English Bilinguals Research Articles

Language Control and Code-Switching in Bilingual Children With Developmental Language Disorder.

The current study examined language control and code-switching in bilingual children with developmental language disorder (DLD) compared to bilingual peers with typical language development (TLD). In addition, proficiency in each language and cognitive control skills were examined as predictors of children's tendency to engage in cross-speaker and intrasentential code-switching. The participants were 62 Spanish/English bilingual children, ages 4;0-6;11 (years;months), including 15 children with DLD and 47 children with TLD. In a scripted confederate dialogue task to measure language control, children took turns describing picture scenes with video partners who were monolingual speakers of English or Spanish. The Dimensional Change Card Sort indexed cognitive control, the Bilingual English Spanish Assessment assisted in identifying DLD, and parent ratings from the Inventory to Assess Language Knowledge indexed proficiency in Spanish and English. Children with DLD were more likely to engage in cross-speaker code-switching from Spanish to English (i.e., responding in English when addressed in Spanish) than children with TLD, even when controlling for proficiency in each language. Intrasentential code-switching (i.e., integrating both languages within an utterance) did not differ between groups. Cognitive control was more associated with cross-speaker than with intrasentential code-switching. These findings highlight the need to consider cross-speaker and intrasentential code-switching separately when seeking distinguishing features of code-switching in bilingual children with DLD. The use of increased cross-speaker code-switching by children with DLD especially with Spanish speakers highlights the need for increased support of home language use.

Bilingualism in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Classroom Context

This study explores the process and obstacles of bilingualism at SMP Muhammadiyah 3 Yogyakarta. The research was descriptive qualitative research. The samples of this research were 20 students. The data used were collected from observation, questionnaires, interviews, and documentation. This data sources were students of grade VIII and one English teacher at SMP Muhammadiyah 3 Yogyakarta. Data analysis was performed using a Linker's scale for questionnaire data, data reduction, data presentation, verification, and conclusions. The results showed that students' interactions with students and students with teachers in the bilingual class of SMP Muhammadiyah 3 Yogyakarta in the learning process were still ineffective and experienced difficulties that hinder the interaction process. The findings were as follows (1) Students still felt insecure if they had to use full of English to interact with friends in a bilingual class, they still felt afraid of mispronouncing English correctly and adequately, they did not master vocabulary well, and they used English in bilingual with the teacher only in the classroom. (2) The obstacles that students experienced in the teaching and learning process in a bilingual class as follows: Students still felt ashamed to use English to interact in a bilingual class, they still taught that using English was not a necessity in a bilingual class, sometimes, Bahasa Indonesia was still a language to interact with friends, and they were still afraid of using English by with excellent and correct English in pronunciation.

Adverbs in Spanish–English code-switching: Comparing verb raising and non-raising

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions:Using generative syntactic theory regarding verb raising, predictions are made about adverb position in intra-sentential Spanish–English code-switching. Since both languages allow for non-raising, pre-verbal adverbs should be acceptably switched. However, since verb raising is only available in Spanish, post-verbal adverbs should only be allowed with a Spanish finite verb.Design/methodology/approach:Spanish–English early bilinguals ( n = 24) completed a written acceptability judgment task with a 7-point Likert-type scale. The Spanish–English code-switched sentences contained a finite verb switched with a post-verbal or pre-verbal adverb. In addition, comparison sets of monolingual equivalents were tested, targeting adverb order in Spanish and English.Data and analysis:A total of 192 judgments were included in the analysis, and z-scores of the mean ratings provided by the participants were calculated. After a descriptive analysis of the results compared language and adverb order, statistical analyses were conducted via analyses of variance (ANOVAs).Findings/conclusions:Participants showed a preference for non-raising in English, while they accepted both orders in Spanish, but only with adverbs of completion and manner. For code-switching, non-raising was always acceptable, but verb raising varied. The availability of switched non-raising directly follows from the literature. However, the language of the finite verb did not predict availability of verb raising in code-switching. The results suggest that the language of the adverb is crucial to the availability of switching, not solely the verb.Originality:The status of adverbs in code-switching has been left relatively unexplored. This study provides important details regarding adverb position both in mixed Spanish–English utterances and in monolingual contexts for this particular bilingual population.Significance/implications:These findings have a broader impact by providing data about adverb-position preferences in Spanish for a different community of speakers. In particular, it shows even more variability in the idiosyncratic behavior of different adverbs in Spanish.

