Li Chuchu, Gollan Tamar H
University of California, San Diego.
Biling (Camb Engl). 2022 May;25(3):459-470. doi: 10.1017/s1366728921001061. Epub 2021 Dec 1.
Spanish-English bilinguals switched between naming pictures in one language and either reading-aloud or semantically classifying written words in both languages. When switching between reading-aloud and picture-naming, bilinguals exhibited no language switch costs in picture naming even though they produced overt language switches in speech. However, when switching between semantic classification and picture naming, bilinguals, especially unbalanced bilinguals, exhibited switch costs in the dominant language and switch facilitation in the nondominant language even though they never switched languages overtly. These results reveal language switching across comprehension and production can be cost-free when the intention remains the same. Assuming switch costs at least partially reflect inhibition of the nontarget language, this implies such language control mechanisms are recruited only under demanding task conditions, especially for unbalanced bilinguals. These results provide striking demonstration of adaptive control mechanisms and call into question previous claims that language switch costs necessarily transfer from comprehension to production.
西班牙语-英语双语者在使用一种语言命名图片与用两种语言大声朗读或对书面单词进行语义分类之间进行切换。在大声朗读和图片命名之间切换时，双语者在图片命名中没有表现出语言切换成本，尽管他们在言语中进行了明显的语言切换。然而，在语义分类和图片命名之间切换时，双语者，尤其是不均衡双语者，在优势语言中表现出切换成本，而在非优势语言中表现出切换促进作用，尽管他们从未明显切换语言。这些结果表明，当意图保持不变时，跨理解和产出的语言切换可以是无成本的。假设切换成本至少部分反映了对非目标语言的抑制，这意味着这种语言控制机制仅在要求苛刻的任务条件下才会被调用，尤其是对于不均衡双语者。这些结果有力地证明了适应性控制机制，并对先前关于语言切换成本必然从理解转移到产出的说法提出了质疑。
