Language Dominance In Bilinguals Research Articles

Cortical thickness is influenced by bilingual language dominance in typical and pathological cognitive aging

AbstractBackgroundPrior research in clinical and non‐clinical populations demonstrates that speaking more than one language can modify gray matter structure (e.g., DeLuca et al., 2020; Torres et al., 2022). However, existing work has largely classified bilingualism dichotomously, diminishing the ability to establish associations between bilingual factors (e.g., language dominance) and regional cortical thickness (CT).MethodWe examined cross‐sectional differences in CT across a large, ethnically diverse sample of bilingual and monolingual older adults from the Health and Aging Brain Study: Health Disparities cohort (n = 1,605; O’Bryant et al., 2021). Differences in CT between language dominance subgroups across three levels of diagnostic phase (cognitively unimpaired, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and Alzheimer’s dementia (AD)) were evaluated using linear‐mixed effects models. Participants were characterized as English‐dominant or Spanish‐dominant speakers according to responses on language interview questions and the Short Acculturation Scale for Hispanics (Marin et al., 1987).ResultAssociations between CT and language dominance differed across diagnostic phase (Tukey‐adjusted ps <0.05). In the cognitively unimpaired group, English‐dominant speakers exhibited greater CT than Spanish‐dominant speakers in in regions‐of‐interest (ROIs) related to auditory processing (Heschl’s gyrus), semantic processing (temporal pole), and executive functioning (frontal pole). Spanish‐dominant speakers exhibited greater CT than English‐dominant speakers in two ROIs supporting motor (precentral) and spatial processing (entorhinal). These CT differences were attenuated in the MCI phase. Here, English‐dominant speakers exhibited greater CT than Spanish‐dominant patients in the frontal pole (executive processing). Spanish‐dominant patients did not exhibit greater CT than English‐dominant patients. Notably, this pattern of group differences was reversed in AD patients. Here, Spanish‐dominant patients exhibited greater CT than English‐dominant patients in ROIs in Alzheimer’s disease‐related regions (parahippocampal and entorhinal).ConclusionOur results indicate associations between language dominance and regional CT, with distinct patterns by diagnostic phase. Whereas English‐dominant bilinguals demonstrated greater regional CT relative to Spanish‐dominant bilinguals in the cognitively unimpaired and MCI phase, Spanish‐dominant bilinguals had greater CT in disease‐related regions in the AD phase. The presence of greater CT in Spanish‐dominant bilingual AD patients is suggestive of resistance to pathological progression. Future research examining longitudinal patterns of neural decline in larger samples is needed.

Vocabulary skills of bilingual children: The evidence for context‐dependent performance

AbstractMost bilingual children often display greater proficiency and preference for one of their two languages. Researchers refer to this asymmetry as language dominance. However, despite being possible to determine the overall language dominance in bilinguals, there may be substantial flexibility in their language use. In particular, the relative ease of using each language may depend on the sociolinguistic context and the language of the interlocutor which may affect the ease of accessing words in a given language. In the present work, we investigate whether and how the sociolinguistic context in an International English medium school influences bilingual children's vocabulary production. Specifically, we examine whether bilingual first‐grade children's expressive vocabulary skills vary as a function of the linguistic context (Home/School) and the language (English/Spanish) of their conversational partner. Results showed that contextual factors interacted with child's language performance. The participants' ability to name objects in Spanish was affected by the conversational partner's language, and their ability to name Home‐context words varied by language. The findings of this investigation highlight the importance of considering sociolinguistic factors when evaluating bilingual children's language skills.

Measuring language dominance in bilinguals with two sign languages

Abstract This study examines whether a multi-faceted construct of language dominance developed for spoken languages applies to signed language bilinguals. Sign languages have been described as highly iconic and relatively similar to each other compared to spoken languages. Attaining fluency in the signed modality might well require considerably less effort, and balanced bilingualism may be more prevalent in the signed modality. Language dominance constructs, as currently understood, might differ in the spoken and signed modality. Forty bilinguals with two sign languages responded to a language dominance questionnaire developed for spoken languages and performed a phonological fluency (sign generation) task. Language dominance levels were found to vary in the signed modality. The correlation between reported dominance levels and the number of signs generated in each sign language was significant, suggesting that the construct of language dominance tested is robust and independent of modality.

