The Differential Role of Executive Functions in the Cognitive Control of Language Switching

Languages

JaredA. Linck¹  Gretchen Sunderman²  JohnW. Schwieter³ 

[1] Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security, University of Maryland, 7005 52nd Avenue, College Park, MD 20742, USA;Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics, Florida State University, 625 University Way, P.O. Box 3061540, Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA;Language Acquisition, Multilingualism, and Cognition Laboratory/Bilingualism Matters @ Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON N2L 3C5, Canada;

关键词: language control;    trilingualism;    inhibitory control;    working memory;    individual differences;    language switching;   

DOI  :  10.3390/languages5020019

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Studies of bilingual speech production suggest that different executive functions (EFs) contribute to the cognitive control of language production. However, no study has simultaneously examined the relationship between different EFs and language control during online speech production. The current study examined individual differences in three EFs (working memory updating, inhibitory control, and task-set switching) and their relationship with performance in a trilingual language-switching task for a group of forty-seven native English (L1) speakers learning French (L2) and Spanish (L3). Analyses indicate complex interactions between EFs and language switching: better inhibitory control was related to smaller L1 switch costs, whereas better working memory was related to larger L1 switch costs. Working memory was also related to larger L2 switch costs, but only when switching from L1. These results support theories of cognitive control that implicate both global and local control mechanisms, and suggest unique contributions of each EF to both global and local cognitive control during language switching. Finally, we discuss the implications for theories of multilingual language control.

【 授权许可】

Unknown