Controlling Two Languages

超过20%的美国人在家说英语以外的语言，双语长期以来一直是美国以外的常态。随着科技的发展，以及美国工业与世界各地的人们联系在一起，即使只有一个手持设备，掌握一门以上语言的价值也变得越来越重要。会说多种语言的人有更大的潜力与更广泛的受众或客户群建立联系。与此同时，研究表明，掌握一种以上的语言可以改变母语使用的某些方面：与双语相关的负担可能导致认知表现的某些方面（例如词汇）的微妙但显著的劣势，但在其他方面（例如解决冲突，持续注意力集中）的显著优势。这种差异在许多环境中，包括教育和医疗环境中，都可能产生严重影响。例如，双语儿童在学校应该如何得到最好的服务，使他们既能快速学习英语，又能在家里保持他们的传统语言知识？当试图识别双语儿童的学习障碍时，最好采用什么方法？在生命的另一端，在年迈的双语者中，识别当前或可能即将出现的认知衰退的最佳方法是什么？这些研究将通过比较双语者和单语者的一系列行为实验来调查双语对语言和认知加工的影响，这些实验旨在测试双语者如何选择他们打算说的语言，以及这一过程如何更普遍地与选择行为相关。双语者将大声朗读混合语言的句子，将被要求在语言之间或其他（非语言）任务之间切换，用两种语言命名图片，或在两种语言之间进行翻译。我们将研究这些任务之间的关系。当前工作的一个驱动假设是：1)双语者至少在一定程度上依靠与语言无关的认知能力来控制他们说的语言；2)使用双语语言可以提高与快速切换、监控和解决反应选择之间冲突（例如，需要避免分心）有关的一般能力。这一假设将通过研究当必须控制一种以上的语言时，表现是如何变化的，以及语言转换训练是否能提高一般的认知能力，反之亦然（例如，管理反应竞争是否在非语言和语言任务之间转移）来验证。这些研究将阐明双语能力与认知测试成绩之间的关系，并建立条件，使双语能力的可能成本最小化，潜在收益最大化。拟议的研究将建立认知控制和双语语言处理的理论模型，这将为发展理论驱动的方法来评估和治疗年轻和老年单语者和双语者的认知和语言能力奠定必要的基础。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Over 20% of the US population speaks a language other than English at home and bilingualism has long been the norm outside the US. The value of knowing more than one language is becoming increasingly relevant as technology develops and US industry connects with individuals all over the world, even with just a handheld device. People who speak multiple languages have greater potential to connect with a broader audience or customer base. At the same time, research has demonstrated that knowledge of more than one language can change some aspects of native language use: the burden associated with bilingualism can lead to subtle but significant disadvantages in some aspects of cognitive performance (e.g., vocabulary), but to significant advantages in other aspects (e.g., resolving conflict, sustained focus of attention). Such differences have potentially serious implications in many settings, including educational and medical settings. For example, how should bilingual children best be served in school settings to enable them to learn English quickly while maintaining knowledge of their Heritage Language spoken in the home? What methods are best to pursue when attempting to identify learning disabilities in bilingual children? At the other end of the lifespan, in aging bilinguals, what is the best method for identifying current or possibly imminent cognitive decline? The proposed studies will investigate the consequences of bilingualism for language and cognitive processing by comparing bilinguals with monolinguals in a series of behavioral experiments designed to test how bilinguals choose which language they intend to speak and how this process is more generally related to choice behaviors. Bilinguals will read aloud sentences that mix languages, will be asked to switch between languages or between other (non-linguistic) tasks, name pictures in both languages, or translate between languages. Relationships among these tasks will be examined. A driving hypothesis underlying the current work is that 1) bilinguals maintain control over which language they speak at least in part by relying on cognitive abilities not related to language and 2) bilingual language use can improve general abilities related to rapid switching, monitoring, and resolving conflict between response alternatives (e.g., needing to avoid distraction). This hypothesis will be tested by examining how performance changes when more than one language must be controlled and whether training with language switching improves general cognitive abilities and vice versa (e.g., if managing response competition transfers across non-linguistic and linguistic tasks). These studies will clarify the relationship between bilingualism and cognitive test performance and establish conditions that minimize possible costs and maximize potential benefits of bilingualism. The proposed studies will develop theoretical models of cognitive control and bilingual language processing, which will lay the groundwork necessary to develop theory-driven approaches to assessment and treatment of cognitive and linguistic abilities of young and aging monolinguals and bilinguals alike.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.