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Chapter 10. Syntactic interference in bilingual naming during language switching

An electrophysiological study
  • Antoni Rodriguez-Fornells and Thomas F. Münte
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Cognitive Control and Consequences of Multilingualism
This chapter is in the book Cognitive Control and Consequences of Multilingualism

Abstract

Bilinguals need effective mechanisms to prevent interference of one language when involved in the other language. An unresolved issue in bilingualism concerns the cognitive mechanisms that regulate and control the use of different languages and prevent interference between them. In the present investigation we used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in a tacit Go/noGo picture naming task in which a group of German/Spanish bilinguals and a group of monolinguals indicated the syntactic gender of an object presented in the center of a video monitor. For bilinguals, a language switch was introduced every eighteen trials. Critically, half of the stimuli presented had the same gender in Spanish and German (coincidence condition) and the other half not (non-coincidence condition). Bilinguals showed grammatical gender interference compared to monolingual performance. In addition, the Go/noGo – switching paradigm allowed a fine-grained investigation of the interaction between switching and gender interference by comparing switch-trials vs. non-switch trials in both gender conditions. Electrophysiological and behavioral data of the present study show that bilinguals could not easily avoid or suppress the gender representation of the non-target language completely, at least in mixed-language environments.

Abstract

Bilinguals need effective mechanisms to prevent interference of one language when involved in the other language. An unresolved issue in bilingualism concerns the cognitive mechanisms that regulate and control the use of different languages and prevent interference between them. In the present investigation we used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in a tacit Go/noGo picture naming task in which a group of German/Spanish bilinguals and a group of monolinguals indicated the syntactic gender of an object presented in the center of a video monitor. For bilinguals, a language switch was introduced every eighteen trials. Critically, half of the stimuli presented had the same gender in Spanish and German (coincidence condition) and the other half not (non-coincidence condition). Bilinguals showed grammatical gender interference compared to monolingual performance. In addition, the Go/noGo – switching paradigm allowed a fine-grained investigation of the interaction between switching and gender interference by comparing switch-trials vs. non-switch trials in both gender conditions. Electrophysiological and behavioral data of the present study show that bilinguals could not easily avoid or suppress the gender representation of the non-target language completely, at least in mixed-language environments.

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.2.11rod

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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