in sentences that were related to challenging perspectives and change. Age, gender and L2 proficiency were significant predictors of higher ToA scores. This study offers new evidence that processing information in a L2 can affect tolerance of ambiguous situations.

Key words Foreign Language Effect, tolerance of ambiguity, decision-making, bilingualism, L2, second language, foreign language

Linking frequency to bilingual switch costs during real-time sentence comprehension

Lauren K. Salig, Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland

Jorge R. Valdés Kroff, Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, University of Florida

L. Robert Slevc, Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland

Jared M. Novick, Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland

Abstract Bilinguals experience processing costs when comprehending code-switches, yet the magnitude of the cost fluctuates depending on numerous factors. We tested whether switch costs vary based on the frequency of different types of code-switches, as estimated from natural corpora of bilingual speech and text. Spanish–English bilinguals in the U.S. read single-language and code-switched sentences in a self-paced task. Sentence regions containing code-switches were read more slowly than single-language control regions, consistent with the idea that integrating a code-switch poses a processing challenge. Crucially, more frequent code-switches elicited significantly smaller costs both within and across most classes of switch types (e.g., within verb phrases and when comparing switches at verb-phrase and noun-phrase sites). The results suggest that, in addition to learning distributions of syntactic and semantic patterns, bilinguals develop finely tuned expectations about code-switching behavior – representing one reason why code-switching in naturalistic contexts may not be particularly costly.

Key words code-switching, comprehension, syntax, corpora, reading times

The role of bilingualism in paired-associate and cross-situational word learning

Anne Neveu, Department of Psychiatry, University of California

Margarita Kaushanskaya, Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Abstract In adulthood, novel words are commonly encountered in the context of sequential language learning, and to a lesser extent, when learning a new word in one’s native language. Paired-associate (PAL) and cross-situational word learning (CSWL) paradigms have been studied separately, under distinct theoretical umbrellas, limiting the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the learning process in each. We tested 126 monolinguals and 111 bilinguals on PAL and CSWL, manipulating familiarity and measuring verbal working memory. Results revealed highly similar learning performance across groups, both demonstrating better performance in PAL than in CSWL, similar sensitivity to familiarity, and similar reliance on phonological working memory. We observed a trend such that bilinguals outperformed monolinguals in PAL but not in CSWL, but this trend was weak. Findings indicate limited effects of bilingualism on word learning in adulthood and suggest highly similar word learning mechanisms in learners with different linguistic experiences.

Key words Paired-associate word learning, Crosssituational word learning, bilingual adults, phonological working memory, word familiarity

German-dominant Vietnamese heritage speakers use semantic constraints of German for anticipation during comprehension in Vietnamese

Aine Ito, Department of German Studies and Linguistics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies, National University of Singapore

Huong Thi Thu Nguyen, Department of German Studies and Linguistics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Pia Knoeferle, Department of German Studies and Linguistics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin

Abstract To test effects of German on anticipation in Vietnamese, we recorded eye-movements during comprehension and manipulated i) verb constraints (different vs. similar in German and Vietnamese) and ii) classifier constraints (absent in German). In each of two experiments, participants listened to Vietnamese sentences like “Mai mặc một chiếc áo.” (‘Mai wears a [classifier] shirt.’), while viewing four objects. Between experiments, we contrasted bilingual background: L1 Vietnamese–L2 German late bilinguals (Experiment 1) and heritage speakers of Vietnamese in Germany (Experiment 2). Both groups anticipated verb-compatible and classifier-compatible objects upon hearing the verb/classifier. However, when the (verb) constraints differed (e.g., Vietnamese: mặc ‘wear (a shirt/#earrings)’ – German: tragen ‘wear (a shirt/earrings)’), the heritage speakers were distracted by the object (earrings) compatible with the German (but not the Vietnamese) verb constraints. These results demonstrate that competing information in the two languages can interfere with anticipation in heritage speakers.

Key words comprehension, bilingualism, anticipation, visual-world paradigm, transfer, Vietnamese, heritage speakers

Nouns are not always processed faster than verbs in bilingual speakers: effects of language distance

Mohammad Momenian, Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Adam John Privitera, Centre for Research and Development in Learning, Nanyang Technological University

Brendan Weekes, Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong

Abstract The purpose of the current report is to study the effects of language distance on noun and verb processing in bilingual speakers. We recruited two groups of bilingual speakers: one group spoke two typologically distant languages (Cantonese and English) and the other group spoke two typologically similar languages (Mandarin and Cantonese). Participants named object and action pictures in their first language. We controlled psycholinguistic properties of words such as frequency, AoA, imageability, name agreement, visual complexity, familiarity, and participants’ bilingual language experiences. Our findings revealed a significant role for language distance. We observed a difference between noun and verb processing in the similar language pair (Mandarin–Cantonese) due to interference induced by language similarity. However, in the distant language pair (Cantonese–English), the difference disappeared because of the lack of cross-language interference. Our findings support that current and future models of bilingual language processing should take into account the effects of language distance.

Key words Bilingual experience, Cantonese, Grammatical class, Mandarin, Noun, Verb

Do more proficient writers use fewer cognates in L2? A computational approach

Liat Nativ, Department of Computer Science, University of Haifa

Yuval Nov, School of Public Health, University of Haifa

Noam Ordan, The Israeli Association of Human Language Technologies

Shuly Wintner, Department of Computer Science, University of Haifa

Anat Prior, Department of Learning Disabilities and Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for Learning Disabilities, Faculty of Education, University of Haifa

Abstract Bilinguals often show evidence of cross language influences, such as facilitation in processing cognates. Here we use computational methods for analyzing spontaneous English texts written by hundreds of speakers of different L1s, at different levels of English proficiency, to investigate writers’ preference for using cognates over alternative word choices. We focus on English, since a majority of its lexicon is either of Romance or Germanic origin, allowing an investigation of the preference of speakers of Germanic and Romance L1s towards cognates between their L1 and English. Results show that L2 writers tend to prefer English cognates, and that this tendency is weaker as English proficiency level increases, suggesting diminishing effects of CLI. However, a comparison of the L2 writers with native English writers shows general overuse of cognates only for the Germanic, but not the Romance, L1 speakers, most likely due to the register of argumentative writing.