Shift in language dominance in bilinguals

This paper investigates shift in language dominance in sequential bilinguals following migration. Participants include 149 Polish-English bilinguals who relocated to the United Kingdom in early adulthood and underwent processes of acculturation and sociocultural integration. The independent variables in this study are divided into (1) sociocultural aspects, including: migration, acculturation level, social network profile, predicted future domicile; and (2) biographical aspects, including: age of onset of L2 acquisition (AoA), age at migration, and length of residence. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The findings revealed strong links between language dominance and sociocultural variables including acculturation level, social network profile, and predicted future domicile. The results showed that sociocultural integration is a strong predictor of shift in language dominance. This study adds sociocultural and dominance perspectives to current research on language development over lifespan, by documenting a shift in language dominance in young adult sequential bilinguals following migration.

Bilingual language dominance and contrastive focus marking: Gradient effects of K’ichee’ syntax on Spanish prosody

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions:This study examines prosodic contrastive focus marking in the Spanish of 24 simultaneous K’ichee’-Spanish bilinguals via the following research questions: (1) How do K’ichee’-Spanish bilinguals prosodically mark contrastive focus in Spanish? (2) Is there evidence of K’ichee’ influence in Spanish prosody and is this possible K’ichee’ influence correlated with the language dominance of the bilinguals?Design/methodology/approach:Participants produced utterances in both broad and contrastive focus conditions via a question-answer task.Data and analysis:Tonic syllables of 1638 target words were analyzed according to L- and H-tone alignment and the rise of the pitch contour. Data were analyzed via linear mixed-effects models according to pragmatic condition (categorical effect) and language dominance (continuous effect).Findings/conclusions:Results indicate gradient effects of language dominance of possible K’ichee’ influence. Spanish-dominant bilinguals tend to prosodically mark contrastive focus to a greater degree than K’ichee’-dominant bilinguals. It is proposed that this may be due to the different focus marking strategies between K’ichee’ and Spanish. K’ichee’ primarily marks contrastive focus syntactically whereas it is much more common in Spanish to only mark contrastive focus prosodically.Originality:This study employs a modified version of the question-answer task, which uses video clips to elicit the data in order to include participants with low literacy rates and control the elicitations. It also provides one of the first analyses of intonation in Guatemalan Spanish and the task and data allow for direct comparisons with the K’ichee’ data produced by these same bilinguals.Significance/implications:These results parallel those of similar studies: among bilinguals, the syntactic contrastive focus marking strategy of one language may affect the prosodic contrastive focus marking strategy of their other language. Additionally, the use of language dominance as a continuous variable expands our understanding of inter-speaker variation in such studies.

Code-mixing and language dominance: bilingual, trilingual and multilingual children compared

ABSTRACTAcquisitionists generally assume a relation between code-mixing in young bilingual and trilingual children and language dominance. In our cross-sectional study we investigated the possible relation between code-mixing and language dominance in 122 children raised in Spain or Germany. They were bilingual, trilingual or multilingual, the latter acquiring more than three languages. The definition of language dominance is grounded on Birdsong’s (2014. Dominance in bilingualism: Foundations of measurement, with insights from the study of handedness. In C. Silva-Corvalán, & J. Treffers-Daller (Eds.), Language Dominance in Bilinguals: Issues of operationalization and measurement (pp. 85–105). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) distinction between domains and dimensions. The main result of our study is that code-mixing is rare in a monolingual setting which means that bilingual, trilingual and multilingual children are able to behave monolingually. Domain-specific language dominance can explain the relatively high mixing rate in the Catalan tests but concerning the dimensions of language dominance no relation was found between the children’s code-mixing and language (un)balance. A separate analysis of intra- and intersentential mixing reveals that intersentential mixing is determined by the typological proximity between the child's languages. All instances of intrasentential code-mixing, were insertional.

