How verbal labels modulate early Cantonese-English bilinguals’ perception and categorization of motion events

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: The current study investigates how strongly verbal labels (i.e., motion verbs) affect early Cantonese-English bilinguals’ perception and categorization of similar events. Specifically, it examines the degree to which bilinguals’ performance aligns with that of L1 speakers of each language when their access to language ranges from maximal to minimal during task performance. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 228 participants were recruited and categorized into different language contexts (Cantonese or English). Employing a triad-matching paradigm, we assessed the performance of monolingual and bilingual speakers in making similarity judgements under two distinct conditions: a verbal condition that required explicit language use (Experiment 1) and a nonverbal condition subjected to verbal interference (Experiment 2). Data and analysis: Two types of measurements were utilized to assess participants’ cognitive behaviour: an explicit measurement of categorical preferences and an implicit measurement of reaction time. Mixed-effects models were constructed to compare the performance of bilinguals with that of monolinguals for each language. Findings/conclusions: Bilinguals displayed categorization preferences and processing efficiency akin to English speakers when language access was available during task performance, suggesting a unified mode of thinking regardless of the language in use. However, the observed language effects on categorization disappeared when the use of language was blocked by concurrent verbal interference.