Key words proficiency, cognates, written production, computational, proficiency

Role of bilingual experience in children’s context-sensitive selective trust strategies

W. Quin Yow, Singapore University of Technology and Design

Xiaoqian Li, Singapore University of Technology and Design

Abstract Early bilingual language experience can enhance children’s social-cognitive skills for effective communication. This study examined whether individual variability in bilingual language diversity, measured by language entropy, influenced 3- to 5-year-old children’s engagement of contextual information in their selective trust strategies. One-hundred-and-forty Singaporean children (58 girls, Mage = 53.64 months, 97.1% Asian) were presented with an informant who provided either accurate or inaccurate information in a context with either adequate or limited information access. Bilingual children with greater language diversity, compared to those with less language diversity, were more likely to adapt their accuracy-based selective trust strategy to the informant’s circumstances (i.e, information access). Results provide new insights into the role of diverse linguistic experiences in shaping children’s social cognitive development.

Key words bilingualism, language diversity, communicative context, selective trust strategies

Neuroplasticity and cognitive reserve effects in the Caudate Nucleus of young bilingual adults

Federico Gallo, Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Centre for Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University

Liliia Terekhina, Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics

Yury Shtyrov, Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University

Andriy Myachykov, Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Northumbria University

Abstract This study investigates bilingualism-induced neuroplastic and cognitive-reserve effects in the Caudate Nucleus (CN), a structure believed to support both bilingual language control and domain-general executive functioning. We computed a generalized bilingualism index incorporating several dimensions of bilingual experience in a sample of bilingual young adults and tested whether this index would predict behavioral executive performance (measured using a Flanker task) and volumetric differences in the CN. Moreover, we investigated whether bilingualism mitigates the relationship between CN volume and executive performance, a sign of cognitive reserve. Our results indicate that bilingualism facilitates executive performance and induces an inverted U-shaped neuroplastic trajectory in bilateral CN, consistently with the view that structural increases are replaced by functional improvements as bilingual experience progresses. The emergence of bilingualism-induced cognitive reserve effects in CN further supports the view that bilinguals rely progressively less on the availability of structural resources in the face of increased functional efficiency.

Key words bilingual experience, caudate nucleus, executive functions, structural MRI, cognitive reserve, Flanker task

A comparison of structural brain differences in monolingual and highly proficient multilingual speakers

Ludmila Midrigan-Ciochina, Center for Mind and Brain, Department of Linguistics and Human Development, University of California

Kayla P. Vodacek, Center for Mind and Brain, Department of Linguistics, University of California

Srinija Balabhadra, Center for Mind and Brain, University of California

David P. Corina, Department of Linguistics and Psychology, Center for Mind and Brain, University of California

Abstract Structural and functional brain adaptations in bilingual speakers are well documented in the neurolinguistic literature. However, far less is known about neural changes evidenced in multilingual speakers. This study investigates brain plasticity in a group of highly proficient multilinguals, fluent in four or more languages, compared to a group of monolinguals. An ROI analysis used to evaluate differences in core linguistic regions and regions associated with language control revealed robust decreases for multilinguals in grey matter thickness of two brain regions within the parietal lobe (i.e., precuneus and angular gyrus), involved in lexico-semantic processing, memory retrieval, and control maintenance. We discuss our findings in the context of emerging models characterizing trajectorial changes in brain structures associated with language experience. We consider how the demands of optimal functioning within multi-linguistic environments may foster cortical changes that manifest as decreased GM thickness in highly proficient multilingual compared to monolinguals.

Key words multilingualism, grey matter, morphometry, brain plasticity, high language proficiency

An ERP study on novel word learning in an immersive virtual reality context

Lu Jiao, Department of Psychology, Normal College & School of Teacher Education, Qingdao University

Mengrui Zhu, Department of Psychology, Normal College & School of Teacher Education, Qingdao University

Zijie Xu, School of Foreign Languages, Qingdao University

Guanzhu Zhou, Department of Psychology, Normal College & School of Teacher Education, Qingdao University

John W. Schwieter, Language Acquisition, Multilingualism, and Cognition Laboratory / Bilingualism Matters @ Wilfrid Laurier University

Cong Liu, Department of Psychology, Normal College & School of Teacher Education, Qingdao University

Abstract In this behavioral and electrophysiological study, we compare novel word learning, particularly lexical form acquisition, in an immersive virtual reality (VR) context with a picture-word (PW) association context. We also test whether inhibitory control and age of second language acquisition (L2 AoA) have modulating effects. Chinese speakers of L2 English learned two sets of German words, one set in each of the contexts. Behavioral performance from a subsequent recognition task indicated that responses to VR-learned words were faster than PW-leaned words. ERPs revealed that VR-learned words elicited more negative N100 and N200 waveforms than PW-learned words. Moreover, a significant relationship between L2 AoA and N200 amplitude was observed for VR-learned words. Taken together, the results suggest that the multi-sensory, interactive experience simulated by an immersive VR context has a positive effect on early lexical form acquisition of novel words.

