The role of language control in cross-language phoneme processing: Evidence from Chinese-English bilinguals

Aims: Cross-language interference studies of language control mainly focus on the lexical level, whereas language control may occur at the smallest unit phonemic level of language. In the present study, we examined the role of language control during cross-language phoneme processing. Design: Participants used one language to name pinyin or alphabet in the single-language blocks, and they used two languages for naming in the mixed-language blocks. Data and analysis: Using a linear mixed-effects model, we built models for mixing costs and switching costs based on reaction times (RTs) and accuracy. Findings: Switching between Chinese (L1) and English (L2) phonetic symbols revealed both mixing and switching costs. Originality: The findings suggest that switching of cross-language phonemes requires not only global control of the non-target phonemes, but also local control of the non-target phonemes. Significance: Just as cross-language interference control occurs at the lexical level, this study demonstrates that control also occurs at the phonemic level.