The temporal dynamics of first and second language processing: ERPs to spoken words in Mandarin-English bilinguals

Jin Xue; Banban Li; Rong Yan; Jeffrey R Gruen; Tianli Feng; Marc F Joanisse; Jeffrey G Malins

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107562

The temporal dynamics of first and second language processing: ERPs to spoken words in Mandarin-English bilinguals

Neuropsychologia. 2020 Sep:146:107562. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107562. Epub 2020 Jul 17.

Authors

Jin Xue¹, Banban Li¹, Rong Yan², Jeffrey R Gruen³, Tianli Feng⁴, Marc F Joanisse⁵, Jeffrey G Malins⁶

Affiliations

¹ University of Science and Technology Beijing, School of Foreign Studies, 30 Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China.
² Institute of Leadership and Education Advanced Development, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, 215123, China.
³ Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Yale Child Health Research Center, 464 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA; Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Genetics, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
⁴ Beijing International Studies University, School of English Language, Literature and Culture, 1 Dingfuzhuan Nanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100024, China.
⁵ The University of Western Ontario, Department of Psychology & Brain and Mind Institute, Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, London, N6A 3K7, Canada; Haskins Laboratories, 300 George St. Suite 900, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
⁶ Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Yale Child Health Research Center, 464 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA; Haskins Laboratories, 300 George St. Suite 900, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA; Georgia State University, Department of Psychology, P.O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302, USA. Electronic address: jmalins@gsu.edu.

PMID: 32682798
PMCID: PMC7549393
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107562

Abstract

The dynamics of bilingual spoken word recognition remain poorly characterized, especially for individuals who speak two languages that are highly dissimilar in their phonological and morphological structure. The present study compared first language (L1) and second language (L2) spoken word processing within a group of adult Mandarin-English bilinguals (N = 34; ages 18-25). Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants completed the same cross-modal matching task separately in their L1 Mandarin and L2 English. This task consisted of deciding whether spoken words matched pictures of items. Pictures and spoken words either matched (e.g., Mandarin: TANG2-tang2; English: BELL-bell), or differed in word-initial phonemes (e.g., Mandarin: TANG2-lang2; English: BELL-shell), word-final phonemes (e.g., Mandarin: TANG2-tao2; English: BELL-bed), or whole words (e.g., Mandarin: TANG2-xia1: English: BELL-ham). Each mismatch type was associated with a pattern of modulation of the Phonological Mapping Negativity, the N400, and the Late N400 that was distinct from those of the other mismatch types yet similar between the two languages. This was interpreted as evidence of incremental processing with similar temporal dynamics in both languages. These findings support models of spoken word recognition in bilingual individuals that adopt an interactive-activation framework for both L1 and L2 processing.

Keywords: Bilingualism; Event related potentials; Phonological competition; Second language processing; Spoken word recognition.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Electroencephalography
England
Evoked Potentials*
Female
Humans
Linguistics
Male
Multilingualism*
Young Adult

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

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