Key words Novel word learning, bilingualism, immersive virtual reality, ERPs

The role of cognitive control in bilingual language comprehension: An event-related potential study of dense code-switching sentences

Siyi Jiang, Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University

Lvheng Ma, Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University

Baoguo Chen, Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University

Abstract This study investigated the engagement of domain-general cognitive control during the comprehension of dense code-switching sentences. Stimulus-locked event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured while L1-dominant Chinese–English bilinguals read switch and non-switch sentences. The results of the reading task revealed language dominance effects on the N400, left anterior negativity (LAN) and late positive component (LPC). The language dominance effects at lexical level (i.e., on the N400 and LAN) were modulated by individual differences in monitoring capacity. In contrast, inhibition capacity predicted code-switching costs at the sentence level (i.e., for the LPC component). The results suggest that proactive monitoring and reactive inhibition affect different processing stages during the comprehension of dense code-switching sentences. These findings partially align with processing models of code-switching incorporating a dual control mode perspective and contribute new insight into the dynamic interplay between reactive and proactive control processes.

Key words bilingual, inhibition, monitoring, language control, sentence comprehension

Moral judgments in native, regional, and foreign languages

Francesca Peressotti, Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, University of Padua, Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padua

Anna Lorenzoni, Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, University of Padua

Michele Miozzo, Department of Psychology, Columbia University

Abstract We examined moral judgments in three types of language: a native national language (Italian), a non-native foreign language (English), and a native regional language (Venetian, oral and colloquial). We used the Moral Foundation Questionnaire to investigate cross-linguistic differences in multiple aspects of morality. Higher scores in the Harm, Purity and Fairness dimensions were obtained in the foreign and the regional language with respect to the national language. In addition, higher scores in the Ingroup dimension were obtained in the foreign language with respect to the native language. The effects of language on morality can thus be quite pervasive, involving a variety of aspects of morality. The differences we observed across these languages are explained in terms of their sociolinguistics – specifically, the greater use of national languages with moral values and beliefs. It is proposed that language effects arise because the language that is used activates information associated with it.

Key words Moral foundation, bilingualism, foreign language effect, regional language

Bilingual profiles differentially predict executive functions during early childhood: A latent profile analysis

Hwajin Yang, Singapore Management University

Germaine Y. Q. Tng, Singapore Management University

Wee Qin Ng, Singapore Management University

Sujin Yang, Ewha Womans University

Abstract Recent studies suggest that heterogeneous bilingual experiences implicate different executive functions (EF) in children. Using a latent profile analysis, we conducted a more nuanced investigation of multifaceted bilingual experiences. By concurrently considering numerous bilingual indicators – age of L1 and L2 acquisition, interactional contexts of verbal exchanges, L1 and L2 proficiency, balance of language use at home and school, and receptive vocabulary – we identified three latent profiles (subgroups): balanced dual-language, dominant single-language, and mixed-interaction. We found that the balanced dual-language and dominant single-language profiles predicted significantly better switching than the mixed-interaction profile. However, no profile differences were found in working memory, prepotent response inhibition, or inhibitory control. These results held true when multiple covariates (age, sex, household income, and nonverbal intelligence) were controlled for. Using a person-centered approach, our study underscores that disparate bilingual experiences asymmetrically predict the shifting facet of EF during early childhood.

Key words Bilingual profiles, executive functions, latent profile analysis, switching, working memory, inhibitory control, prepotent response inhibition

Executive functions are modulated by the context of dual language use: diglossic, bilingual and monolingual older adults

Najla Alrwaita, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading

Carmel Houston-Price, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading

Lotte Meteyard, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading

Toms Voits, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading

Christos Pliatsikas, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Facultad de Lenguas y Educación, Universidad Nebrija

Abstract Studies investigating the role of dual language use in modulating executive functions have reported mixed results, with some studies reporting benefits in older adults. These studies typically focus on bilingual settings, while the role of dual language use in diglossic settings is rarely investigated. In diglossia, the two language varieties are separated by context, making it an ideal test case for the effects on cognition of Single Language Contexts, as defined by the Adaptive Control Hypothesis (Green & Abutalebi, 2013). We compare the performances of three groups of older adults, Arab diglossics (n = 28), bilinguals (n = 29), and monolinguals (n = 41), on the Flanker and Stroop tasks, measuring inhibition abilities, and the Color-shape task, measuring switching abilities. We report a diglossic benefit in inhibition as measured by the Flanker task only, and no benefits for the bilingual group. These findings are discussed with reference to conversational contexts in dual language use.

Key words bilingualism, bidialectalism, cognition, executive functions, diglossia, code-switching

How useful are native language tests for research with advanced second language users?

Hanke Vermeiren, Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University

Marc Brysbaert, Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University

Abstract We investigated the extent to which language tests developed for native speakers (L1) can be used with advanced speakers of a second language (L2). We compared the performance of Dutch–English bilinguals with that of native English speakers on a series of English language tests, looking at vocabulary knowledge, crystallized intelligence, reading comprehension, and reading speed. It was found that advanced L2 speakers know fewer L2 words than native speakers and take longer to read texts but perform equally well on text comprehension. Tests optimized for native English-speakers predicted text comprehension less well than tests better adapted to the skill level of the bilinguals (which include the Lextale test). An exploratory graphical analysis suggested that L2 users’ performance on challenging vocabulary tests, along with performance on an English author recognition test, forms a distinct cluster – arguably also measuring interest in English language and culture besides knowledge in general (also called crystallized intelligence).

