Bilingual Language Control by Chinese-English Bilinguals: Evidence from Behavioral Experiments and Computational Modeling

Aims: The present study explores how language switching modulates cross-language semantic competitor effects in Chinese-English bilinguals to test the Inhibitory Control Model and Language-Specific Selection Model. Design: Two behavioral experiments adopted a modified cross-language semantic competitor priming paradigm. Computational models simulated inhibitory and non-inhibitory mechanisms. Data and analysis: Linear mixed-effects models and generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to analyze reaction time and accuracy from behavioral experiments. Computational simulations were compared with behavioral results. Findings: For L2 production, cross-language semantic interference effects emerge under non-switch conditions and diminish under switch conditions. For L1 production, no cross-language semantic interference effects were detected under either the non-switch or switch conditions. Computational simulations matched these results. Originality: A dual-mechanism account is proposed that L2 production relies on inhibitory control and L1 production on language-specific selection. Significance: Language control mechanisms by Chinese-English bilinguals can be modulated by language dominance.