Bimodal bilingualism
- 1 March 2008
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Bilingualism: Language and Cognition
- Vol. 11 (1), 43-61
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s1366728907003203
Abstract
Speech–sign or “bimodal” bilingualism is exceptional because distinct modalities allow for simultaneous production of two languages. We investigated the ramifications of this phenomenon for models of language production by eliciting language mixing from eleven hearing native users of American Sign Language (ASL) and English. Instead of switching between languages, bilinguals frequently produced code-blends (simultaneously produced English words and ASL signs). Code-blends resembled co-speech gesture with respect to synchronous vocal–manual timing and semantic equivalence. When ASL was the Matrix Language, no single-word code-blends were observed, suggesting stronger inhibition of English than ASL for these proficient bilinguals. We propose a model that accounts for similarities between co-speech gesture and code-blending and assumes interactions between ASL and English Formulators. The findings constrain language production models by demonstrating the possibility of simultaneously selecting two lexical representations (but not two propositions) for linguistic expression and by suggesting that lexical suppression is computationally more costly than lexical selection.Keywords
This publication has 41 references indexed in Scilit:
- Co-speech gesture in bimodal bilingualsLanguage and Cognitive Processes, 2009
- The Face of Bimodal BilingualismPsychological Science, 2008
- Lexical access in bilingual speakers: What's the (hard) problem?Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 2006
- Is Syntax Separate or Shared Between Languages?Psychological Science, 2004
- Modality-dependent aspects of sign language production: Evidence from slips of the hands and their repairs in German Sign LanguagePublished by Cambridge University Press (CUP) ,2002
- The cognate facilitation effect: Implications for models of lexical access.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 2000
- Matching lemmas in a bilingual language competence and production model: evidence from intrasentential code switchingLinguistics, 1995
- The Mask of Benevolence: Disabling the Deaf Community.Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 1993
- Speaking: From Intention to ArticulationThe American Journal of Psychology, 1990
- Sometimes I’ll start a sentence in Spanish Y TERMINO EN ESPAÑOL: toward a typology of code-switching1Linguistics, 1980