Key words vocabulary test, second language research, reading comprehension, general knowledge

Cross-language interference in bilinguals with neurodegenerative disorders

Marco Calabria, Cognitive NeuroLab, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Abstract The aim of the study is to explore the differential effects of neurodegenerative disorders on cross-language interference and facilitation, by comparing the performance in a bilingual Stroop task of Catalan–Spanish bilinguals with different neurodegenerative disorders [Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), n = 16; Alzheimer’s disease (AD), n = 16; and Parkinson’s disease (PD), n = 16)] and healthy controls (n = 14). Interference is the difference in naming latencies between the incongruent (colour words not matching with their ink colour) and control (non-colour words) conditions. Facilitation is the difference between the control and congruent conditions (colour words matching with their ink colour).

The results showed that AD and MCI patients, but not PD, showed a larger interference effect than healthy controls. Nevertheless, the patient groups showed the same facilitation effect as healthy controls.

The contribution of cortical and subcortical brain areas to cross-language interference suppression is discussed in relation to the type of brain degeneration.

Key words interference suppression, bilingual language control, neurodegenerative diseases, conflict monitoring

Bilingual Abstract Semantic Associative Network Training (BAbSANT): A Russian–English case study

Teresa Gray, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Francisco State University

Julia Palevich, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, San Francisco State University

Chaleece Sandberg, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Penn State University

Abstract BAbSANT (Bilingual Abstract Semantic Associative Network Training) is a novel, theoretically motivated approach to anomia therapy for bilingual persons with aphasia (BPWA). We report on a Russian-dominant, Russian–English BPWA, who was trained on abstract English and Russian words. We hypothesized both within- and cross-language generalization when the non-dominant language was trained, and only within-language generalization when the dominant language was trained. We also hypothesized that cross-language generalization is modulated by nonverbal cognitive control. Results revealed that when English abstract words were trained, within-language generalization to concrete words and cross-language generalization to Russian abstract words was observed, confirming our first hypothesis. However, our second hypothesis was not confirmed. When Russian was trained, direct effects of treatment and within- or cross-language generalization effects were not observed. Our third hypothesis was confirmed. Results from cognitive control tasks from this individual suggest a role of nonverbal cognitive control on cross-language treatment outcomes.

Key words bilingualism; aphasia; BAbSANT; cognitive control

Multilevel factors predict treatment response following semantic feature-based intervention in bilingual aphasia

Michael Scimeca, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University

Claudia Peñaloza, Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat 

Swathi Kiran, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Boston University

Abstract Semantic feature-based treatments (SFTs) are effective rehabilitation strategies for word retrieval deficits in bilinguals with aphasia (BWA). However, few studies have prospectively evaluated the effects of key parameters of these interventions on treatment outcomes. This study examined the influence of intervention-level (i.e., treatment language and treatment sessions), individual-level (baseline naming severity and age), and stimulus-level (i.e., lexical frequency, phonological length, and phonological neighborhood density) factors on naming improvement in a treated and untreated language for 34 Spanish–English BWA who completed 40 hours of SFT. Results revealed significant improvement over time in both languages. In the treated language, individuals who received therapy in their L1 improved more. Additionally, higher pre-treatment naming scores predicted greater response to treatment. Finally, a frequency effect on baseline naming accuracy and phonological effects on accuracy over time were associated with differential treatment gains. These findings indicate that multilevel factors are influential predictors of bilingual treatment outcomes.

Key words bilingual aphasia, anomia therapy, semanticfeature treatment, treatment outcomes, cross-language generalization

Hippocampal adaptations in Mild Cognitive Impairment patients are modulated by bilingual language experiences

Toms Voits, UiT the Arctic University of Norway

Jason Rothman, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Universidad Nebrija

Marco Calabria, Cognitive NeuroLab, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Holly Robson, University College London

Naiara Aguirre, Universitat Jaume I

Gabriele Cattaneo, Institut Guttmann, Institut Universitari de Neurorehabilitació Adscrit a la UAB, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Víctor Costumero, Universitat Jaume I

Mireia Hernández, Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group, Department of Cognition, Development, and Educational Psychology, Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona

Montserrat Juncadella Puig, ENTIA, Fundació de Neurorehabilitació i Recerca Cognitiva, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat

Lidón Marín-Marín, Universitat Jaume I

Anna Suades, ENTIA, Fundació de Neurorehabilitació i Recerca Cognitiva, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat

Albert Costa, Center for Brain and Cognition, University Pompeu Fabra

Christos Pliatsikas, Universidad Nebrija, University of Reading

Abstract Bilingualism has been shown to contribute to increased resilience against cognitive aging. One of the key brain structures linked to memory and dementia symptom onset, the hippocampus, has been observed to adapt in response to bilingual experience – at least in healthy individuals. However, in the context of neurodegenerative pathology, it is yet unclear what role previous bilingual experience might have in terms of sustaining integrity of this structure or related behavioral correlates. The present study adds to the limited cohort of research on the effects of bilingualism on neurocognitive outcomes in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) using structural brain data. We investigate whether bilingual language experience (operationalized as language entropy) results in graded neurocognitive adaptations within a cohort of bilinguals diagnosed with MCI. Results reveal a non-linear effect of bilingual language entropy on hippocampal volume, although they do not predict episodic memory performance, nor age of MCI diagnosis.