Understanding the role of cross-language transfer of phonological awareness in emergent Hindi–English biliteracy acquisition

This study examined within and cross-language relations, and specifically, the role of phonological awareness (PA) skills in reading among young Hindi-speaking children (L1) who were learning to read English (L2) in Delhi, India. Data was collected from 143 children in Grades 1 and 2 using measures validated for this population. The analyses examined the associations between L1 and L2 PA and decoding, both within and across the two languages. The results showed that PA skills within each language significantly predicted decoding in that language. Furthermore, there was evidence of cross-language transfer with Hindi PA significantly predicting English word reading even after controlling for English PA. English PA also significantly predicted Hindi decoding, however, these effects decreased once Hindi PA was added to the model. These findings emphasize the important role that both L1 and L2 PA plays in reading among emergent Hindi–English bilinguals. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings on literacy instruction in India are discussed.

Cognate facilitation effect during auditory comprehension of a second language: A visual world eye-tracking study

Aims and Objectives: The cognate facilitation effect (CFE) is a robust effect in language production and visual word comprehension, but evidence for CFE during auditory comprehension is still scarce. This study aimed to explore the CFE during auditory comprehension of a second language (L2) while manipulating proficiency in the L2 and cognate type. These two variables are known to influence the CFE. Methodology: Low and highly proficient Spanish–English bilinguals listened to individual words in their L2, English, that shared high, low, and no phonological overlap (PO) with their native language Spanish. We designed a visual world paradigm task that consisted of selecting an image shown as a spoken word unfolded in time while eye movements were recorded. Data and Analysis: Response times revealed a clear CFE in low proficiency bilinguals, while this effect was absent in highly proficient bilinguals. The eye-tracking (ET) data showed late coactivation of low-PO words and, surprisingly, no coactivation of high-PO words in low proficiency bilinguals. Highly proficient bilinguals showed no clear pattern of language coactivation in the ET data. The English monolingual control group showed no effects during the critical time window. Conclusions: These results are interpreted within the framework of L2 processing models. At low levels of proficiency, the PO between translations facilitates access to meaning. On the other hand, highly proficient bilinguals no longer benefit from the PO between translations, at least for concrete and simple nouns. Originality: The findings demonstrate a clear CFE in auditory comprehension. Proficiency in L2 and PO modulated the effect, as shown in both the response time and in the ET data, respectively. Implications: These findings suggest that at low levels of L2 proficiency, learners more easily access the conceptual information if the auditory input is similar to their native language. Nevertheless, as proficiency increases, this facilitation disappears.

Cognate and meaning frequency effects on homonym processing

Purpose: This study investigated the influence of L1 co-activation and meaning frequency of homonyms on L2 lexical access of Brazilian Portuguese–English bilinguals during an L2 meaning decision task. Design: Eighty-four university students completed a meaning decision task—with cognate homonyms—a meaning recognition task, a Language History Questionnaire, and an L2 proficiency test. The meaning decision task was composed of 128 prime words followed by one out of three possible targets: related to the dominant meaning, related to the subordinate one, or unrelated. Independent variables were cognate status (64 cognate × 64 non-cognate words), homonym status (64 homonym × 64 non-homonyms), prime-sharedness (16 dominant meaning shared words × 16 subordinate meaning shared words), and target-relatedness (64 related to dominant meaning × 64 related to subordinate meaning × 64 unrelated words). Dependent variables were reaction times and accuracy. Data and analysis: Data were analyzed using linear mixed effect models in R. Findings: Results showed that, in this sample of bilinguals, processing of target words related to the meaning of the prime was confounded when primes were homonyms. In general, this interference was not decreased by the co-activation of cognate words across languages. Accuracy scores benefited from cognate status only when no ambiguity was present. Word processing was faster and more accurate when target words were related to the dominant meaning of the homonym prime, which shared this same meaning across languages. Originality: L1 co-activation via cognate words was not enough to decrease homonym interference effect in L2 word processing. Implications: This study lends support for a non-selective bilingual lexical access view and for frequency approaches during L2 word recognition. It also indicates limitations of the cognate facilitation effect.

A SIGN IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS: JORDANIAN SHOP SIGNS IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES

Language is a powerful tool for communication in a variety of fields all around the world. People sometimes communicate in a variety of fields by combining the official language with languages used in other nations. Education, health, business, commerce, and other fields are among them. In Jordan, the commercial sector demonstrates the importance of the native tongue, as well as the diversity of languages used in store signage. This research looks on the languages used on commercial store signage in Irbid. According to the findings of this study, 36 percent of commercial store signs are monolingual English, which indicates that they are written entirely in English. Furthermore, 36% of store signs are bilingual English – Arabic, meaning they are written in both English and Arabic. Other foreign languages, such as French, are written on 18% of store signs, whereas Arabic, the official language of Jordanians, is inscribed on 9%. In conclusion, this study shows that English is widely utilized in the business sector in Irbid, as opposed to other foreign languages, which are infrequently used. It also highlights the strong use of English and Arabic, indicating that Irbid is a moderate and conservative city that values the use of the native tongue alongside English as a foreign language.

