Bidialectalism and Bilingualism: investigating the influence of linguistic distance on executive function

Abstract

Abstract

There is a theoretical assumption that bilingualism is associated with cognitive advantage. This advantage is thought to result from the demands imposed by the competition caused by the co-activation between the two languages of bilinguals which serve as training to executive function (EF). As cross-linguistic activation was observed in previous research to vary depending on the degree of similarity between languages, linguistic distance (i.e. the degree of difference between two languages or dialects) might have a profound effect on the demand imposed on the EF. The current study investigates how the influence of linguistic distance as a variable may potentially modulate the relationship between bilingualism and cognitive function. Three groups of young adults including English monolinguals (n=11), Spoken Arabic and Modern Standard Arabic bidialectals (n=13) and Spoken Arabic-Modern Standard Arabic and English bilinguals (n=11) were assessed using two EF measures (namely the Flanker task and the Stroop task). Bidialectical and bilingual groups were included in this study to explore whether executive control processes are influenced by the extent of language similarity/difference. In addition, a monolingual group was included to validate previous studies that reported an advantage of bilinguals over monolinguals. The results revealed no group differences and thus did not support the notion of a bilingual advantage on executive function. However, these findings reveal more questions than answers regarding the claim that the lifelong experience of bilingualism offers training to EF.

Keywords: bilingualism, bidialectalism, executive function, linguistic distance, cross- linguistic activation