Key words bilingualism, Mild Cognitive Impairment, neurodegeneration, aging

Examining the relation between bilingualism and age of symptom onset in frontotemporal dementia

Jessica de Leon, Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California

Stephanie M. Grasso, Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Texas at Austin

Isabel Elaine Allen, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California

Danielle P. Escueta, Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California

Yvette Vega, Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California

Malihe Eshghavi, Department of International and Multicultural Education, University of San Francisco

Christa Watson, Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California

Nina Dronkers, Department of Psychology, University of California

Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini, Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California

Maya L. Henry, Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Texas at Austin

Abstract Bilingualism is thought to confer advantages in executive functioning, thereby contributing to cognitive reserve and a later age of dementia symptom onset. While the relation between bilingualism and age of onset has been explored in Alzheimer’s dementia, there are few studies examining bilingualism as a contributor to cognitive reserve in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In line with previous findings, we hypothesized that bilinguals with behavioral variant FTD would be older at symptom onset compared to monolinguals, but that no such effect would be found in patients with nonfluent/agrammatic variant primary progressive aphasia (PPA) or semantic variant PPA. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found no significant difference in age at symptom onset between monolingual and bilingual speakers within any of the FTD variants, and there were no notable differences on neuropsychological measures. Overall, our results do not support a protective effect of bilingualism in patients with FTD-spectrum disease in a U.S. based cohort.

Key words frontotemporal dementia, primary progressive aphasia, bilingualism, cognitive reserve, Alzheimer’s dementia

The unique role of bilingualism among cognitive reserve-enhancing factors

Federico Gallo, Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, Higher School of Economics, Centre for Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University

Jubin Abutalebi, Centre for Neurolinguistics and Psycholinguistics, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, PoLaR Lab, AcqVA Aurora Centre, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway

Abstract The umbrella term cognitive reserve-enhancing factors refers to those experiential and lifestyle factors (such as intellectual activities, regular physical exercise, healthy nutrition, educational attainment, etc.) that may help individuals to compensate for age-related neural deterioration, thus enabling them to maintain relatively stable cognitive functioning during senescence. In the last 10 years, mounting evidence has shown that speaking a second language is a powerful cognitive reserve contributor, which could mitigate the consequences of healthy aging and contribute to the delay of dementia onset. In this piece, we argue that bilingualism may play a unique role among the well-known cognitive reserve-enhancing factors, thus contributing to the achievement of successful aging in a distinctive fashion. After reviewing behavioral and neuroimaging evidence for bilingualism-induced protection against healthy and pathological cognitive aging, we discuss theoretical reasons and experimental findings supporting the view that bilingualism should be granted an individual spot among reserve-enhancing life experiences.

Key words bilingualism, cognitive aging, cognitive reserve, age-related neuropathology, executive functions

Are multiword frequency effects stronger in non-native than in native speakers?

Tomomi Ishida, Nihon Fukushi University

Abstract This study investigated whether non-native English speakers showed a processing advantage for high-frequency multiword units (multiword frequency effects), and whether the effects differed between native and non-native speakers. Such a difference has been identified in relation to single-word processing. Native English speakers and intermediate learners of English with languages of different scripts (native speakers of Japanese and German) judged whether English multiword units were grammatical. A significant processing advantage was identified for both native and non-native participants. More importantly, the multiword frequency effects were stronger among non-native than native speakers. The discrepancy persisted even after including individual vocabulary knowledge as a predictor in the mixed-effect models. Furthermore, there was no significant different impact of the effects between two non-native groups, even though German participants responded quicker than Japanese participants. This indicates that the varying influence between L1 and L2 could be explained by within-language, not between-language, variables.

Key words Multiword frequency effects; Grammaticality judgment tasks; Vocabulary knowledge; Processing advantage

The neural basis of Number and Person phi-features processing: An fMRI study in highly proficient bilinguals

Simin Meykadeh, Department of Linguistics, Tarbiat Modares University, Institut für Psychologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Arsalan Golfam, Department of Linguistics, Tarbiat Modares University

Seyed Amir Hossein Batouli, Department of Neuroscience and Addiction Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences

Werner Sommer, Institut für Psychologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University

Abstract No studies have investigated the neural correlates of Number and Person agreement processing in bilinguals. Because a previous fMRI study showed difference in L1 and L2 morphosyntactic processing of L1 Turkish–L2 Persian bilinguals, it was of interest whether this difference can be specifically attributed to Number or Person processing. Therefore, we reanalyzed these data at the whole-brain level, revealing a selective response for Number Violations in the pars opercularis (PO), whereas Number and Person Violations activated the posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG). These results support the decomposition of agreement projections and their neuroanatomical substrates in bilinguals and confirm the involvement of systematically different feature-checking and feature-mapping mechanisms in Number and Person agreement but shared mechanisms between L1 and L2. Moreover, at variance with previous reports, Number Violations evoked more effects than Person Violations in pSTG, suggesting qualitatively different processing underlying R-expression and pronominal controllers.

Key words highly proficient bilinguals, Number-Person phi-features, left pars opercularis, left pSTG, agreement, fMRI

Wanna contraction in first language acquisition, child second language acquisition, and adult second language acquisition

Haerim Hwang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Abstract Contraction of want to to wanna is sometimes possible (e.g., Who do you want to/wanna stay with ___ ?), but sometimes impossible (e.g., Who do you want ___ to/*wanna stay?). This contrast is attributable to the grammatical constraint that a wh-trace blocks the contraction of want and to. Most first language (L1) and second language (L2) acquisition studies testing learner knowledge of this constraint have used elicited production tasks and focused on adult participants, with inconsistent results. Using a child-friendly acceptability judgment task, the current study shows that children as young as 3;11 and both child and adult L2 learners have target-like knowledge of the constraint on wanna contraction. This result is in line with the position that L1 acquisition, child L2 acquisition, and adult L2 acquisition are qualitatively similar.