What Defines Language Dominance in Bilinguals?

This article focuses on the construct of language dominance in bilinguals and the ways in which this construct has been operationalized. Language dominance is often seen as relative proficiency in two languages, but it can also be analyzed in terms of language use—that is, how frequently bilinguals use their languages and how these are divided across domains. Assessing language dominance is important because it has become clear that the level of bilinguals’ proficiency in each language and the relative strength of each language affect performance on tasks. A key distinction is made between direct measures of language dominance, which assess an aspect of language proficiency (e.g., vocabulary or grammar), and indirect ones, which measure variability in exposure to different languages and bilinguals’ use of them. The article includes an evaluation of the extent to which the latter can be interpreted as a proxy for the former.

The Multilingual Naming Test in Alzheimer's Disease: Clues to the Origin of Naming Impairments

The current study explored the picture naming performance of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). First, we evaluated the utility of the multilingual naming test (MINT; Gollan et al., 2011), which was designed to assess naming skills in speakers of multiple languages, for detecting naming impairments in monolingual AD and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). If the MINT were sensitive to linguistic impairment in AD, using it in clinical practice might have advantages over using tests exclusively designed for English monolinguals. We found that the MINT can be used with both monolinguals and bilinguals: A 32-item subset of the MINT is best for distinguishing monolingual patients from controls, while the full MINT is best for assessing degree of bilingualism and language dominance in bilinguals. We then investigated the cognitive mechanisms underlying naming impairment in AD. To this end, we explored which MINT item characteristics best predicted performance differences between monolingual patients and controls. We found that contextual diversity and imageability, but not word frequency (nor words’ number of senses), contributed unique variance to explaining naming impairments in AD. These findings suggest a semantic component to the naming impairment in AD (modulated by names’ semantic richness and network size).

Language dominance in Turkish-German bilinguals: methodological aspects of measurements in structurally different languages

The purpose of this study is to establish measures of language dominance in bilinguals who speak structurally different languages, in our case German and Turkish, with tools that are based on fluency and oral proficiency. A ‘balanced’ bilingual with equal proficiency in two (or more) languages is hardly ever found (e.g. Grosjean, 1982; Olsson, & Sullivan, 2005) but the identification of the dominant language is a huge methodological problem, especially in studies of structurally different languages (see Daller, van Hout, & Treffers-Daller, 2003). The participants in the present study are a group of Turkish—German bilinguals who grew up in Germany and returned to Turkey during their school career, the so-called ‘returnees’ (n = 60), and a group of Turkish secondary school students who grew up in Turkey and learned German as an L2, the so-called control group (n = 55). We firstly establish the language dominance of the two groups with a C-test. We then use oral picture descriptions in both languages to measure a variety of fluency measures, both manually and using scripts written in ‘Praat’ (Boersma & Weenink, 2007). On the basis of these scores, we are able to develop measures of fluency that correlate highly with the C-test scores and have a highly predictive value in a logistic regression in the prediction of group membership (returnee or member of the control group). We conclude that this corroborates the validity of the measures. Overall we conclude that it is possible to develop measures of language dominance based on fluency and overall oral proficiency.

A quick, gradient Bilingual Dominance Scale*

The lack of consistency in how bilingual language dominance is assessed currently impedes cross-experiment comparisons (Grosjean, 1998). We present a paper-and-pencil dominance scale that can be used to quantify the language dominancy of bilingual participants. The scale targets three main criteria important in gauging dominance (Grosjean, 1998; Flege, Mackay & Piske, 2002): percent of language use for both languages, age of acquisition and age of comfort for both languages, and restructuring of language fluency due to changes in linguistic environments. Reaction times from a Spanish/English lexical translation task and filler rates and elongation rates from a Spanish/English sentence translation task support the validity of the scale. The scale can be adapted for nonliterate populations by asking questions verbally and recording responses.

