Bimodal Bilingualism

描述（由申请人提供）：语言-符号双语是特殊的，因为不同的感觉运动模式允许同时产生和感知两种语言。单峰（言语-言语）双语者可以在两种语言之间进行语码转换，而双峰（言语-符号）双语者则会产生语码混合（同时使用语码和语言）。我们研究了语言形态的感觉-运动差异对双语心理语言学、共语手势特征和双语大脑本质的影响。我们将研究美国手语-英语双语者的听力，因为对这些人来说，两种语言在环境中都是自然可及的。我们沿着三条调查线进行：1 .双峰双语的心理语言学：使用行为任务，我们研究了两种模式下双语词汇的结构，双峰双语语言相互联系的水平，以及双峰双语者如何控制他们的两种语言系统。我们假设，在一般情况下，双峰双语者和单峰双语者是非常相似的，但双峰双语者在识别和产生混合语码时会有独特的效果。2。双峰双语与同语手势之间的关系：与语码转换不同，语码混合与同语手势（伴随口语的自发手势）具有某些特性。对这两种人来说，有意义的手势和语言是同时产生的。我们探讨1)双峰代码混合和单峰代码转换的相似之处和差异，2)代码混合和同语手势的相似之处和差异，以及3)习得手语对同语手势的影响。3。双峰双语的认知神经心理学：使用功能成像，我们解决了以下问题：在词汇和句子水平上，美国手语和英语口语观察到哪些重叠和不同的激活模式？手语习得的年龄如何影响手语理解过程中所招募的神经系统？在语言系统的神经组织方面，在发育早期习得两种口语与早期习得一种手语和一种口语有什么不同吗？成为双峰双语者会影响非语言视觉处理的神经组织吗？这些问题的答案不仅能让我们了解双语大脑的发展，还能让我们深入了解神经可塑性和语言半球专门化的决定因素。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Speech-sign bilingualism is exceptional because distinct sensory-motoric modalities allow for the simultaneous production and perception of two languages. Whereas unimodal (speech-speech) bilinguals may code-switch between their two languages, bimodal (speech-sign) bilinguals produce code-blends (simultaneous sign and speech). We investigate the consequences of the sensory-motoric differences in language modality for the psycholinguistics of bilingualism, for the features of co-speech gesture, and for the nature of the bilingual brain. Hearing ASL-English bilinguals will be studied because both languages are naturally accessible in the environment for these individuals. We proceed along three lines of inquiry: I. The psycholinguistics of bimodal bilingualism: Using behavioral tasks, we investigate the architecture of the bilingual lexicon across two modalities, the levels at which a bimodal bilinguars languages are interconnected, and how bimodal bilinguals control their two language systems. We hypothesize that, in general, bimodal and unimodal bilinguals are quite similar, but unique effects of bimodal bilingualism will be found in the recognition and production of code-blends. II. The relation between bimodal bilingualism and co-speech gesture: Unlike code-switching, code-blending shares certain properties with co-speech gesture (the spontaneous gestures that accompany spoken language). For both, meaningful manual gestures are produced simultaneously with speech. We explore 1) parallels and differences between bimodal code blending and unimodal code-switching, 2) parallels and differences between code-blending and co-speech gesture, and 3) the impact of acquiring a signed language on co-speech gesture. III. The cognitive neuropsychology of bimodal bilingualism: Using functional imaging, we address the following questions: What patterns of overlapping and distinct activation are observed for ASL and spoken English at the lexical and sentential levels? How does age of ASL acquisition impact the neural systems recruited during sign comprehension? Does acquisition of two spoken languages early in development differ from early acquisition of a signed and a spoken language with respect to the neural organization of language systems? Does becoming a bimodal bilingual impact the neural organization for non-linguistic visual processing? Answers to these questions will not only inform us about the development of the bilingual brain but will also provide insight into the determinants of neural plasticity and the hemispheric specialization for language.