This study investigated the effect of cross-linguistic overlap in L1 and L2 auditory recognition of Spanish–English cognates. The study examined the correlation between objective and subjective measures of overlap and analyzed how these measures predict patterns in auditory recognition. 62 Spanish-speaking learners of English and 63 English-speaking learners of Spanish completed two auditory lexical decision tasks in Spanish and English and a rating task, where they rated the perceived phonological similarity of cognates. The results revealed moderate correlations between subjective and objective measures of overlap. While orthographic overlap had no effect, increased phonological overlap facilitated recognition in L1 and L2 Spanish and English and had larger effects in L2 recognition. Perceived similarity was the best predictor among the measures of overlap. The findings support models suggesting that cross-linguistic co-activation is facilitated by increased form similarity and studies reporting modality dependent effects of cross-linguistic form overlap in lexical recognition.

In processing their two languages, bilinguals have to selectively attend to the target language and reduce interference from the non-target language. This experience may have specific cognitive consequences on Executive Functions (EF) through bilingual language processing. Some studies found cognitive consequences in executive functioning skills. However, other studies did not replicate these findings or found a bilingual disadvantage. The aim of this study was to test for the cognitive consequences of bilingualism in EF among a large number of young adults using a latent variable approach, to rule out non-EF task differences as an explanation for inconsistency across studies. Also, we were interested in testing the EF structure using the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) approach. The results did not support a cognitive consequence of bilingualism and also the EF structure was the same for both groups. We discuss other possible variables that might contribute to the mixed results across studies.

Bilinguals may choose to speak a language either at their own will or in response to an external demand, but the underlying neural mechanisms in the two contexts is poorly understood. In the present study, Chinese–English bilinguals named pairs of pictures in three conditions: during forced-switch, the naming language altered between pictures 1 and 2. During non-switch, the naming language used was the same. During free-naming, either the same or different languages were used at participants' own will. While behavioural switching costs were observed during free-naming and forced-switching, neuroimaging results showed that forced language selection (i.e., forced-switch and non-switch) is associated with left-lateralized frontal activations, which have been implicated in inhibitory control. Free language selection (i.e., free-naming), however, was associated with fronto-parietal activations, which have been implicated in self-initiated behaviours. These findings offer new insights into the neural differentiation of language control in forced and free language selection contexts.

The Adaptive Control Hypothesis and the Control Process Model propose that bilingual language use in different interactional contexts requires control processes that can adapt in different ways to linguistic demands. This study explored the effects of language experience on cognitive flexibility and inhibition among 41 Chinese–English bilingual adults. In particular, it aimed to investigate the relationship between spontaneous language production (i.e., bilingual conversation and narration tasks) and cognitive control. Participants’ inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility efficiency was measured through verbal and spatial Stroop tasks, and a colour-shape switching task. Overall, it showed that frequent practices of intersentential switching in speech production resulted in significant facilitatory effects in both verbal and nonverbal inhibitory control. This study provides new evidence for the importance of bilingual language experience in adaptive cognitive control in naturalistic speech production and furthers our theoretical knowledge of the relationship between the language system and crucial domain-general cognitive processes.

To examine the combined effects of ageing and bilingualism in language processing, we tested young and older mono- and bilingual speakers in L1 comprehension and production. In Experiment 1, bilinguals were slower to detect words than monolinguals in sentences with a low-constraint context, but not when a high-constraint context was provided. Older adults tended to outperform younger adults in high-constraint sentences. In Experiment 2, older speakers were slower than younger speakers to produce small-scope prepositional phrases (e.g., ‘the cone above the grape), suggesting more extensive planning. Bilingual disadvantages were observed in larger-scope complex phrases (e.g., ‘the cone and the pink grape’). Individual differences in language proficiency did not modulate the effects. The results support bilingual disadvantages in syntactic processing and age-preserved syntax, alongside semantic processing unaffected by either bilingualism or age. We found no interactions between age and bilingualism, suggesting that these two factors independently impact language processing.

