Doctoral Dissertation Research: Bilingual Language Modes and the Effect on Phonetic Production

University Of Texas At Austin, Austin TX

Investigators

Abstract

Bilinguals are able to speak and listen in either of their languages, but one of the most salient features of their speech is "code switching," the alternation between languages within the same utterance. This research will examine the phonetics of code switching to address the fundamental issue of how bilinguals maintain competing languages in the brain. One focus of the research is the impact of language mode, the speech continuum from monolingual to bilingual along which bilinguals operate. Previous research on the phonetics of code switching has produced divergent results, possibly due to the lack of attention to the language mode variable. The research hypothesis is that code switches produced in a more monolingual mode may differ from those produced in a more bilingual mode. Switching between languages has a reaction time cost. Psycholinguistic studies have used cued switching paradigms to examine these reaction time costs. Results provide experimental evidence for theories of the cognitive mechanisms governing language switching (e.g. Inhibitory Control). Although prior research has focused exclusively on the impact of language switching at the word level, a comprehensive theory of language switching mechanisms must also account for influence at the phonetic level. This research project will investigate the phonetics of language switching, testing the hypothesis that phonetic production may vary as a function of reaction time costs. Early Spanish-English bilinguals from the surrounding local community will participate in a series of experiments, including both a more naturalistic oral production paradigm, as well as a cued switching paradigm. Many participants will be first generation university students who represent a large but vastly under-researched population where bilingualism and language switching are the norm.