Key words wanna contraction, first language acquisition, child second language acquisition, adult second language acquisition, fundamental identity

Heritage language development and processing: Non-canonical word orders in Mandarin–English child heritage speakers

Jiuzhou Hao, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Department of Language and Culture (ISK), UiT The Arctic University of Norway

Vasiliki Chondrogianni, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh

Patrick Sturt, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh

Abstract Previous research suggests that child HSs’ performance in offline linguistic tasks is typically worse than their age-matched monolingual peers and is modulated by linguistic and child-level factors. This study examined the comprehension and production of three Mandarin non-canonical structures in 5- to 9-year-old Mandarin–English heritage children and Mandarin-speaking monolingual children, including an online processing task. Results showed that heritage children had different performance in production and offline comprehension across structures compared to monolinguals. In online processing, they showed sensitivity to different cues similarly to monolinguals but took longer to revise initial misinterpretations. Within heritage children, we found that presence of morphosyntactic cues facilitated performance across tasks while cross-linguistic influence was only identified in production and offline comprehension but not in online processing. Additionally, input quantity predicted their production and offline comprehension accuracy of non-canonical structures, whereas age modulated their production. Lastly, online processing was not modulated by age nor input.

Key words Mandarin, child heritage speakers, non-canonical word order, syntax, processing

Glottalizing at word junctures: Exploring bidirectional transfer in child and adult Spanish heritage speakers

Gemma Repiso-Puigdelliura, McMaster University

Abstract While research in heritage language phonology has found that transfer from the majority language can lead to divergent attainment in adult heritage language grammars, the extent to which language transfer develops during a heritage speaker’s lifespan is understudied. To explore such cross-linguistic transfer, I examine the rate of glottalization between consonant-to-vowel sequences at word junctures produced by child and adult Spanish heritage speakers (i.e., HSs) in both languages. My results show that, in Spanish, child HSs produce greater rates of vowel-initial glottal phonation than their age-matched monolingually-raised Spanish counterparts, suggesting that the Spanish child HSs’ grammars are more permeable to transfer than those of the adult HSs. In English, child and adult HSs show similarly low rates of glottal phonation when compared to their age-matched monolingually-raised English speakers’ counterparts. The findings for English can be explained by either an account of transfer at the individual level or the community level.

Key words child heritage speakers, adult heritage speakers, glottalization, word junctures, phonology

Cross-language activation of idiom meanings: Evidence from French– Vietnamese– and Indonesian–English bilinguals

Debra Jared, University of Western Ontario

Pearley Nguyen, University of Western Ontario

Alyssa Grant-Pereira, University of Western Ontario

Qamara Rizkyana, University of Western Ontario

Mirrah Maziyah Mohamed, University of Western Ontario

Abstract The aim of the present study was to determine whether bilinguals activate the figurative meaning of an idiom that is specific to one language when they are exposed to its translation in their other language. We used a cross-modal priming task in which participants heard L2 English sentences that ended with an idiom translated from their L1. They then saw a visually presented stimulus that was either related to the meaning of the L1 idiom, a matched control word, or a nonword, and made a lexical decision. Three experiments were run, each with a different group of bilinguals (French–English, Vietnamese–English, and Indonesian–English), and each with a monolingual English control group. In all three studies, the effect of relatedness for bilinguals and monolinguals differed, demonstrating cross-language activation of idiom meanings. Evidence was obtained that suggested that culture-specific information in idioms influenced processing.

Key words bilinguals, figurative language, idioms, cross-language activation, French, Vietnamese, Indonesian

Cross-linguistic influence in the simultaneous bilingual child’s lexicon: An eye-tracking and primed picture selection study

Elly Koutamanis, Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University

Gerrit Jan Kootstra, Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University

Ton Dijkstra, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University

Sharon Unsworth, Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University

Abstract In a between-language lexical priming study, we examined to what extent the two languages in a simultaneous bilingual child’s lexicon interact, while taking individual differences in language exposure into account. Primary-school-aged Dutch–Greek bilinguals performed a primed picture selection task combined with eye-tracking. They matched pictures to auditorily presented Dutch target words preceded by Greek prime words. Their reaction times and eye movements were recorded. We tested for effects of between-language phonological priming, translation priming, and phonological priming through translation. Priming effects emerged in reaction times and eye movements in all three conditions, at different stages of processing, and unaffected by language exposure. These results extend previous findings for bilingual toddlers and bilingual adults. Processing similarities between these populations indicate that, across different stages of development, bilinguals have an integrated lexicon that is accessed in a language-nonselective way and is susceptible to interactions within and between different types of lexical representation.

Key words bilingualism, children, lexical priming, eye-tracking, individual differences

The role of oral vocabulary when L2 speakers read novel words: A complex word training study

Ali Behzadnia, School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam, International Doctorate for Experimental Approaches to Language and Brain (IDEALAB): Universities of Potsdam (DE), Groningen (NL), Newcastle (UK), and Macquarie University (Sydney, AU)

Signy Wegener, Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, Catholic University

Audrey Bürki, Department of Linguistics, University of Potsdam

Elisabeth Beyersmann, School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University

Abstract The present study asked whether oral vocabulary training can facilitate reading in a second language (L2). Fifty L2 speakers of English received oral training over three days on complex novel words, with predictable and unpredictable spellings, composed of novel stems and existing suffixes (i.e., vishing, vishes, vished). After training, participants read the novel word stems for the first time (i.e., trained and untrained), embedded in sentences, and their eye movements were monitored. The eye-tracking data revealed shorter looking times for trained than untrained stems, and for stems with predictable than unpredictable spellings. In contrast to monolingual speakers of English, the interaction between training and spelling predictability was not significant, suggesting that L2 speakers did not generate orthographic skeletons that were robust enough to affect their eye-movement behaviour when seeing the trained novel words for the first time in print.