This study investigated how second language (L2) learners process the Korean numeral quantifier construction by using transferable and nontransferable information. For Chinese-speaking learners of Korean (Chinese group), agreement between an honorific numeral quantifier and a noun in Korean constitutes transferable information in the canonical structure and nontransferable L2-specific information in the scrambled structure. For Japanese-speaking learners of Korean (Japanese group), this information gives rise to crosslinguistic conflicts in both structures. The results from a self-paced reading task showed that the Japanese group did not exhibit sensitivity to grammatical errors in both structures, whereas the Chinese group detected the agreement violation in the canonical but not in the scrambled structure. When a context sentence was provided to license scrambling in the test sentence, however, another group of Chinese-speaking learners of Korean showed sensitivity to the violation. These findings suggest varying degrees of crosslinguistic influence in L2 sentence processing.

Using a priming paradigm, we investigated the processing of overtly identical verb forms with different sets of morphosyntactic features in L1 and L2 German. We found that more specific functions of a verb (inflected verbs) were better primes for less specific verb functions (past participles) than vice versa. For L1 speakers, these priming asymmetries were observed regardless of whether the lexical verb was repeated in prime and target or not (i.e., priming also for abstract configurations). For L2 learners, a similar but not native-like asymmetric priming pattern was seen only with repetition of the lexical verb. It was absent when the verb was not repeated. We conclude that in L2, morphosyntactic information is processed more on a lexical, item-based level compared to L1. We discuss our results in the context of several accounts, e.g., Shallow Structure Hypothesis, Declarative Procedural Model and the Ontogenesis Model of the L2 Lexical Representation.

A key question in the study of language representation in bilinguals is whether knowledge is shared across languages. Crosslinguistic syntactic priming has been widely used to test bilingual adults’ shared representations, but studies with child bilinguals are few and have several limitations.

We addressed these limitations in two studies with Polish–English bilingual children aged 5–11 years (N=96). We investigated bidirectional priming across languages and within each language for a structural alternation with syntactic overlap (attributive constructions) and one without structural overlap (possessive constructions).

Bidirectional crosslinguistic priming was found for possessives but not for attributives. Within-languages, there was priming for possessives and attributives in both languages. Priming was not related to children's age, vocabulary, or language dominance scores.

We show that representations can be selectively shared between languages at the construction level. The extent to which young bilinguals have shared representations depends on the frequency and complexity of structures in each language.

Adults often encounter difficulty perceiving and processing sounds of a second language (L2). In order to acquire word-meaning mappings, learners need to determine what the language-relevant phonological contrasts are in the language. In this study, we examined the influence of phonology on non-native word learning, determining whether the language-relevant phonological contrasts could be acquired by abstracting over multiple experiences, and whether awareness of these contrasts could be related to learning. We trained English- and Mandarin-native speakers with pseudowords via a cross-situational statistical learning task (CSL). Learners were able to acquire the phonological contrasts across multiple situations, but similar-sounding words (i.e., minimal pairs) were harder to acquire, and words that contrast in a non-native suprasegmental feature (i.e., Mandarin lexical tone) were even harder for English-speakers, even with extended exposure. Furthermore, awareness of the non-native phonology was not found to relate to learning.

Language processing studies show that native speakers anticipate linguistic elements before their occurrence. However, it is debated to what extent second language (L2) learners do the same. To address this question, this study examines the processing of cataphora by Chinese-speaking L2 English learners. Additionally, we query whether L2 learners’ expectations of upcoming antecedents are modulated by first language (L1) influence and constrained by Principle B of the Binding Theory (Chomsky, 1981). Two self-paced reading studies show that L1 English speakers’ anticipation of upcoming referents is active and strictly constrained by Principle B. Crucially, L2 English learners also actively predict upcoming referents and are sensitive to Principle B. However, L2 processing patterns suggest that Principle B competes with semantics at later processing stages. Together with data from L1 Chinese and English control participants, these results support the view that anticipatory processing in English is not fundamentally different between monolinguals and bilinguals.