The Neural Cost of the Auditory Perception of Language Switches: An Event-Related Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study in Bilinguals

One of the most remarkable abilities of bilinguals is to produce and/or to perceive a switch from one language to the other without any apparent difficulty. However, several psycholinguistic studies indicate that producing, recognizing, and integrating a linguistic code different from the one in current use may entail a processing cost for the speaker/listener. Up to now, the underlying neural substrates of perceiving language switches are unknown. In the present study, we investigated the neural mechanisms of language switching during auditory perception in bilinguals. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 12 early, highly proficient Italian/French bilinguals, who were more exposed to their second language. Subjects had to listen to narratives containing "switched passages" that could either respect (i.e., regular switches) or violate (i.e., irregular switches) the constituents of sentence structure. The results indicate that switching engages an extensive neural network, including bilateral prefrontal and temporal associative regions. Moreover, a clear dissociation is observed for the types of switches. Regular switches entail a pattern of brain activity closely related to lexical processing, whereas irregular switches engage brain structures involved in syntactic and phonological aspects of language processing. Noteworthy, when switching into the less-exposed language, we observed the selective engagement of subcortical structures and of the anterior cingulate cortex, putatively involved in cognitive and executive control. This suggests that switching into a less-exposed language requires controlled processing resources. This pattern of brain activity may constitute an important neural signature of language dominance in bilinguals.

Language Dominance in Bilinguals’ Arithmetic Operations According to Their Language Use

This study investigated the alleged persistence of first language dominance for arithmetic operations in bilinguals. Thirty two Japanese‐English bilinguals aged 19‐58 years solved arithmetic problems presented auditorily. They were required to respond verbally in the language in which the problems were presented. The problems were presented only in one language in each experimental session so that the participants did not have to switch between two languages. The participants were divided into short‐term and long‐term residents according to their length of residence in the U.S. and self‐estimated percentage of English use per day. Reaction time data from the two groups were then analyzed. For the short‐term residents, a strong dominance for calculation in Japanese was found, but this dominance decreased with increasing length of residence in the U.S. and their extent of English use. For the long‐term residents, reaction times in English and Japanese were virtually identical. Possible explanations for first language dominance are discussed.

Converging evidence for left hemisphere language lateralization in bilinguals

A previous study [1] demonstrated that when subject and experimental variables are controlled, similar levels of left hemisphere language lateralization are obtained in bilinguals and monolinguals. The present study used the same group of bilinguals (adult, late acquirers of their second language) in an auditory lateralization task. A similar degree of left hemisphere asymmetry was again obtained for the bilinguals' two languages and for the monolinguals. Furthermore, the individual performances of the bilinguals—within the present task and across visual and auditory tasks—paralleled those of monolinguals. Thus, converging evidence is provided for equal levels of left hemisphere language dominance in bilinguals and monolinguals.

Language Use in a Bilingual Community*

The Modern Language JournalVolume 53, Issue 3 p. 166-172 Language Use in a Bilingual Community* Robert L. Cooper, Robert L. Cooper Yeshiva UniversitySearch for more papers by this authorLawrence Greenfield, Lawrence Greenfield Trenton State CollegeSearch for more papers by this author Robert L. Cooper, Robert L. Cooper Yeshiva UniversitySearch for more papers by this authorLawrence Greenfield, Lawrence Greenfield Trenton State CollegeSearch for more papers by this author First published: March 1969 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1969.tb04584.xCitations: 3 † The research reported herein was supported under DHEW Contract No. OEC-1–7-062817–0297, “The Measurement and Description of Language Dominance in Bilinguals,” Joshua A. Fishman, Project Director. Data analysis was made possible by a grant to the Project Director by the College Entrance Examination Board. The authors wish to thank Dr. Joshua A. Fishman for his advice and encouragement during all stages of the work reported here. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume53, Issue3March 1969Pages 166-172 RelatedInformation