Language switching in picture naming: What asymmetric switch costs (do not) tell us about inhibition in bilingual speech planning

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 568-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C. Bobb ◽  
Zofia Wodniecka
Keyword(s):  
Picture Naming ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Speech Planning

Language-switch costs from comprehension to production might just be task-switch costs

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Chuchu Li ◽  
Tamar H. Gollan
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Control ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Reading Aloud ◽  
Task Switch ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Semantic Classification ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Task Conditions

Abstract Spanish–English bilinguals switched between naming pictures in one language and either reading-aloud or semantically classifying written words in both languages. When switching between reading-aloud and picture-naming, bilinguals exhibited no language switch costs in picture-naming even though they produced overt language switches in speech. However, when switching between semantic classification and picture-naming, bilinguals, especially unbalanced bilinguals, exhibited switch costs in the dominant language and switch facilitation in the nondominant language even though they never switched languages overtly. These results reveal language switching across comprehension and production can be cost-free when the intention remains the same. Assuming switch costs at least partially reflect inhibition of the nontarget language, this implies such language control mechanisms are recruited only under demanding task conditions, especially for unbalanced bilinguals. These results provide striking demonstration of adaptive control mechanisms and call into question previous claims that language switch costs necessarily transfer from comprehension to production.

Digits vs. pictures: The influence of stimulus type on language switching

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 896-904 ◽  
Author(s):  
MATHIEU DECLERCK ◽  
IRING KOCH ◽  
ANDREA M. PHILIPP
Keyword(s):  
Picture Naming ◽  
Stimulus Type ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Standard Language ◽  
Semantic Group ◽  
Switch Costs

Stimuli used in cued language switching studies typically consist of digits or pictures. However, the comparability between both stimulus types remains unclear. In the present study, we directly compared digit and picture naming in a German–English language switching experiment. Because digits represent a semantic group and contain many cognates, the experiment consisted of four conditions with different stimulus sets in each condition: digits, standard language switching pictures, pictures depicting cognates, and semantically-related pictures. Digit naming caused smaller switch costs than picture naming. The data suggest that this difference can be attributed to phonology. Both methodological and theoretical implications are discussed.

Language-switch costs and dual-response costs in bimodal bilingual language production

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 418-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
EMILY KAUFMANN ◽  
ANDREA M. PHILIPP
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Language Production ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Signed Language ◽  
Dual Response ◽  
Single Response ◽  
Mixing Costs ◽  
German Sign Language

In communication, different forms of language combinations are possible for bimodal bilinguals, who use a spoken and a signed language. They can either switch from one language to another (language switching) or produce a word and a sign simultaneously (language blending). The present study examines language control mechanisms in language switching and simultaneous bimodal language production, comparing single-response (German or German Sign Language) and dual-response trials (Blend of the German word and the German Sign Language sign). There were three pure blocks, one for each Target-response (German, German Sign Language, Blend), as well as mixed blocks, in which participants switched between all three Target-responses. We observed language mixing costs, switch costs and dual-response costs. Further, the data pattern showed a specific dual-response advantage for switching into a Blend (i.e., a dual-response trial), indicating the specific nature of a blended response in bimodal bilingual language production.

Inhibitory control predicts language switching performance in trilingual speech production

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 651-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
JARED A. LINCK ◽  
JOHN W. SCHWIETER ◽  
GRETCHEN SUNDERMAN
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Control Mechanism ◽  
Simon Task ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Switching Performance ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigated the role of domain-general inhibitory control in trilingual speech production. Taking an individual differences approach, we examined the relationship between performance on a non-linguistic measure of inhibitory control (the Simon task) and a multilingual language switching task for a group of fifty-six native English (L1) speakers learning French (L2) and Spanish (L3). Better inhibitory control was related to reduced switch costs, but only when switching into or out of the more dominant L1, where inhibitory control has been theorized to be most important (Green, 1998). The results provide evidence of a direct link between inhibitory control abilities and language switching capabilities, and suggest constraints on the conditions under which a domain-general inhibitory control mechanism supports language switching.