Key words bilingualism, eye-tracking, morphological processing, oral novel word training

Both L1 and L2 proficiency impact ToM reasoning in children aged 4 to 6. Painting a more nuanced picture of the relation between bilingualism and ToM

Marta Białecka, Nicolaus Copernicus University

Zofia Wodniecka, Jagiellonian University

Karolina Muszyńska, University of Warsaw

Marta Szpak, Jagiellonian University

Ewa Haman, University of Warsaw

Abstract Previous studies that contrasting bilinguals with monolinguals on Theory of Mind (ToM) have shown mixed results. We present a relatively large (N = 102) study comparing Polish–English sequential bilinguals living in the UK with Polish monolinguals living in Poland. Going beyond a simple group comparison, we explored the role of language proficiency and input in ToM abilities. A battery of eight tasks was used to measure ToM, and the groups were matched on age, gender, SES, IQ and L1 word comprehension. Although bilinguals did not differ from monolinguals in accuracy in ToM tasks, they demonstrated better reasoning abilities when providing justification for ToM responses. ToM accuracy scores were best predicted by L1 proficiency, but the justification scores were best predicted by both L1 and L2 proficiency. The findings suggest that the nuances of bilingual experience provide an important scaffolding context for ToM development.

Key words bilingualism, theory of mind, children

Roles of bilingualism and musicianship in resisting semantic or prosodic interference while recognizing emotion in sentences

Cassandra Neumann, Laboratory for Hearing and Cognition, Psychology Department, Concordia University, Centre for Research on Brain, Language & Music

Anastasia Sares, Laboratory for Hearing and Cognition, Psychology Department, Concordia University, Centre for Research on Brain, Language & Music

Erica Chelini, Laboratory for Hearing and Cognition, Psychology Department, Concordia University, Centre for Research on Brain, Language & Music

Mickael Deroche, Laboratory for Hearing and Cognition, Psychology Department, Concordia University, Centre for Research on Brain, Language & Music

Abstract Listeners can use the way people speak (prosody) or what people say (semantics) to infer vocal emotions. It can be speculated that bilinguals and musicians can better use the former rather than the latter compared to monolinguals and non-musicians. However, the literature to date has offered mixed evidence for this prosodic bias. Bilinguals and musicians are also arguably known for their ability to ignore distractors and can outperform monolinguals and non-musicians when prosodic and semantic cues conflict. In two online experiments, 1041 young adults listened to sentences with either matching or mismatching semantic and prosodic cues to emotions. 526 participants were asked to identify the emotion using the prosody and 515 using the semantics. In both experiments, performance suffered when cues conflicted, and in such conflicts, musicians outperformed non-musicians among bilinguals, but not among monolinguals. This finding supports an increased ability of bilingual musicians to inhibit irrelevant information in speech.

Key words bilingualism, musicianship, prosody, semantics, vocal emotion recognition

RER-LX: A new scale to measure reduced emotional resonance in bilinguals’ later learnt language

Wilhelmiina Toivo, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow

Christoph Scheepers, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow

Jean-Marc Dewaele, Department of Languages, Cultures and Applied Linguistics, Birkbeck University of London

Abstract In two online survey studies (N = 688 and N = 247, respectively) we developed and validated a new psychometric scale for measuring emotional resonance reduction in bilinguals’ LX (“later learnt language”) relative to their L1 (“first language”). The final scale, dubbed RER-LX (for Reduced Emotional Resonance in LX), comprises 15 items and possesses a number of desirable psychometric properties. It yields good test reliability (expected alpha between 0.8 and 0.9), produces near-normally distributed test scores, and exhibits content validity in terms of its underlying factor structure. Moreover, it correlates well with the only other instrument previously used for the same purpose (BEQ subscale comprising BEQ-swearing, BEQ-feelings and BEQ-anger). However, compared to the BEQ items, RER-LX has significantly better discriminant validity in relation to LexTALE, a widely used measure of proficiency in English as a second language. Our new scale will be useful to researchers studying bilingualism and emotion.

Key words bilingualism, multilingualism, emotion, psychometrics

The effect of foreign language and psychological distance on moral judgment in Turkish–English bilinguals

Melisa Yavuz, Koç University, Department of Psychology

Aylin C. Küntay, Koç University, Department of Psychology

Susanne Brouwer, Radboud University, Centre for Language Studies

Abstract People’s judgements differ systematically while reading moral dilemmas in their native or their foreign language. This so-called Foreign Language Effect (FLE) has been found in many language pairs when tested with artificial, sacrificial moral dilemmas (i.e., Trolley and Footbridge). In Experiment 1, we investigated whether the FLE can be replicated in Turkish (native) – English (foreign) bilinguals using the same dilemmas (N = 203). These unrealistic and decontextualized dilemmas have been criticized for providing low external validity. Therefore, in Experiment 2, we (1) tested bilinguals with realistic scenarios which included the protagonist’s age as a source of identity (child, adult, neutral), and (2) investigated the FLE in these scenarios (N = 467). Our results revealed that the FLE was not present in Turkish–English bilinguals, tested either on sacrificial dilemmas or realistic scenarios. Psychological distance of the scenarios, protagonists’ age and the perceived age similarity with the protagonist affected moral judgments.

