Work

Consequences of Bilingual Language Coactivation for Higher Order Cognition

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Hearing a single word can initiate a sequence of activation that spreads from the representation of the word (e.g., “candy”) to words that share auditory and visual form (e.g., “candle”) and the concepts those words reference (e.g., the idea of a “candle”). In bilinguals, this coactivation spreads both within and across languages to words that share form or meaning in either or both languages. This parallel activation across two languages has cascading effects on higher order cognitive functions such as attention (e.g., what people focus on in a visual scene), memory (e.g., what people remember seeing), and semantic organization (e.g., how concepts are represented and grouped on the basis of their meanings). Here, we consider how the consequences of language coactivation extend beyond the linguistic domain to impact the broader cognitive system and conclude that the interactivity of languages in the bilingual mind fundamentally transforms mental operations.

Source: Current Directions in Psychological Science

DOI: 10.1177/09637214251339455

Authors: Viorica Marian, Sayuri Hayakawa

Institutions: Northwestern University, Oklahoma State University

Language: English

Topic: Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Award: G5592620328