Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Bilinguals experience processing costs when comprehending code-switches, yet the magnitude of the cost fluctuates depending on numerous factors. We tested whether switch costs vary based on the frequency of different types of code-switches, as estimated from natural corpora of bilingual speech and text. Spanish–English bilinguals in the U.S. read single-language and code-switched sentences in a self-paced task. Sentence regions containing code-switches were read more slowly than single-language control regions, consistent with the idea that integrating a code-switch poses a processing challenge. Crucially, more frequent code-switches elicited significantly smaller costs both within and across most classes of switch types (e.g., within verb phrases and when comparing switches at verb-phrase and noun-phrase sites). The results suggest that, in addition to learning distributions of syntactic and semantic patterns, bilinguals develop finely tuned expectations about code-switching behavior – representing one reason why code-switching in naturalistic contexts may not be particularly costly.
Institutions: University of Maryland, College Park, University of Florida
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,255
Funder: National Science Foundation
Awards: Collaborative Research: Working memory as mediating the role of music in learning of a second language, NRT-DESE: Flexibility in Language Processes and Technology: Human- and Global-Scale, Collaborative Research: Direct impacts of executive functions on language comprehension: Evidence from eye movements and electrophysiology
OpenAlex ID: W4381280390