| 17:45 // July 7, 2015
A study demonstrates for the first time bilingual rely on nonverbal indicators -related to the context, such as prior knowledge of the interlocutor to anticipate the language in which the other person speak so they can begin before brain activation processes. However, this mechanism varies depending on the age at which the bilingual has learned the second language and the level of achievement.
As part of the investigation into the complex process of compression and production language, one of the great unknowns is persist know how bilingual able to adapt to his partner and not intermix the languages they speak.
Until now, it was thought that the verbal cues-the words and the overall sound escuchan- language that they alone helped them to ‘activate’ the language to be used in each situation.
However, “for the first time we have shown that activation of language in bilingual also be not rely on linguistic indicators and context-related, such as prior knowledge of the interlocutor, “says Monika Molnar SINC, a researcher of the Basque Center of Knowledge, Brain and Language (BCBL, for its acronym in English).
In the research Molnar and the Spanish Antonio Ibañez and Manuel Carreiras published in the Journal of Memory and Language involving more than 60 people who spoke Basque and Spanish, and were divided into two groups.
An experiment with Basque and Spanish
The first consisted of early and competent bilingual, those who learned both languages before the age of three and use them daily. The second was comprised late and lowest bilingual learned Basque once this age who do not use it in their daily lives.
All of them were subjected to the same experiment, divided into two phases. In the first, short videos of two minutes in which six people talking about your family, or your work sushobbies presented were issued. With this information, participants could associate each with a specific language mode. Two were classified as monolingual in Spanish, two as Basque monolingual and the remaining pair as bilingual
In the second part, the image of one of these people showed uttering a word (real or invented) and the participants had to press a button to indicate whether there was any of the languages as scientists measured their speed of reaction. Each partner appeared in several non-consecutive occasions.
The researchers introduced sometimes some unexpected change as the partners speak with a different voice than usual you or that those who had used only the Spanish and Basque say any term in the other language. By comparing the time participants took to respond, scientists were able to determine the effect that these changes occurred in the brains of bilinguals.
Quick adaptation of early bilinguals
In general Participants responded with the same speed regardless of the complexity of the word that the test was done. However, if they were slower when the voice is modified or the language used by them. A similar delay occurred when the partners were classified as bilingual and therefore could not anticipate the language would be used.
However, the results showed some differences in each of the two original groups. The early and competent bilingual were those who used to offer a faster response, but also suffered a longer delay when any change occurred.
“It was surprising to find that this kind of bilingual rely more on the identity your partner as a clue to know the language to be used, “says Molnar.
” I still do not know exactly how proficiency in the second language and the age at which began to learn relate to our findings, since not know which of these two factors is more important, “he added.
Differences from monolingual
The importance that this process has to activate the language implies that the identification of partners in bilingual presents some characteristics.
“When a monolingual person looks at a brisk caller information such as your name or the time when I saw him last time, but when you do a bilingual, also recalls the language that he can speak, “notes Molnar.
This means that there are differences in the way both groups process the identity of the caller. “It is possible for example that faces are more built into the linguistic system of bilingual” said the expert.
“They pay more attention to the person you are talking because they need this information as an indicator that allows them to start their language processing mechanisms, “he says.
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