Abstract
This study aims at assessing how bilinguals select words in the appropriate language in production and recognition while minimizing interference from the non-appropriate language. Two prominent models are considered which assume that when one language is in use, the other is suppressed. The Inhibitory Control (IC) model suggests that, in both production and recognition, the amount of inhibition on the non-target language is greater for the stronger compared to the weaker language. In contrast, the Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA) model proposes that, in language recognition, the amount of inhibition on the weaker language is stronger than otherwise. To investigate whether bilingual language production and recognition can be accounted for by a single model of bilingual processing, we tested a group of native speakers of Dutch (L1), advanced speakers of English (L2) in a bilingual recognition and production task. Specifically, language switching costs were measured while participants performed a lexical decision (recognition) and a picture naming (production) task involving language switching. Results suggest that while in language recognition the amount of inhibition applied to the non-appropriate language increases along with its dominance as predicted by the IC model, in production the amount of inhibition applied to the non-relevant language is not related to language dominance, but rather it may be modulated by speakers' unconscious strategies to foster the weaker language. This difference indicates that bilingual language recognition and production might rely on different processing mechanisms and cannot be accounted within one of the existing models of bilingual language processing.
Highlights
When a speaker of more than one language processes a language, words from the non-relevant language might be activated and interfere
While accuracy rates did not differ significantly for pseudowords generated from the L1 and those generated from the L2 (p > 0.05), L1 words were responded more accurately than L2 words (β = 0.45, SE = 0.28, z = 2.03, p < 0.05)
Language Switching Costs We regard to the main research question, we found that language switching costs for words were larger for the L1 compared to the L2, i.e., asymmetrical switching costs
Summary
When a speaker of more than one language (hereafter “bilingual”) processes a language, words from the non-relevant language might be activated and interfere. This can happen while speaking, and during writing, listening and reading. The ability to confine processing to the relevant language is called “language control” and is essential for successful communication. Language production and recognition have been often investigated separately, leaving unclear whether the two processes rely on the same or different mechanisms. The present paper focusses on bilingual language control in production and recognition
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