Bilingual people use soundS, not words, to switch between languages

By Hope Gillette, Saludify

The benefits of being bilingual have proven to be many, and individuals who can speak multiple languages enjoy the perks of enhanced brain function and cognitive speed. Now, new data from Kalim Gonzales, a psychology doctoral student at the University of Arizona, shows how bilingual individuals, who learned their languages before the age of 8, accomplish their mastery through the use of “sound systems”.

“When most people think about differences between languages, they think they use different words and they have different grammars, but at their base, languages use different sounds,” co-author Andrew Lotto, associate professor of speech, language and hearing sciences at the University of Arizona, explained in a press release. “One of the reasons it sounds different when you hear someone speaking a different language is because the actual sounds they use are different; they have a sound code that’s specific to that language.”

This means, for example, when someone speaking English uses the sound “ba,” it is enunciated differently than when someone who speaks Spanish uses “ba.”

The differences in sound systems are very subtle, explained researchers; English speaking individuals typically begin to vibrate their vocal chords the moment they open their lips, while Spanish speaking individuals begin vocal chord vibration slightly before they open their lips. These differences may be difficult for the conscious to discern, but the subconscious picks up on them quickly.

“These results have important implications for bilinguals who want their children to grow up bilingual as well,” Gonzales told Saludify. “They suggest that children might learn both languages easier when the languages occur in distinct contexts, such as being spoken by different people, in different locations, and at different times.”

Gonzales added, “For example, these contextual cues could help children switch between the sound systems of their two languages so that they are using the appropriate sound system to learn new words in each language.”The research contradicts popular assumption that bilingual individuals who develop languages at an early age will have a dominant one, eventually speaking one language at the level of someone who learned later in life.

“The predominant view of late has been that bilinguals will never be able to perceive a second language beyond what a late learner is capable of, or someone who learns a second language late in life. So even if you learn two languages simultaneously from birth, you’re always going to perceive one of them like a late learner,” Gonzales said. “Our findings cast doubt on that prominent view in the bilingual literature.”

Gonzales also told Saludify bilingual speakers may be unique in their sound system ability due to levels of exposure, though, in theory, people who speak 3 or more  languages may also utilize the same learning process.

“…It may be that the brain requires some minimum amount of exposure to each language in order to represent that language’s sound system distinctly from the other languages. Getting sufficient exposure to each language might be challenging when you are juggling three or more of them.”

A follow-up study is underway, according to Gonzales, headed by Dr. Krista Byers-Heinlein at Concordia University to examine whether the ability to perceptually switch between languages depends on how early in life the second language was learned.

This article was first published in Saludify.

Hope Gillette is an award winning author and novelist. She has been active in the veterinary industry for over 10 years, and her experience extends from exotic animal care to equine sports massage.