The influence of short-term language-switching training on the plasticity of the cognitive control mechanism in bilingual word production

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (10) ◽  
pp. 2115-2128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junjie Wu ◽  
Chunyan Kang ◽  
Fengyang Ma ◽  
Xiaoyi Gao ◽  
Taomei Guo
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Control Mechanism ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Word Production ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Language Mapping ◽  
Target Languages

This study examined the effect of short-term language-switching training on the cognitive control mechanism in bilingual word production. In two experiments, two groups of relatively proficient but unbalanced Chinese–English bilinguals performed a cued picture-naming task, in which they switched between their two languages. On two consecutive days, the participants took part in four sessions. The same procedure was employed on 2 days in Experiment 1, whereas the cue-language mapping was reversed on Day 2 in Experiment 2. In both experiments, picture naming in the dominant language (L1, Chinese) was slower than that in the weaker second language (L2, English) in all sessions. In addition, the reversed language dominance effect was enhanced with training, suggesting that training proactively increases the amount of inhibition of the dominant L1 at the global level. Furthermore, switching costs in the L1 were reduced with training in Experiment 1, but not in Experiment 2. These results indicate that language-switching training improves the efficiency of reactively exerting inhibitory control over the dominant L1 at the local level. However, when a cue matches with different target languages, the effect of training is absent at the local level. These findings reveal the plasticity and complexity of the cognitive control mechanism as a function of bilingual experience, particularly in language switching.

scholarly journals Dynamics of inhibitory control during bilingual speech production: An electrophysiological study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaochen Zheng ◽  
Ardi Roelofs ◽  
Hasan Erkan ◽  
Kristin Lemhöfer
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Electrophysiological Study ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Switching Task

AbstractBilingual speakers have to control their languages to avoid interference, which may be achieved by enhancing the target language and/or inhibiting the nontarget language. Previous research has provided evidence that bilinguals may use inhibition (e.g., Jackson, Swainson, Cunnington, & Jackson, 2001), which is reflected in the N2 component of the event-related potential (ERP). In the current study, we investigated the dynamics of inhibitory control by measuring the N2 during language switching and repetition in picture naming. We recorded the EEG of 30 unbalanced Dutch-English bilinguals in a cued language-switching task. Participants had to name pictures in Dutch or English depending on the cue. A run of same-language trials could be short (two or three trials) or long (five or six trials). We assessed whether RTs and N2 changed over the course of same-language runs, and at a switch between languages. Results showed that speakers named pictures more quickly late as compared to early in a run of same-language trials. Moreover, they made a language switch more quickly after a long run than after a short run. In ERPs, we observed a widely distributed switch effect in the N2, which was larger after a short run than after a long run. The N2 was not modulated during a same-language run, challenging Kleinman and Gollan (2018), who maintained that inhibition accumulates over time. Our results suggests that speakers adjust the level of inhibitory control at a language switch, but not when repeatedly naming in the same language.

The effect of inhibitory control and its training on L1 and a new learned language switching

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 653-674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huanhuan Liu ◽  
Susan Dunlap ◽  
Lijuan Liang ◽  
Baoguo Chen
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Initial Period ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Late Positive Component ◽  
Switch Costs