Processing of English Formulas by L1, L2, and Bilingual English Speakers Based on Formulaicity and Formula Type

Processing of English Formulas by L1, L2, and Bilingual English Speakers Based on Formulaicity and Formula Type

Clausal-Internal Switching in Urdu-English: An Evaluation of the Matrix Language Frame Model

The core of this paper is to employ the Matrix Language Frame (MLF) model on Urdu-English clausal-internal switching to identify whether the Matrix Language Frame model potentially accounts for the bilingual linguistic competence efficiently. For this, a qualitative methodology has been adopted for this study. For empirical evidence, data has been taken from eighty Urdu- English bilinguals within a naturalistic setting after categorizing them into four groups, and each group has 20 participants. After conducting audio-recording through non-participant interviews in an informal setting, the collected data was transcribed. The MLF model posited that two languages are fused in a single Intra-CP of a mixed string. The linearly dominant language is Matrix language (ML) that incorporates only late outsider system morphemes. Odd is Embedded language (EL) that supplies content morphemes satisfying the system morpheme principle (SMP) uniformly and morpheme order principle (MOP). The present study ubiquitously scrutinizes that naturalistic data of Urdu-English bilinguals highlights the innovative results: it predicts that Matrix language (ML) is unidentified in intra-CP, no late outsider system morphemes linearize a code-switched sentence, unparalleled constituent and clausal structure, System Morpheme Principle (SMP) and Morpheme Order Principle (SMP) provides the illegitimate output and computes ungrammatical sentences hence; the Matrix Language Frame model redundantly and inconsistently accounts for Urdu-English naturalistic data and its principles have failed to compute Urdu-English naturalistic data.

Psycholinguistic Aspects of the Development of Students’ Critical Approach to the Solution of Terminological Problems in Online Translation Learning

The research is aimed at exploring the approaches to increase the efficiency of the development of the future translators’ critical approach to the solution of terminological problems, as well as the specialized bilingual (English and Ukrainian) terminology acquisition, in online teaching and learning. The method of research is based on the assumption that the said increase can be achieved through the intensification of the students’ analytical and thinking activity in their independent work by means of post-editing the machine-translated target texts combined with the simultaneous written explanation of the reasons for the respective corrections. This assumption was tested in the pilot experimental online teaching of specialised (in the domain of Psychology) translation to the first-year MA students majoring in Translation. The participants’ performance assessment took into account the amount of the independent work done by them, the level of their critical approach, as well as the specialised terminology usage accuracy in the final translation test. The results of the analysis proved the apparent dependence of the participants’ critical approach to the solution of terminological problems and the efficiency of specialised terminology acquisition on the intensity of their analytical and thinking activity in their independent work. The advantage of the participants with the highest level of the said intensity over those with the average one amounted to 16%, and 40% – over those with the lowest intensity. The efficiency of the development of students’ critical approach to the solution of terminological problems and the specialised terminology acquisition in online translation teaching and learning may be increased by intensification of their analytical and thinking activity in the process of meaningful post-editing of machine-translated target texts.

The Role of Prosody and Morphology in the Mapping of Information Structure onto Syntax

The mapping of information structure onto morphology or intonation varies greatly crosslinguistically. Agglutinative languages, like Inuktitut or Quechua, have a rich morphological layer onto which discourse-level features are mapped but a limited use of intonation. Instead, English or Spanish lack grammaticalized morphemes that convey discourse-level information but use intonation to a relatively large extent. We propose that the difference found in these two pairs of languages follows from a division of labor across language modules, such that two extreme values of the continuum of possible interactions across modules are available as well as combinations of morphological and intonational markers. At one extreme, in languages such as Inuktitut and Quechua, a rich set of morphemes with scope over constituents convey sentence-level and discourse-level distinctions, making the alignment of intonational patterns and information structure apparently redundant. At the other extreme, as in English and to some extent Spanish, a series of consistent alignments of PF and syntactic structure are required to distinguish sentence types and to determine the information value of a constituent. This results in a complementary distribution of morphology and intonation in these languages. In contact situations, overlap between patterns of module interaction are attested. Evidence from Quechua–Spanish and Inuktitut–English bilinguals supports a bidirectionality of crosslinguistic influence; intonational patterns emerge in non-intonational languages to distinguish sentence types, whereas morphemes or discourse particles emerge in intonational languages to mark discourse-level features.

