Switch cost modulations in bilingual sentence processing: evidence from shadowing

Abstract

In bilingual processing, cognates are associated with facilitatory processing, while switching between languages is associated with a processing cost. This study investigates whether co-activation of cognates affects the magnitude of switch costs in sentence context. A shadowing task was conducted to examine whether verb cognates reduce switch costs in sentences that switched between participants' LI and L2. In addition, we considered whether these effects were influenced by L2 proficiency, switching direction and cross-linguistic overlap in syntactic structure. Bilinguals were presented with LI and L2 sentences that contained a language switch preceded by a cognate. Shadowing latencies showed that switching to L2 was more costly than switching to LI. Switch costs in both directions were not modulated by the presence of a verb cognate, and this effect was not affected by syntactic structure or L2 proficiency. The results are informative for the field of bilingual processing and the lexical trigger hypothesis.

Does Exposure to Code‐Switching Influence Language Performance in Bilingual Children?

“…Our results provide a possible reconciliation for the discrepant findings in the literature, with some studies indicating null associations between exposure to mixed‐language input and language (Place & Hoff, , ), some studies indicating negative effects of exposure to mixed‐language input on language (Byers‐Heinlein, ; Lipsky, ), and one study suggesting a positive effect of exposure to mixed‐language input on language (Bail et al., ). Our findings also speak to the broader psycholinguistic literature on language switching, where a small number of studies has failed to demonstrate processing costs associated with comprehending mixed‐language input (Gullifer, Kroll, & Dussias, ; Kohnert & Bates, ), challenging the larger literature indicating that comprehension of code‐switched input is more effortful than comprehension of single‐language input (Altarriba et al., ; Bultena et al., 2015a, 2015b; Proverbio et al., ). It is possible that at least some of the discrepancies across studies may be the result of fluctuations in participants’ verbal WM skills.…”

“…Daneman and Carpenter (1980) argued that weaknesses in WM would lead to deficits in comprehension, particularly for the more demanding comprehension tasks that require integration of words, phrases, and sentences into a coherent whole. Processing of code-switched input may constitute just such a task, with a language switch posing processing and integration costs (Altarriba et al, 1996;Bultena et al, 2015aBultena et al, , 2015bProverbio et al, 2004), and inducing an increased cognitive load (Byers-Heinlein et al, 2017). In fact, neuroimaging literature has revealed that codeswitches encountered during comprehension tasks elicit responses that suggest an increased effort in memory updating processes (e.g., Moreno, Federmeier, & Kutas, 2002;van Der Meij, Cuetos, Carreiras, & Barber, 2011).…”

“…Code-switching (alternation between languages) is a common practice among bilinguals. Yet, a robust psycholinguistic literature indicates that codeswitching carries processing costs, both in production (Bobb & Wodniecka, 2013;Fricke, Kroll, & Dussias, 2016;Meuter & Allport, 1999) and in comprehension (Altarriba, Kroll, Sholl, & Rayner, 1996;Bultena, Dijkstra, & Van Hell, 2015a, 2015bByers-Heinlein, Morin-Lessard, & Lew-Williams, 2017;Proverbio, Leoni, & Zani, 2004). Why then do bilinguals code-switch?…”

A review of control processes and their locus in language switching

“…Tarlowski, Wodniecka, et al (2013), for example, asked Polish-English bilinguals to describe a scene on a picture, either in a present progressive or a present perfective phrase. Their results indicated that language switch costs can be obtained when switching between sentences (for a similar result within sentences, see Bultena, Dijkstra, & van Hell, 2015). Furthermore, asymmetrical switch costs were obtained with progressive phrases and symmetrical switch costs with perfective phrases.…”

Examining the relationship between comprehension and production processes in code-switched language

“…In this sense, switches can be unexpected and, thus, potentially more difficult to process than within-language sentences. In support of this, several studies on the comprehension of code-switched language have documented costs associated with processing code-switches (e.g., Altarriba, Kroll, Sholl, & Rayner, 1996; Bultena, Dijkstra, & Van Hell, 2015; Proverbio, Leoni, & Zani, 2004). Given the presence of switch costs, it is on the surface surprising that bilinguals rarely report experiencing difficulties comprehending code-switched discourse.…”