Aims: This study aimed to investigate how individuals’ inhibitory control (IC) ability affects language switching in the initial period of language learning. Design: Using a pretest/posttest design and event-related potential (ERP) methodology, we investigated the effect of IC on Chinese–English bilinguals during their language switching between Chinese (L1) and Korean (a language new to the participants, Lnew). All participants were required to name pictures (picture-naming task) in their L1 and Lnew in the pretest and posttest. Low-IC participants received an IC task training between the pretest and the posttest, while the high-IC group did not. Data and analysis: Analyses of both response latencies and ERP data were conducted by repeated-measures ANOVA. Findings: Results showed that the high-IC group exhibited symmetrical switch costs in both the pretest and the posttest. Besides, a more obvious late positive component (LPC) was observed when the high-IC participants switched from L1 to Lnew than the other way around, indicating their ability to inhibit cross-language interference. In contrast, the low-IC group exhibited asymmetrical switch costs, and no amplitude difference when switching between Lnew and L1 in the pretest. However, in the posttest, the switch costs pattern and the LPC results of the low-IC group became similar to those of the high-IC group. Innovation: The present study was a first attempt to provide electrophysiological evidence that IC ability plays an important role during L1–Lnew switching. Significance: These findings support the hypothesis that individuals’ IC ability plays a role of suppressing the non-target lexical access during language switching in the initial period of second language learning. The results also indicate that the relevant training in IC ability could contribute to the improvement of the language-switching efficiency in the initial period of language learning.

Language switch costs in sentence comprehension depend on language dominance: Evidence from self-paced reading

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 453-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
SYBRINE BULTENA ◽  
TON DIJKSTRA ◽  
JANET G. VAN HELL
Keyword(s):  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Facilitation Effect ◽  
Reading Task ◽  
Language Dominance ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Co Activation ◽  
Main Verb

This study investigated two prominent issues in the comprehension of language switches. First, how does language switching direction affect switch costs in sentence context? Second, are switch costs modulated by L2 proficiency and cross-linguistic activation? We conducted a self-paced reading task involving sentences that switched between participants’ L1 Dutch and L2 English. The cognate status of the main verb was manipulated to examine the influence of co-activation on intra-sentential switch costs. The reading times indicated the influence of switch direction: a cost was observed for switches into L2 but not for switches into L1, and the magnitude of the costs was correlated with L2 proficiency, indicating that switch costs in language comprehension depend on language dominance. Verb cognates did not yield a cognate facilitation effect nor did they influence the magnitude of switch costs in either direction. The results are interpreted in terms of an activation account explaining lexical comprehension based on L2 proficiency.

scholarly journals Are similar control processes implemented during single and dual language production? Evidence from switching between speech registers and languages

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 694-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Declerck ◽  
Iva Ivanova ◽  
Jonathan Grainger ◽  
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia
Keyword(s):  
Language Production ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
Switch Cost ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Stimulus Interval ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Control Processes ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
French And English

AbstractTo investigate whether similar control processes are used during single and dual language production, we compared register switching (formal and informal speech in the same language) vs. language switching (French and English). The results across two experiments showed a positive correlation of overall register- and language-switch costs and similar formal French switch costs across the two switching tasks. However, whereas increasing the cue-to-stimulus interval resulted in a reduction of language-switch costs, register-switch costs were unaffected by the interval manipulation. This difference in switch-cost pattern indicates that control processes are not entirely identical during single and dual language production.

Dissociating language-switch costs from cue-switch costs in bilingual language switching

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 921-927 ◽  
Author(s):  
KARIN W. HEIKOOP ◽  
MATHIEU DECLERCK ◽  
SANDER A. LOS ◽  
IRING KOCH
Keyword(s):  
Language Switching ◽  
Language Mapping ◽  
Control Processes ◽  
Switch Costs ◽  
Language Control

Cued language switching is used to examine language-control processes by comparing performance in language-switch trials with performance in repetition trials. In 1:1 cue-to-language mappings, language repetitions involve cue repetitions and language switches involve cue switches. Hence, the observed switch costs might reflect cue-switch costs rather than language-related control processes. By introducing a 2:1 cue-to-language mapping, we dissociated language switches (cue and language switched vs. cue switched, but language repeated) and cue switches (repeated language, with vs. without switched cue). We found cue-switch costs, but language-related switch costs were substantial, too, presumably reflecting language-control processes in cued language switching.

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