Bilingual Discourse Comprehension:The Role of Language Overlap in Updating the Discourse Representation

ABSTRACT In the present study we examined whether overlap in language across texts influences the integration of information into a coherent discourse representation for bilingual readers. Across two experiments highly proficient Spanish–English bilinguals read pairs of expository passages describing two fictional science facts while their eye-movements were monitored. One of the facts was revised in the second passage, requiring a discourse updating. The language of the two passages and follow-up questions was fully crossed. Accuracy was lower for questions pertaining to revised facts when the second passage was in the second language (L2). This cost was exacerbated when the first passage was in the dominant language, suggesting strong interference from the representation of the first passage which impeded updating the discourse model in the L2. This interference was eliminated in Experiment 2 when second passages were written based on a refutation-style text structure. Analyses of reading times on the pseudo-terms before and after the revised fact was stated indicated that the previous version of the fact was reactivated and interfered with processing. This interference was similar regardless of whether passages were written in the same or different languages.

On the multidimensionality of bilingualism and the unique role of language use

AbstractThe multidimensionality of the bilingual experience makes the investigation of bilingualism fascinating but also challenging. Although the literature distinguishes several aspects of bilingualism, the measurement methods and the relationships between these aspects have not been clearly established. In a group of 171 relatively young Polish–English bilinguals living in their first-language environment, this study investigates the relationships between the multiple measures of bilingualism. The study shows that language entropy – an increasingly popular measure of the diversity of language use – reflects a separate aspect of the bilingual experience from language-switching and language-mixing measures. The findings also indicate that language proficiency is not a uniform aspect of the bilingual experience but a complex construct that requires appropriately comprehensive measurements. Collectively, the findings contribute to the discussion on the best practices for quantifying bilingualism.

Cross-script phonological activation in Chinese-English bilinguals: The effect of SOA from masked priming.

The issue of bilingual phonological access remains unclear for bilinguals with cross-script language systems, which is especially true when the time course of phonological activation is involved. To investigate the time course of cross-script phonological activation, the present study asked Chinese-English bilinguals to complete a word naming task that was conducted in a forward-masked phonological priming paradigm in three stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) conditions. By comparing the interlingual and intralingual phonological priming effects in a within-subjects design, we found that (a) target naming in Chinese and English was facilitated by a phonologically similar English or Chinese prime in the three SOA conditions (43 ms, 75 ms, and 150 ms) and the facilitation effect of the prime reached the peak when the pronunciation of the prime-target pair most resembled each other and (b) manipulation of the SOAs affected both the naming latencies of target words and the sizes of the phonological priming effect. In particular, naming latencies in each prime-target type displayed an increasing tendency as the SOA prolonged. Moreover, despite the varied sizes of the priming effect in the three SOA conditions, we found a consistent pattern that the priming effects in two interlingual conditions resembled their respective intralingual conditions along the time course. Taken together, these findings provide strong support for an integrated phonological representation of bilinguals and further extend the language nonselective access hypothesis to language pairs with very different orthographic systems. Implications for the manipulation of the SOAs in the masked priming paradigm are also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Second-Language Influence on First-Language Animacy Constraints and Word Order in Korean–English Bilinguals

AbstractDoes second-language (L2) syntactic influence on first-language (L1) reflect long-term changes to L1 syntax or occur only as a result of retrieval difficulties during time-constrained tasks? To evaluate L2 influence on L1 representation of animacy constraints (an element at the syntax–semantics interface) and word order (narrow syntax), we asked Korean–English bilingual speakers to judge sentences for grammaticality under both speeded and unspeeded conditions (Study 1) and to choose the more acceptable sentence of pairs that contained one grammatical and one ungrammatical sentence (Study 2). We found evidence for L2 influence on L1 animacy constraints in all cases and potential L2 influence on L1 word order in Study 1. These results indicate that L2 influence on L1 syntax can be observed even in conditions that reduce retrieval difficulty, implicating changes to underlying L1 representations. They also support the notion of greater susceptibility to change at the syntax–semantics interface.

