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Chapter 9. The locus of cross-language activation

ERP evidence from unbalanced Chinese-English bilinguals
  • Taomei Guo and Chunyan Kang
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Cognitive Control and Consequences of Multilingualism
This chapter is in the book Cognitive Control and Consequences of Multilingualism

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the locus of cross-language activation and the lexical selection mechanism in bilingual language production. In Experiment 1, a picture naming paradigm was used to examine how far the activation of the native language (L1) was during the second language (L2) production. Unbalanced but relatively proficient Chinese-English bilinguals were asked to name pictures in English. If a Chinese character was visually presented following a picture, participants were required to name the character instead of the picture. Both the behavioral and ERP results demonstrate that during the planning of L2 speech, Chinese-English bilinguals activate their L1 to the lemma level but not to the level of the phonology. In Experiment 2, the Go/Nogo paradigm was employed to examine why the activation of L1 did not spread to the phonological level. In one block, Chinese-English bilinguals were required to classify pictures according to the initial phoneme of a picture’s Chinese name. In the other block, they were instructed to do this based on the initial phoneme of a picture’s English name. Although the behavioral data showed that it was relatively easier to perform this task in L2 than in L1, the mean amplitude of N200 elicited by L2 was much more negative, suggesting that stronger inhibition was recruited to retrieve the phonological information in L2.

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the locus of cross-language activation and the lexical selection mechanism in bilingual language production. In Experiment 1, a picture naming paradigm was used to examine how far the activation of the native language (L1) was during the second language (L2) production. Unbalanced but relatively proficient Chinese-English bilinguals were asked to name pictures in English. If a Chinese character was visually presented following a picture, participants were required to name the character instead of the picture. Both the behavioral and ERP results demonstrate that during the planning of L2 speech, Chinese-English bilinguals activate their L1 to the lemma level but not to the level of the phonology. In Experiment 2, the Go/Nogo paradigm was employed to examine why the activation of L1 did not spread to the phonological level. In one block, Chinese-English bilinguals were required to classify pictures according to the initial phoneme of a picture’s Chinese name. In the other block, they were instructed to do this based on the initial phoneme of a picture’s English name. Although the behavioral data showed that it was relatively easier to perform this task in L2 than in L1, the mean amplitude of N200 elicited by L2 was much more negative, suggesting that stronger inhibition was recruited to retrieve the phonological information in L2.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgments ix
  4. About the editor xi
  5. About the contributors xiii
  6. Part I: Introduction
  7. Cognitive and neurocognitive implications of language control and multilingualism 3
  8. Part II: Cognitive control and multilingualism
  9. Chapter 1. Bilingualism, executive control, and eye movement measures of reading 11
  10. Chapter 2. Listening with your cohort 47
  11. Chapter 3. The role of executive function in the perception of L2 speech sounds in young balanced and unbalanced dual language learners 71
  12. Chapter 4. Are cognate words “special”? 97
  13. Chapter 5. Action speaks louder than words, even in speaking 127
  14. Chapter 6. Influence of preparation time on language control 145
  15. Chapter 7. When L1 suffers 171
  16. Chapter 8. Effects of cognitive control, lexical robustness, and frequency of codeswitching on language switching 193
  17. Chapter 9. The locus of cross-language activation 217
  18. Chapter 10. Syntactic interference in bilingual naming during language switching 239
  19. Chapter 11. Multi-component perspective of cognitive control in bilingualism 271
  20. Part III: Consequences of multilingualism
  21. Chapter 12. The bilingual advantage in the auditory domain 299
  22. Chapter 13. Executive functions in bilingual children 323
  23. Chapter 14. Home language usage and executive function in bilingual preschoolers 351
  24. Chapter 15. Cognitive mechanisms underlying performance differences between monolinguals and bilinguals 375
  25. Chapter 16. Time course differences between bilinguals and monolinguals in the Simon task* 397
  26. Chapter 17. Top down influence on executive control in bilinguals 427
  27. Index 451
https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.2.10guo

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Acknowledgments ix
  4. About the editor xi
  5. About the contributors xiii
  6. Part I: Introduction
  7. Cognitive and neurocognitive implications of language control and multilingualism 3
  8. Part II: Cognitive control and multilingualism
  9. Chapter 1. Bilingualism, executive control, and eye movement measures of reading 11
  10. Chapter 2. Listening with your cohort 47
  11. Chapter 3. The role of executive function in the perception of L2 speech sounds in young balanced and unbalanced dual language learners 71
  12. Chapter 4. Are cognate words “special”? 97
  13. Chapter 5. Action speaks louder than words, even in speaking 127
  14. Chapter 6. Influence of preparation time on language control 145
  15. Chapter 7. When L1 suffers 171
  16. Chapter 8. Effects of cognitive control, lexical robustness, and frequency of codeswitching on language switching 193
  17. Chapter 9. The locus of cross-language activation 217
  18. Chapter 10. Syntactic interference in bilingual naming during language switching 239
  19. Chapter 11. Multi-component perspective of cognitive control in bilingualism 271
  20. Part III: Consequences of multilingualism
  21. Chapter 12. The bilingual advantage in the auditory domain 299
  22. Chapter 13. Executive functions in bilingual children 323
  23. Chapter 14. Home language usage and executive function in bilingual preschoolers 351
  24. Chapter 15. Cognitive mechanisms underlying performance differences between monolinguals and bilinguals 375
  25. Chapter 16. Time course differences between bilinguals and monolinguals in the Simon task* 397
  26. Chapter 17. Top down influence on executive control in bilinguals 427
  27. Index 451
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