This study aims to examine the influence of dialectal experience on logographic visual word recognition. Two groups of Chinese monolectals and three groups of Chinese bi-dialectals performed Stroop color-naming in Standard Chinese (SC), and two of the bi-dialectal groups also in their regional dialects. The participant groups differed in dialectal experiences. The ink-character relation was manipulated in semantics, segments, and tones separately, as congruent, competing, or different, yielding ten Stroop conditions for comparison. All the groups showed Stroop interference for the conditions of segmental competition, as well as evidence for semantic activation by the characters. Bi-dialectal experience, even receptive, could benefit conflict resolution in the Stroop task. Chinese characters can automatically activate words in both dialects. Comparing naming in Standard Chinese and naming in the bi-dialectals’ regional dialects, still, a regional-dialect disadvantage suggests that the activation is biased with literacy and lexico-specific inter-dialectal relations.

Demonstratives are cross-linguistically widespread deictic expressions. Demonstrative systems exhibit variation in number of terms, and parameters affecting their usage. The present paper assesses the relationship between spatial deixis and bilingualism: how language dominance affects speakers of two languages with different demonstrative systems. Here, we compare the use of demonstratives by 72 European Spanish-Catalan simultaneous bilinguals in Mallorca to 30 European Spanish monolinguals. Our results confirmed a significant effect of physical distance between speaker and referent on demonstrative choice in both languages, and differences between languages in the use of the middle term. We did not find the expected effect of language dominance in simultaneous bilinguals. Moreover, we found no influence of the hearer's position on demonstrative choice in monolinguals or bilinguals in European Spanish or Majorcan Catalan. In view of our results, the present study contributes to the debate on how bilingual speakers employ different deictic expressions.

Evidence from various empirical study types have converged to show bilingualism's potential for serving as a cognitive and brain reserves contributor. In this article, I contextualize, frame the need for and offer some expanding questions in this endeavor, inclusive of empirical pathways to address them. While the set of variables and questions discussed herein are definitively incomplete, they embody a good starting point for shaping future directions in research that considers the role bilingual language engagement can have for the developing mind and brain, inclusive of how various, non-linear factors impact the descent bilinguals of various types take down the proverbial mountain of life.

We investigated three aspects of paired associate learning of vocabulary in an unfamiliar language: monolingual-bilingual differences, effects of dominance and language proficiency, and the possible role of associative strategies. Spanish–English bilinguals (48 English-dominant and 48 Spanish-dominant) and English-speaking monolinguals (n = 48) learned Swahili–English and Swahili-Spanish word pairs. Learning was assessed using cued recall (Swahili cue or Swahili response) and associative recognition tests. English-dominant bilinguals did not outperform English monolinguals on any learning measure. Cued recall accuracy was higher when learning through the dominant language than through the non-dominant language, whether the Swahili words were cues or responses. Proficiency scores in the known language were positively correlated with cued recall accuracy, whether the cue or the response was in Swahili, indicating that proficiency effects occurred not in retrievability of known words but in learning of associations. Bilingual and monolingual participants did not differ in their reported use of associative strategies.

Bilinguals experience diminished emotion when using their foreign compared with their native language. The diminished emotion has been shown to lead to more lenient moral evaluations in a foreign language. Here we show that non-native speakers of English are less sensitive to emotional mitigating circumstances of a crime than native speakers, presumably because of the diminished experience emotion. This can lead non-native speakers to provide harsher, rather than more lenient, evaluations. Native and non-native speakers of English recommended sentence duration for crimes committed because of mitigating emotional circumstances (e.g., fraud to pay spouse's medical treatment) or for selfish reasons (e.g., buying luxury goods). Native English speakers differentiated more between the two types of scenarios than non-native speakers did. The study thus provides preliminary evidence that processing information in a foreign language can influence decisions, and that the directionality of the effect depends on the role of emotion in the context.

