Is codeswitching easy or difficult? Testing processing cost through the prosodic structure of bilingual speech

Beyond the tried and true: How virtual reality, dialog setups, and a focus on multimodality can take bilingual language production research forward

Bilinguals possess the ability of expressing themselves in more than one language, and typically do so in contextually rich and dynamic settings. Theories and models have indeed long considered context factors to affect bilingual language production in many ways. However, most experimental studies in this domain have failed to fully incorporate linguistic, social, or physical context aspects, let alone combine them in the same study. Indeed, most experimental psycholinguistic research has taken place in isolated and constrained lab settings with carefully selected words or sentences, rather than under rich and naturalistic conditions. We argue that the most influential experimental paradigms in the psycholinguistic study of bilingual language production fall short of capturing the effects of context on language processing and control presupposed by prominent models. This paper therefore aims to enrich the methodological basis for investigating context aspects in current experimental paradigms and thereby move the field of bilingual language production research forward theoretically. After considering extensions of existing paradigms proposed to address context effects, we present three far-ranging innovative proposals, focusing on virtual reality, dialog situations, and multimodality in the context of bilingual language production.

The effect of inhibitory control and language proficiency on intra-sentential switching costs in reading comprehension

Based on the inhibition account and activation account, inhibitory control and language proficiency play big roles on language control mechanisms underlying language switching respectively. But it is still debatable whether inhibitory control and language proficiency play roles in sentential context during bilingual language comprehension, and how and when they work if they both do. The present study examined the specific roles of language proficiency and inhibitory control on modulating intra-sentential switching costs in Chinese-English bilinguals using self-paced reading task. Results indicated that language proficiency and switching direction modulated intra-sentential switching costs significantly. Switching costs were larger when switching into L1 than into L2 for the first two code-switched words due to inhibitory effect, but more costly switching into L2 than into L1 since the third code-switched words owing to the effect of relative language proficiency. During bilingual language processing, inhibition and activation of languages shaped a dynamic interplay of complementary language control processes. Specifically, inhibitory control and language proficiency work as a dynamic continuum in language switching at sentence level. Switching into L1 requires the release of inhibition to L1, but switching into L2 asks the activation and access of L2. The interaction effects of language proficiency and inhibitory control influenced the exertion and components of inhibition. This study reconciled the independent roles of language proficiency and inhibitory control on language switching and constructed a new continuum based on language proficiency.

Él Code-Switches More Than tú y yo: New Data for the Subject Pronoun-Verb Switch Constraint

In early studies, code-switches between a subject pronoun and a finite verb were considered highly dispreferred or even impossible. However, naturalistic data from several language pairs has since highlighted that such switches are possible, although their grammaticality is constrained by the typology of the pronouns involved. In this study, we test the switching constraints postulated for subject pronouns-verbs among P’urhepecha-Spanish bilinguals (n = 12) from Michoacán, western Mexico. Using a two-alternative forced-choice acceptability judgement task (2AFC), we found that, contrary to expectations, switches between a third person singular pronoun and a verb were considered the most acceptable, followed by the coordinated ‘you and I’ second person, then the first person singular. The same order was found for both switch directions, despite third-person pronouns in P’urhepecha having a stronger typological profile. Building on the results of previous studies, we suggest that the lack of preference for a single switch direction is evidence for language-specific code-switching patterns, as well as possible differences in productive vs. receptive language. Additionally, we highlight the probative value of judgement data, particularly those emerging from 2AFC tasks, as a means of expanding our understanding of grammaticality in code-switching.

Natural vs forced language switching: Free selection and consistent language use eliminate significant performance costs and cognitive demands in the brain

Bilinguals are known to switch language spontaneously in everyday conversations, even if there are no external requirements to do so. However, in the laboratory setting, language control is often investigated using forced switching tasks, which result in significant performance costs. The present study assessed whether switching would be less costly when performed in a more natural fashion, and what factors might account for this. Mandarin-English bilinguals engaged in language switching under three different contexts with varied task demands. We examined two factors which may be characteristic of natural switching: (i) freedom of language selection; (ii) consistency of language used to name each item. Participants' brain activities were recorded using magnetoencephalography (MEG), along with behavioural measures of reaction speed and accuracy. The natural context (with both free selection and consistent language use for each item) produced better performance overall, showing reduced mixing cost and no significant switch cost. The neural effect of language mixing was also reversed in this context, suggesting that freely mixing two languages was easier than staying in a single language. Further, while switching in the forced context elicited increased brain activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus, this switch effect disappeared when the language used to name each item was consistent. Together, these findings demonstrate that the two factors above conjointly contribute to eliminating significant performance costs and cognitive demands associated with language switching and mixing. Such evidence aligns with lexical selection models which do not assume bilingual production to be inherently effortful.

Phasic pupillary responses reveal differential engagement of attentional control in bilingual spoken language processing

Language processing is cognitively demanding, requiring attentional resources to efficiently select and extract linguistic information as utterances unfold. Previous research has associated changes in pupil size with increased attentional effort. However, it is unknown whether the behavioral ecology of speakers may differentially affect engagement of attentional resources involved in conversation. For bilinguals, such an act potentially involves competing signals in more than one language and how this competition arises may differ across communicative contexts. We examined changes in pupil size during the comprehension of unilingual and codeswitched speech in a richly-characterized bilingual sample. In a visual-world task, participants saw pairs of objects as they heard instructions to select a target image. Instructions were either unilingual or codeswitched from one language to the other. We found that only bilinguals who use each of their languages in separate communicative contexts and who have high attention ability, show differential attention to unilingual and codeswitched speech. Bilinguals for whom codeswitching is common practice process unilingual and codeswitched speech similarly, regardless of attentional skill. Taken together, these results suggest that bilinguals recruit different language control strategies for distinct communicative purposes. The interactional context of language use critically determines attentional control engagement during language processing.