Gender assignment: Monolingual constraints contribute to a bilingual outcome

Aims and objectives: This study explores the well-researched topic of gender assignment to English nouns in Spanish discourse through a usage-based framework. The goal is to elucidate the relative impact of both previously studied and novel constraints on the variable application of feminine determiners. Methodology: A variationist analysis of English nouns surrounded by Spanish discourse in the spontaneous speech of bilinguals. Data and analysis: Data come from the New Mexico Spanish–English Bilingual Corpus. Tokens ( N = 707) were coded for independent variables and submitted to a logistic regression. The goodness of fit was determined via the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve method. Findings: All independent variables were selected as significant by the logistic regression model. Based on factor weight ranges, the hierarchy of constraints is the following, from the most to the least impactful: Analogical Gender, Phonological Shape, Syntactic Role, and Determiner Definiteness. These results suggest that bilinguals utilize a variety of constraints in gender assignment, as opposed to a single default strategy. Originality: While previous studies have tested and found similar results for constraints such as analogical gender and phonological shape, none have offered a unified analysis explaining findings from a usage-based approach. The originality and utility of this approach is most apparent in the discussions of prototypicality and schematicity. Significance/implications: A corpus-based approach and usage-based theory is shown to bring new insight to a topic of interest in many other linguistic sub-fields. The discussion reinterprets previous conclusions about gender assignment using a framework not proposed in previous research, despite similar overall results.

Access to verb bias and plausibility information during syntactic processing in adult Spanish-English bilinguals.

In two experiments, we examine how proficient second language speakers integrate verb bias and plausibility information during online sentence comprehension. Spanish-English speakers and native English speakers read sentences in English in which a post-verbal noun phrase (NP) could be interpreted as a direct object or a sentential subject. To examine the role of verb bias, the post-verbal NP was preceded by a verb that is preferentially followed by a direct object (DO-bias verbs) or a sentential complement (SC-bias verbs). To assess the role of plausibility, the semantic fit between the verb and the post-verbal NP was either congruent or incongruent with the direct object interpretation. The results show that both second language speakers and native speakers used verb bias information to assign a grammatical role to the post-verbal ambiguous NP with small differences. Syntactic revision of an initially incorrect DO interpretation was facilitated by the presence of an implausible NP.

Different effects of L1 and L2 phonology on L3 lexical learning: An ERP study

This study investigated the influence of phonological word representations from both first language (L1) and second language (L2) on third language (L3) lexical learning in L1-dominant Spanish–English bilinguals. More specifically, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to determine whether L1 Spanish and L2 English phonology modulates bilinguals’ brain response to newly learned L3 Slovak words, some of which had substantial phonological overlap with either L1 or L2 words (interlingual homophones) in comparison to matched control words with little or no phonological overlap. ERPs were recorded from a group of 20 Spanish–English bilinguals in response to 120 auditory Slovak words, both before and after a three-day-long learning period during which they associated the L3 Slovak novel words with their L1 Spanish translations. Behaviorally, both L1 Spanish and L2 English homophony facilitated the learning of L3 Slovak words in a similar manner. In contrast, the electrophysiological results of the post-training ERPs, but not the pre-training ERPs, showed an N100 effect for L2 English interlingual homophones and opposite N400 effects for L1 Spanish and L2 English interlingual homophones in comparison to control words. These findings suggest different neurocognitive mechanisms in the use of L1 and L2 phonological information when learning novel words in an L3.

The status of sibilant harmony in Diné Bizaad (Navajo)

This article presents an acoustic phonetic study of contemporary Diné Bizaad (Navajo) sibilant harmony, with a focus on the realization of /s/ and /ʃ/ in two verbal prefixes and one nominal prefix. Data come from wordlists and connected speech recorded in interviews with 50 Diné Bizaad–English bilinguals, aged 18–75 years. The frequency of harmony in each prefix is calculated for speakers of different ages, then acoustic measurements of spectral center of gravity are measured and statistically compared to those in sibilants occurring in harmony-triggering and non-harmony triggering conditions. Results show no significant intergenerational differences in the phonetic or phonological realization of sibilant harmony; speakers consistently and categorically harmonize the two verbal prefixes analyzed here, but rarely harmonize the nominal prefix. This study contributes new phonetic documentation of a typologically rare phonological process and suggests that, in contrast to findings from other studies on endangered languages, sibilant harmony is not undergoing attrition or contact-induced change.

“It’s Like Stealing What Should be Theirs.” An Exploration of the Experiences and Perspectives of Parents and Educational Practitioners on Hebrew–English Bilingualism for Jewish Autistic Children

Parents of autistic children are routinely advised to raise them monolingually, despite potential negative effects of monolingualism and no evidence of harm from bilingualism. There is, however, limited research on this topic. This study explored experiences and perspectives of educational practitioners (‘practitioners’) and parents of Hebrew–English bilingual autistic children on bilingualism and monolingualism. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, we explored the experiences of 22 parents and 31 practitioners using both oral and written interviews. The analysis revealed that religious continuity is a crucial factor in bilingual decision-making. Unexpectedly, both practitioners and parents felt that having to adopt a monolingual approach was unjust, in line with conceptions of forced monolingualism. This article recommends awareness training on community languages and research in other communities.