Key words moral judgment, Foreign Language Effect (FLE), psychological distance, Construal Level Theory (CLT)

Emotion effects in second language processing: Evidence from eye movements in natural sentence reading

Enze Tang, Speech-Language-Hearing Center, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Hongwei Ding, Speech-Language-Hearing Center, School of Foreign Languages, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Abstract There exists insufficient eye-tracking evidence on the differences in emotional word processing between the first language (L1) and second language (L2) readers. This study conducted an eye-tracking experiment to investigate the emotional effects in L2 sentence reading, and to explore the modulation of L2 proficiency and individual emotional states. Adapted from Knickerbocker et al. (2015), the current study recorded eye movements at both early and late processing stages when late Chinese–English bilinguals read emotion-label and neutral target words in natural L2 sentences. Results indicated that L2 readers did not show the facilitation effects of lexical affective connotations during sentence reading, and they even demonstrated processing disadvantages for L2 emotional words. Additionally, the interaction effect between L2 proficiency and emotion was consistently significant for the measure of total reading time in positive words. Measurements of participants’ depressive and anxious states were not robustly correlated with eye movement measures. Our findings supplemented new evidence to existing sparse eye-tracking experiments on L2 emotion processing, and lent support to several theoretical frameworks in the bilingual research field, including the Emotional Contexts of Learning Theory, Lexical Quality Hypothesis and Revised Hierarchical Model.

Key words emotion, eye movement, second language, sentence reading

73% of the observed bilingual (dis)advantageous effects on cognition stem from sociolinguistic factors: A systematic review

Camilla Masullo, Department of English and German Studies, Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Vittoria Dentella, Department of English and German Studies, Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Evelina Leivada, Department of Catalan Philology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA)

Abstract Being bilingual confers certain behavioral effects. Determining their precise origin is of utmost importance given the need to avoid unjust misattribution of labels such as “bilingual (dis)advantage” to people’s bilingual experiences. To this end, this systematic PRISMA-based review aims to shed light on the social and sociolinguistic origins of bilingualism-related behavioral effects. Analyzing 368 studies, we find that 73.41% of the 267 studies that report such effects attribute them either to sociolinguistic factors alone or to the interaction of sociolinguistic and cognitive factors. Linking the two fronts, type of effect and origin of effect, we find a previously unreported correlation: Studies that find evidence for bilingual disadvantages are more likely to claim a sociolinguistic origin, while studies that report advantages are more likely to link their findings to a cognitive origin. We discuss these results and present the key components of a sociolinguistic theory of the origin of bilingual effects.

Key words bilingualism, cognitive adaptations, sociolinguistic prestige, socio-economic status

Cross-linguistic influence in the bilingual lexicon: Evidence for ubiquitous facilitation and context-dependent interference effects on lexical processing

Lyam M. Bailey, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University

Kate Lockary, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, California State University

Eve Higby, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, California State University

Abstract For bilinguals, lexical access in one language may affect, or be affected by, activation of words in another language. Research to date suggests seemingly contradictory effects of such cross-linguistic influence (CLI): in some cases CLI facilitates lexical access while in others it is a hindrance. Here we provide a comprehensive review of CLI effects drawn from multiple disciplines and paradigms. We describe the contexts within which CLI gives rise to facilitation and interference and suggest that these two general effects arise from separate mechanisms that are not mutually exclusive. Moreover, we argue that facilitation is ubiquitous, occurring in virtually all instances of CLI, while interference is not always present and depends on levels of cross-language lexical competition. We discuss three critical factors – language context, direction, and modality of CLI – which appear to modulate facilitation and interference. Overall, we hope to provide a general framework for investigating CLI in future research.

Key words bilingualism, cross-linguistic influence, lexical processing, cross-language co-activation, lexical competition, L1, L2

Cross-language semantic and orthographic parafoveal processing by bilingual L1 German–L2 English readers

Leigh B. Fernandez, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU)

Christoph Scheepers, University of Glasgow

Shanley E. M. Allen, University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU)

Abstract In a recent study, Fernandez et al. (2021) investigated parafoveal processing in L1 English and L1 German–L2 English readers using the gaze contingent boundary paradigm (Rayner, 1975). Unexpectedly, L2 readers derived an interference from a non-cognate translation parafoveal mask (arrow vs. pfeil), but derived a benefit from a German orthographic parafoveal mask (arrow vs. pfexk) when reading in English. The authors argued that bilingual readers incurred a switching cost from the complete German word, and derived a benefit by keeping both lexicons active from the partial German word. In this registered report, we further test this finding with L1 German–L2 English participants using improved items, but with the sentences presented in German. We were able to replicate the non-cognate translation interference but not the orthographic facilitation. Follow up comparisons showed that all parafoveal masks evoked similar inhibition, suggesting that bilingual readers do not process non-cognate semantic or orthographic information parafoveally.

Key words  parafoveal processing, cross-linguistic influence, eye-tracking, word recognition

期刊简介

Bilingualism: Language and Cognition is an international peer-reviewed open access journal focusing on bilingualism from a linguistic, psycholinguistic, and neuroscientific perspective. The aims of the journal are to promote research on the bilingual and multilingual person and to encourage debate in the field. Areas covered include: bilingual language competence, bilingual language processing, bilingual language acquisition in children and adults, bimodal bilingualism, neurolinguistics of bilingualism in normal and brain-damaged individuals, computational modelling of bilingual language competence and performance, and the study of cognitive functions in bilinguals. The journal maintains an inclusive attitude to research involving all languages, and we specifically encourage the study of less well researched languages (including especially minority and minoritized languages) to increase our understanding of how language and cognition interact in the bilingual individual. 

《双语：语言与认知》是一本国际同行评议的期刊，主要从语言学、心理语言学和神经科学的角度探讨双语现象。该杂志的目的是促进对双语和多语的人群的研究，并鼓励在该领域的争鸣。议题包括：双语语言能力、双语语言加工、儿童和成人双语语言习得、双模双语、正常人和脑损伤者双语能力的神经语言学、双语语言能力和表现的计算建模、双语者认知功能的研究。该杂志对涉及所有语言的研究持包容态度，我们特别鼓励对研究较少的语言（特别是少数民族和少数民族语言）的研究，以增加我们对双语人群语言和认知如何相互作用的理解。

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