Broadly defined, the proposed project centers on the relationship between language and cognition, focusing on the consequences of bilingualism for cognitive, linguistic, and developmental processes. The objective of the present work is to understand how using more than one language changes cognitive architecture and impacts general cognitive function. Our previous research demonstrates that auditory input co-activates both languages in parallel during bilingual spoken comprehension via bottom-up cascading activation. Using an interactive activation framework, the proposed project further advances understanding of bilingual spoken language processing by examining the role of top-down activation and the interaction of top- down, bottom-up, and lateral activation during bilingual spoken language comprehension. Four studies utilize eye-movements and other behavioral measures to examine how bilinguals manage co-activation and interaction across the two languages, across modalities (e.g., between spoken and sign languages), across levels (e.g., between segmental and suprasegmental input), and in sentence context. The proposed research also examines cognitive consequences of bilingualism by establishing a direct link between cross-linguistic co- activation and inhibitory control. Theoretically, the proposed research contributes to understanding the complex relationship between language and cognition from the unique vantage point of bilingualism and specifies the interactive nature of top-down, bottom-up and lateral activation in the bilingual cognitive architecture. Addressing broader societal needs, this work has practical implications for the large segment of the American population who speaks a language other than English at home and for whom clinical and educational outcomes can be improved by capitalizing on the interaction and co-activation of two languages.

Public Health Relevance

The proportion of non-native English speakers in the United States is rapidly increasing, yet the changing demographic remains under-represented in basic and applied research, posing challenges for providing services to this rapidly-growing segment of the population. The overarching goal of this project is to understand how bilingualism impacts cognition and language and how knowing another language changes the architecture of the cognitive system. Four studies examine how bilinguals understand spoken language and how the two languages interact as a result of top-down, bottom- up, and lateral influences during comprehension. By specifically focusing on parallel activation and cross-linguistic interaction in bilingual language processing, this project advances our understanding of the human linguistic capacity, with implications for intervention strategies with bilinguals.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HD059858-05
Application #
8676822
Study Section
Language and Communication Study Section (LCOM)
Program Officer
Miller, Brett
Project Start
2010-07-15
Project End
2015-05-31
Budget Start
2014-06-01
Budget End
2015-05-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$260,816
Indirect Cost
$86,556
Name
Northwestern University at Chicago
Department
Other Health Professions
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
160079455
City
Evanston
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60201
Marian, Viorica; Lam, Tuan Q; Hayakawa, Sayuri et al. (2018) Top-Down Cognitive and Linguistic Influences on the Suppression of Spontaneous Otoacoustic Emissions. Front Neurosci 12:378
Schroeder, Scott R; Lam, Tuan Q; Marian, Viorica (2017) Linguistic Predictors of Cultural Identification in Bilinguals. Appl Linguist 38:463-488
Marian, Viorica; Bartolotti, James; Rochanavibhata, Sirada et al. (2017) Bilingual Cortical Control of Between- and Within-Language Competition. Sci Rep 7:11763
Schroeder, Scott R; Marian, Viorica (2017) Cognitive Consequences of Trilingualism. Int J Billing 21:754-773
Chen, Peiyao; Bobb, Susan C; Hoshino, Noriko et al. (2017) Neural signatures of language co-activation and control in bilingual spoken word comprehension. Brain Res 1665:50-64
Freeman, Max R; Blumenfeld, Henrike K; Marian, Viorica (2017) Cross-linguistic phonotactic competition and cognitive control in bilinguals. J Cogn Psychol (Hove) 29:783-794
Bartolotti, James; Marian, Viorica (2017) Bilinguals' Existing Languages Benefit Vocabulary Learning in a Third Language. Lang Learn 67:110-140
Marian, Viorica (2017) Orthographic and Phonological Neighborhood Databases across Multiple Languages. Writ Lang Lit 20:7-27
Bartolotti, James; Marian, Viorica (2017) Orthographic Knowledge and Lexical Form Influence Vocabulary Learning. Appl Psycholinguist 38:427-456
Bartolotti, James; Bradley, Kailyn; Hernandez, Arturo E et al. (2017) Neural signatures of second language learning and control. Neuropsychologia 98:130-138

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