Doctoral Dissertation Research: The influence of local social context on speech perception in bilinguals

双语者会根据社会背景动态调整他们的语言使用。例如，他们对交谈对象语言知识的感知会影响他们对互动中需要或合适的语言(S)的期望。双语语言控制理论考虑了双语者如何参与和转换他们的语言，假设社会信息在这些过程中扮演一个角色，但没有确定哪些方面是相关的。此外，在研究了社会语境对双语者语言控制机制的作用时，他们传统上使用的是非本地化的测量方法，因此没有考虑到本地化的社会意义可能会影响双语语言的加工和控制的方式。然而，为了更好地反映双语者如何交流，双语语言控制理论必须考虑双语者在当地语境中使用他们的语言所关联的社会意义。通过对墨西哥裔美国人、西班牙人和英语双语者的半结构化访谈、社会评价任务和认知任务，本博士论文项目将调查当地社会意义如何影响双语者对某人将说哪种语言(S)的期望，从而影响他们对此人演讲的感知。这项工作有助于理解详细的、以社区为基础的社会信息是如何参与双语语言感知和控制过程的，扩大我们的知识，使我们了解在感知和产生语言时，社会语境的哪些方面对双语者至关重要。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Bilinguals dynamically adapt their language use in response to social context. Their perception of a conversation partner’s language knowledge, for example, can influence their expectations for what language(s) are needed or appropriate in an interaction. Theories of bilingual language control, which consider how bilinguals engage and switch between their languages, postulate a role for social information in these processes but have not determined what aspects are relevant. Furthermore, where studies have considered the role of social context on bilinguals’ language control mechanisms, they have traditionally utilized measures that are not locally situated and, therefore, do not capture the ways in which localized social meanings may impact bilingual language processing and control. To better reflect how bilinguals communicate, however, theories of bilingual language control must account for the social meanings that bilinguals associate with the use of their languages within a local context. Through semi-structured interviews, social evaluation tasks, and perception tasks with Mexican American, Spanish-English bilinguals, this doctoral dissertation project will investigate how local social meanings shape bilinguals’ expectations of what language(s) someone will speak and, consequently, their perception of that person’s speech. This work contributes to the understanding of how detailed, community-grounded social information is engaged in bilingual language perception and control processes, expanding our knowledge of what aspects of social context matter for bilinguals when perceiving and producing language.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.