Aging and bilingual processing
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Nienke Houtzager
Abstract
We conducted a study to investigate effects of bilingualism on nonverbal and verbal cognitive performance. Here we report on the results from the first part of our study, in which 26 middle-aged (MA 46) and 26 elderly (MA 73.2) early bilingual speakers of Dutch and Frisian performed a verbal fluency test, a task switching test and a working memory (WM) test. In an analysis focusing on between- and within-group differences, we found that the age-groups differed significantly in the task switching and WM tests and in the category switching component of the verbal fluency task. With regard to other factors, we found that the higher the degree of balance between participants’ languages, the smaller their costs for switching between tasks.
Abstract
We conducted a study to investigate effects of bilingualism on nonverbal and verbal cognitive performance. Here we report on the results from the first part of our study, in which 26 middle-aged (MA 46) and 26 elderly (MA 73.2) early bilingual speakers of Dutch and Frisian performed a verbal fluency test, a task switching test and a working memory (WM) test. In an analysis focusing on between- and within-group differences, we found that the age-groups differed significantly in the task switching and WM tests and in the category switching component of the verbal fluency task. With regard to other factors, we found that the higher the degree of balance between participants’ languages, the smaller their costs for switching between tasks.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors and contributors vii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Multilingual contrasts: Interfaces and integrations
- Methodological approaches in the study of linguistic relativity 17
- Frequency of use and basic vocabulary 45
- A contrastive study of colour terms in French and German causal constructions 73
- Compound verbs in English and Bulgarian and the relativity debate 97
- HERE, NEAR, FAR 121
- Cognitive maps of landmark orientation 151
- Is space-time metaphorical mapping universal? 183
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Part II. Bilingual processing: Language representation and language use
- Efficiency of the bilingual mind 205
- About phonological, grammatical, and semantic accents in bilinguals’ language use and their cause 229
- Aging and bilingual processing 263
- L1-based prototypicality effects in L2 vocabulary learning 287
- Finding a wooden jandal in the jandal wood 309
- Name index 333
- Subject index 335
- Language index 337
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Editors and contributors vii
- Foreword ix
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Multilingual contrasts: Interfaces and integrations
- Methodological approaches in the study of linguistic relativity 17
- Frequency of use and basic vocabulary 45
- A contrastive study of colour terms in French and German causal constructions 73
- Compound verbs in English and Bulgarian and the relativity debate 97
- HERE, NEAR, FAR 121
- Cognitive maps of landmark orientation 151
- Is space-time metaphorical mapping universal? 183
-
Part II. Bilingual processing: Language representation and language use
- Efficiency of the bilingual mind 205
- About phonological, grammatical, and semantic accents in bilinguals’ language use and their cause 229
- Aging and bilingual processing 263
- L1-based prototypicality effects in L2 vocabulary learning 287
- Finding a wooden jandal in the jandal wood 309
- Name index 333
- Subject index 335
- Language index 337
