Doctoral Dissertation Research: Processing code-switching in bilinguals: effects of language use and semantic expectancy

博士论文研究：双语者的语码转换处理：语言使用和语义期望的影响

• 批准号: 1451732
• 负责人: Edith Kaan
• 金额: $ 1.5万
• 依托单位: University of Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-02-01 至 2017-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1451732&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Processing; code

Most bilinguals code-switch to some extent, that is, they move from one language to the other within the same utterance. The United States has an increasingly heterogeneous population, which includes a growing number of bilingual immigrants who use both English and their other language when communicating among each other. Code switching is often stigmatized and sometimes perceived as a deficiency in learning languages. However, code switching often occurs among highly-proficient bilinguals who are perfectly able to speak each language separately. Instead of condemning code switching, code switching should be seen as a cognitive tour de force. Investigating how bilingual speakers organize and select among the languages they know, how they process mixed languages, and what factors determine this, will therefore provide insight in human cognitive and social functioning in general. Previous psycholinguistic research on language switching has reported that switching between languages is difficult or costly. These studies have mostly ignored the bilingual's daily switching habits. The current study challenges the view that code switching is always costly by testing language users who code-switch on a regular basis, using multilinguals in Algeria as a case study. This population switches frequently between Algerian-Arabic and French; however, switching between Standard-Arabic and French is not common. This makes this population ideal to investigate whether the habit of switching between a pair of languages rather than another pair affects the expectation of switching, thus potentially minimizing or even eliminating the costs. In particular, the proposed research will test to what extent the switch costs depend on (1) the semantic expectancy of a particular word in a sentence; and (2) the daily frequency of switching between certain language pairs compared to others. Importantly, the current study will use spoken language, which is more naturalistic than the reading-only paradigms used in previous studies. In addition, the outcomes of the listening study will be related to the results from a survey on the language habits of the bilinguals in the study and their perception of and attitudes towards code switching. Findings from this project will therefore provide insight into the linguistic and non-linguistic factors that drive code-switching.

大多数双语者都存在一定程度的语码转换，即在同一话语中从一种语言转换到另一种语言。美国人口的异质性越来越大，其中包括越来越多的双语移民，他们在相互交流时既使用英语又使用另一种语言。语码转换经常受到指责，有时被认为是语言学习中的一个缺陷。然而，代码转换经常发生在高度熟练的双语者中，他们完全能够单独说每种语言。与其谴责语码转换，不如将语码转换视为一种认知的杰作。因此，研究双语者如何在他们所知道的语言中组织和选择，他们如何处理混合语言，以及什么因素决定了这一点，将为人类认知和社会功能提供全面的见解。先前关于语言转换的心理语言学研究报告说，语言之间的转换是困难的或昂贵的。这些研究大多忽略了双语者的日常转换习惯。目前的研究挑战的观点，代码转换总是昂贵的测试语言用户谁代码转换定期，使用多种语言在阿尔及利亚作为案例研究。这些人经常在阿尔及利亚阿拉伯语和法语之间转换;然而，标准阿拉伯语和法语之间的转换并不常见。这使得这一人群非常适合调查在一对语言而不是另一对语言之间切换的习惯是否会影响切换的预期，从而可能最大限度地减少甚至消除成本。特别是，拟议的研究将测试转换成本在多大程度上取决于（1）句子中特定单词的语义预期;以及（2）与其他语言相比，某些语言对之间的日常转换频率。重要的是，目前的研究将使用口语，这是更自然的比在以前的研究中使用的只读范式。此外，听力研究的结果将与双语者的语言习惯调查结果以及他们对语码转换的看法和态度有关。因此，该项目的研究结果将提供深入了解驱动语码转换的语言和非语言因素。