Abstract
Bilingual language control (BLC) is a much-debated issue in recent literature. Some models assume BLC is achieved by various types of inhibition of the non-target language, whereas other models do not assume any inhibitory mechanisms. In an event-related potential (ERP) study involving a long-lag morphological priming paradigm, participants were required to name pictures and read aloud words in both their L1 (Dutch) and L2 (English). Switch blocks contained intervening L1 items between L2 primes and targets, whereas non-switch blocks contained only L2 stimuli. In non-switch blocks, target picture names that were morphologically related to the primes were named faster than unrelated control items. In switch blocks, faster response latencies were recorded for morphologically related targets as well, demonstrating the existence of morphological priming in the L2. However, only in non-switch blocks, ERP data showed a reduced N400 trend, possibly suggesting that participants made use of a post-lexical checking mechanism during the switch block.
Highlights
It is not clear how morphologically complex words are represented and processed in non-native speakers
The results of this study provide more insights into the issue of how morphologically complex words of the L2 are represented in the brain, and inform theories concerning bilingual language control
The Koester and Schiller (2011) study found a neural priming effect in the left inferior frontal gyrus. Both transparent primes, where the target word is semantically related to one of the constituents of the compound prime, and opaque primes, where there is no semantic relationship between the compound and the target, resulted in faster naming latencies. These results suggest that complex words that need to be stored as wholes due to their non-decompositional semantics, the opaque compounds, are represented as wholes in the lexicon, but are parsed into their constituents
Summary
It is not clear how morphologically complex words are represented and processed in non-native speakers. The results of this study provide more insights into the issue of how morphologically complex words of the L2 are represented in the brain, and inform theories concerning bilingual language control. People who are fluent in more than one language are quite capable of keeping their languages apart This process seems to be effortless and usually is without intrusions from one language into the other (Poulisse, 1999). This is striking considering the evidence suggesting that both languages of bilinguals are active, even when only one is being used (Green, 1986; Kroll et al, 2006; Van Heuven et al, 2008)
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