Neuropsychology · 2002 · 59 citations · 0 references
Language StudiesLinguisticsSpanishLanguage AcquisitionNeurolinguisticsPsycholinguisticsBilingual DevelopmentCross-linguistic TransferMultilingualismSecond Language AcquisitionSpanish BilingualismSpanish PsycholinguisticsBilingual Language UseBilingual ProcessingCross-language InterferenceCross-language TransferCross-linguistic InterferenceLanguage InterferenceProcessing Cost ModelsSpanish-english Bilingualism
The study examines how cross‑language interference and weaker lexical connections explain bilingual‑monolingual differences in fluency across category types. Participants (Spanish‑English bilinguals and English monolinguals) completed 12 semantic, 10 letter, and 2 proper‑name fluency tasks. Bilinguals produced fewer exemplars than monolinguals, especially on semantic tasks, made the same number of errors, and showed no fluency gain from using both languages, indicating a processing cost for voluntary switching.
Spanish-English bilinguals and English monolinguals completed 12 semantic, 10 letter, and 2 proper name fluency categories. Bilinguals produced fewer exemplars than monolinguals on all category types, but the difference between groups was larger (and more consistent) on semantic categories. Bilinguals and monolinguals produced the same number of errors across all category types. The authors discuss 2 accounts of the similarities and differences between groups and the interaction with category type, including (a) cross-language interference and (b) relatively weak connections in the bilingual lexical system because of reduced use of words specific to each language. Surprisingly, bilinguals' fluency scores did not improve when they used words in both languages. This result suggests that voluntary language switching incurs a processing cost.