Language control in bimodal bilinguals: Evidence from ERPs.

It is currently unclear to what degree language control, which minimizes non-target language interference and increases the probability of selecting target-language words, is similar for sign-speech (bimodal) bilinguals and spoken language (unimodal) bilinguals. To further investigate the nature of language control processes in bimodal bilinguals, we conducted the first event-related potential (ERP) language switching study with hearing American Sign Language (ASL)-English bilinguals. The results showed a pattern that has not been observed in any unimodal language switching study: a switch-related positivity over anterior sites and a switch-related negativity over posterior sites during ASL production in both early and late time windows. No such pattern was found during English production. We interpret these results as evidence that bimodal bilinguals uniquely engage language control at the level of output modalities. • It is unclear whether bimodal and unimodal language control is similar or different. • To investigate this, we conducted the first ERP study on bimodal language switching. • We found an anterior switch-related positivity and the opposite over posterior sites. • This pattern has not been observed in unimodal language switching studies. • Hence, this study indicates that unimodal and bimodal language control is different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]