When a second language hits a native language. What ERPs (do and do not) tell us about language retrieval difficulty in bilingual language production.

The relative balance between languages predicts the magnitude of whole-language inhibition.

“…Moreover, the IC-b model assumes that this inhibition will persist for some time after the L2 use, thus keeping the activation of L1 lemmas low even if a bilingual speaker returns to using her L1. This assumption is consistent with data indicating that difficulty in accessing L1 lemmas after using L2 is relatively long-lasting: it has been shown to persist over at least a couple of minutes after a language switch (Branzi et al, 2014;Wodniecka et al, 2020).…”

“…For Experiment 1, we reanalyzed the data from our earlier study (Wodniecka et al, 2020), in which a relatively large group of bilinguals performed a battery of language and cognitive tasks. The testing was done three times across the span of two years.…”

“…The critical comparison involves experimental blocks of L1 naming after baseline naming in L1 vs. after baseline naming in L2. In our previous study that employed this paradigm (Wodniecka et al, 2020), we reported an "L2 after-effect", i.e., slower L1 naming latencies after using L2 compared to after using L1. Moreover, the L2 after-effect was observed for completely new items, and therefore it appears to reflect control mechanisms applied over the entire language.…”

“…This paradigm allows "the L2 after-effect" to be measured; this phenomenon consists of lingering increased difficulty in lexical access in the native language following the use of the second, weaker language. The blocked picture -naming paradigm allows the L2 after-effect to be measured by comparing the processing costs of the production of the native or stronger language when it follows longer (blocked) production in a second or a weaker language, compared to when it follows production in the native language (e.g., Branzi, Martin, Abutalebi, & Costa, 2014;Wodniecka, Szewczyk, Kałamała, Mandera, & Durlik, 2020). In experiments focused on the L2 after-effect in which the blocked picture-naming paradigm was used, participants had to An alternative account explains the language switching cost asymmetry by assuming persisting 2 activation (enhancement) of the weaker language rather than inhibition of the stronger language (Philipp, Gade, & Koch, 2007).…”

“…Disentangling between the L2 activation/enhancement or the L1 inhibition accounts is, however, outside of the scope of the current study. name pictures either in L1 or L2, with the language of naming changing between blocks (Misra, Guo, Bobb, & Kroll, 2011;Branzi et al, 2014;Wodniecka et al, 2020). For instance, in a recent study by Wodniecka and colleagues (2020), Polish (L1) learners of English (L2) named pictures in L1 following the naming of pictures in either L1 or L2.…”