Abstract
The native language changes as a result of contact with a second language, and the pattern and degree of such change depend on a variety of factors like the bilingual experience or the linguistic level. Here, we present a systematic review and meta-analysis of works that explore variations in native sentence comprehension and production by comparing monolinguals and bilinguals. Fourteen studies in the meta-analysis provided information regarding the bilingual experience and differences at the morphosyntactic level using behavioral methods. Overall, we observed that first language processing is subject to small transformations in bilinguals that occur in sentence comprehension and production. The magnitude of the changes depended on bilingual experiences, but only length of residence in an L2 setting predicted the degree of change, where shorter length of residence was associated with larger changes. Results are discussed and related to the cognitive processes that potentially cause the transformations in the first language. The present work reveals some limitations in the field that should be addressed in future studies to better understand the mechanisms behind language attrition.
Highlights
When learning a language, individuals often rely on their native language (L1) to facilitate the acquisition of the second one (L2), but learners find that the characteristics of their L1 interfere when they are incongruent with those in the second language (Lardiere, 2009; Libben and Titone, 2009; Macizo et al, 2010; Paolieri et al, 2010; Casaponsa et al, 2015; Peristeri et al, 2018; Contemori et al, 2019, among others)
We present a systematic review and meta-analysis study to explore the current evidence on how the bilingual experience changes the processing of sentences in the native language to unravel different patterns and the factors that underlie them
The search was conducted in Web of Science (WOS), PsycINFO, PubMed, and Scopus from database inception to March 3, 2021, and the strategy comprised keywords and text words related to bilingualism, attrition, and sentence processing and comprehension
Summary
Individuals often rely on their native language (L1) to facilitate the acquisition of the second one (L2), but learners find that the characteristics of their L1 interfere when they are incongruent with those in the second language (Lardiere, 2009; Libben and Titone, 2009; Macizo et al, 2010; Paolieri et al, 2010; Casaponsa et al, 2015; Peristeri et al, 2018; Contemori et al, 2019, among others). An extensive line of work in bilingualism has been devoted to exploring L1 influences on the L2. Despite this interest, there is evidence that contact with a second language transforms the processing of the L1 at different linguistic levels and carries a deviation from monolinguals (the so-called attrition, Schmid, 2010). Research has found that learning a second language may yield modifications too, including gender assignments (e.g., Kaushanskaya and Smith, 2016) and parsing preferences such as changes in the likelihood with which bilinguals attach a relative clause to a specific noun in ambiguous sentences (Dussias, 2003, 2004; Dussias and Sagarra, 2007). There are differences in brain activity, even when behavioral performance is similar between monolinguals and bilinguals (e.g., Bice and Kroll, 2015; Román et al, 2015)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