The current study explores the interplay between central and peripheral processes in second language (L2) handwriting among bilinguals with diverse orthographic backgrounds. Our investigation delves into the cross-linguistic transfer effect in Spanish–English and Chinese–English bilinguals, emphasizing lexical frequency and phoneme-grapheme (P-O) consistency in spelling-to-dictation and immediate copying tasks. Results reveal that the interaction between central and peripheral processes in L2 handwritten production is shaped by the bilinguals' native language (L1) orthographic characteristics. Spanish–English bilinguals exhibited sensitivity to P-O consistency and the spread of this effect from central to peripheral processes throughout both tasks. Conversely, Chinese–English bilinguals showed heightened sensitivity to lexical frequency during orthographic planning and motor execution, particularly in the immediate copying task. In a broader context, these findings suggest that the parallel and cascading coordination of the L2 writing system is modulated by cross-linguistic variations. The implications of our findings hold relevance for handwriting production and bilingualism research.

Do bilinguals have similar bilingual control mechanisms in speaking and writing? The present study investigated the patterns of switch costs (reflecting reactive language control) and mixing costs (reflecting proactive language control) between Chinese (L1) and English (L2) in spoken and written productions and whether these patterns could be modulated by response-stimulus intervals (RSIs). In two experiments, unbalanced Chinese–English bilinguals completed a cued language switching task in spoken naming (Experiment 1) and written naming (Experiment 2), respectively. The results revealed asymmetrical switch costs (i.e., the larger cost in L1 than in L2) in spoken and written productions in the short RSI condition. However, there were asymmetrical mixing costs in spoken production and symmetrical mixing costs in written production both in the short and long RSIs. These findings suggest that for spoken and written productions, reactive language control operates in similar mechanisms, while proactive language control operates in specific mechanisms.

Recent studies suggest that similarity in emotional features and concreteness are critical cues underlying word association in native speakers. However, the lexical organization of a foreign language is less understood. This study aims to examine the structure of word associations within the mental lexicon of a foreign (English) and a native language. To this end, 145 native Spanish-speakers produced three lexical associates to cue words in both the foreign and native language. We observed that the associates were more neutrally valenced in the foreign language. Moreover, as cue words increased in their arousal, the produced associates were less arousing in the foreign language. Thus, the structure of these lexical associations could account for prior evidence of emotional detachment in foreign languages. Finally, as cues were more abstract, the foreign language associates were more abstract. Our findings revealed that the linguistic context modulated the lexical associations.

Foreign language can either enhance decision-making by triggering more deliberation or worsen it due to cognitive overload. We tested these two hypotheses in one response bias: acquiescence. In three experiments, 413 participants made dichotomous decisions about whether 100 personality traits described them or not. Participants showed more acquiescence in a foreign language (vs. native), giving more certifying responses when deciding on known traits. Reaction time results suggest that a foreign language particularly impacts rejection more than certification of their comprehension. These findings support the cognitive overload hypothesis and provide valuable insights for the influence of language on response bias.

Prosody refers to stress and intonation patterns in a language. Previous studies have found that prosodic sensitivity (PS) and executive functions can affect reading comprehension in first (L1) and second languages (L2). The current study examined these factors among a group of L1 Mandarin speakers learning L2 English who participated in a series of tasks measuring phonological awareness, Mandarin tone sensitivity, English PS, along with three specific executive functions – namely, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory. The results demonstrated that Mandarin tone sensitivity and cognitive flexibility mediated English PS and reading. A simple slope analysis showed that PS positively predicted word reading for readers with higher but not lower cognitive flexibility. These results imply that PS in L2 reading is affected by both prosodic transfer of L1 tone sensitivity and cognitive flexibility.