Bihovsky Alina, Ben-Shachar Michal, Meir Natalia
The Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar-Ilan University, Israel; The Sheba Rehabilitation Hospital, Israel.
The Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar-Ilan University, Israel; The Department of English Literature and Linguistics, The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
J Commun Disord. 2023 Sep-Oct;105:106367. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2023.106367. Epub 2023 Jul 17.
Language Mixing (LM) occurs among neurotypical bilinguals as well as among bilingual persons with aphasia (BiPWAs). The current study aimed to investigate whether LM in BiPWAs stems from a linguistic impairment, an impairment in cognitive control, or both.
Twenty Russian-Hebrew-speaking BiPWAs were split into two groups based on aphasia severity (Severe/Moderate vs. Mild). Frequencies and patterns of LM in narrative production by BiPWAs in L1-Russian and in L2-Hebrew were analyzed. To investigate the underlying mechanisms of LM, all participants completed linguistic background questionnaires, the Bilingual Aphasia Test (BAT) in both languages, and a battery of 10 cognitive tests.
The results indicated an effect of aphasia severity and an effect of language. Higher LM frequency was observed in BiPWAs with severe/moderate aphasia symptoms as compared to BiPWAs with mild symptoms. In both groups, higher LM frequency was observed in L2-Hebrew narratives, the weaker post-stroke language for most participants in the sample. The results also showed qualitative LM differences in L1-Russsian and L2-Hebrew contexts. In L1-Russian narratives, BiPWAs mainly switched to L2-Hebrew nouns, while in L2-Hebrew narratives, they mainly inserted L1-Russian discourse markers and function words.
Linguistic factors such as pre- and post-stroke self-rated language proficiency and level of language impairment due to aphasia were found to predict LM frequency in L1-Russian and in L2-Hebrew. Cognitive abilities did not predict LM frequency. Based on our findings, we suggest that LM behavior in BiPWAs might be primarily related to language skills in L1 and L2, rather than to cognitive control impairments.
语言混合现象（LM）在神经典型双语者以及失语症双语患者（BiPWAs）中均有出现。本研究旨在探究BiPWAs中的LM是源于语言障碍、认知控制障碍，还是两者皆有。
20名讲俄语-希伯来语的BiPWAs根据失语症严重程度分为两组（重度/中度组与轻度组）。分析了BiPWAs用第一语言俄语和第二语言希伯来语进行叙事时LM的频率和模式。为探究LM的潜在机制，所有参与者完成了语言背景问卷、两种语言的双语失语症测试（BAT）以及一系列10项认知测试。
结果表明存在失语症严重程度效应和语言效应。与轻度症状的BiPWAs相比，重度/中度失语症症状的BiPWAs中观察到更高的LM频率。在两组中，在希伯来语第二语言叙事中观察到更高的LM频率，希伯来语是样本中大多数参与者中风后较弱的语言。结果还显示在俄语第一语言和希伯来语第二语言语境中LM存在质的差异。在俄语第一语言叙事中，BiPWAs主要切换到希伯来语第二语言名词，而在希伯来语第二语言叙事中，他们主要插入俄语第一语言话语标记和功能词。
研究发现，诸如中风前后自评语言能力以及失语症导致的语言障碍程度等语言因素可预测俄语第一语言和希伯来语第二语言中的LM频率。认知能力无法预测LM频率。基于我们的研究结果，我们认为BiPWAs中的LM行为可能主要与第一语言和第二语言的语言技能有关，而非与认知控制障碍有关。
