Language control in bilingual language comprehension: evidence from the maze task.

ABSTRACT: Most empirical evidence on switch costs is based on bilingual production and interpreted as a result of inhibitory control. It is unclear whether such a top-down control process exists in language switching during comprehension. This study investigates whether a non-lexical switch cost is involved in reading code-switched sentences and its relation to language dominance with cross-script bilingual readers. A maze task is adopted in order to separate top-down inhibitory effects, from lexical effects driven by input. The key findings are: (1) switch costs were observed in both L1-L2 and L2-L1 directions; (2) these effects were driven by two mechanisms: lexical activation and inhibitory control; (3) language dominance modulated the lexical effects, but did not affect the inhibitory effects. T

SUBMITTER: Wang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4543796 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature