Cognitive Architecture of Bilingual Language Processing

描述（由申请人提供）：从广义上讲，拟议的项目以语言和认知之间的关系为中心，重点关注双语对认知、语言和发展过程的影响。本研究的目的是了解使用多种语言如何改变认知结构和影响一般认知功能。我们之前的研究表明，在双语口语理解过程中，听觉输入通过自下而上的级联激活方式并行激活两种语言。本项目采用互动激活框架，通过考察自顶向下激活的作用以及自顶向下、自底向上和横向激活在双语口语理解中的相互作用，进一步推进了对双语口语加工的理解。四项研究利用眼球运动和其他行为测量来研究双语者如何管理跨两种语言、跨模式（如口语和手语之间）、跨水平（如分段输入和超分段输入之间）和句子上下文中的共同激活和互动。该研究还通过建立跨语言共同激活和抑制控制之间的直接联系来检验双语的认知后果。从理论上讲，本研究有助于从双语者的独特优势角度理解语言与认知之间的复杂关系，并明确了双语认知结构中自上而下、自下而上和横向激活的互动性质。为了解决更广泛的社会需求，这项工作对大部分在家不说英语的美国人有实际意义，对他们来说，通过利用两种语言的互动和共同激活，可以改善临床和教育成果。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Broadly defined, the proposed project centers on the relationship between language and cognition, focusing on the consequences of bilingualism for cognitive, linguistic, and developmental processes. The objective of the present work is to understand how using more than one language changes cognitive architecture and impacts general cognitive function. Our previous research demonstrates that auditory input co-activates both languages in parallel during bilingual spoken comprehension via bottom-up cascading activation. Using an interactive activation framework, the proposed project further advances understanding of bilingual spoken language processing by examining the role of top-down activation and the interaction of top- down, bottom-up, and lateral activation during bilingual spoken language comprehension. Four studies utilize eye-movements and other behavioral measures to examine how bilinguals manage co-activation and interaction across the two languages, across modalities (e.g., between spoken and sign languages), across levels (e.g., between segmental and suprasegmental input), and in sentence context. The proposed research also examines cognitive consequences of bilingualism by establishing a direct link between cross-linguistic co- activation and inhibitory control. Theoretically, the proposed research contributes to understanding the complex relationship between language and cognition from the unique vantage point of bilingualism and specifies the interactive nature of top-down, bottom-up and lateral activation in the bilingual cognitive architecture. Addressing broader societal needs, this work has practical implications for the large segment of the American population who speaks a language other than English at home and for whom clinical and educational outcomes can be improved by capitalizing on the interaction and co-activation of two languages.