Phonological processing differences in bilinguals and monolinguals

The present study examined whether monolinguals and balanced bilinguals perceive speech sounds similarly or whether the two phonological systems in bilinguals interact so that one language is affected by the other. Two groups, monolingual native speakers of Finnish and balanced Finnish–Swedish bilinguals, were tested. We measured mismatch negativity (MMN) responses and used individually selected, native language, stimuli. The results revealed that balanced bilinguals had a significantly longer MMN latency than the monolinguals which suggests slower and weaker preattentive processing in the bilinguals. This implies that the two phonological systems are intertwined which decreases the access of exemplars.

► We study preattentive speech sound perception in monolinguals and bilinguals. ► Balanced bilinguals showed a slower MMN response. ► The two phonological systems seem to be intertwined in balanced bilinguals.