Language combinations of multilinguals are reflected in their first-language knowledge and processing

Olga Kepinska; Jocelyn Caballero; Myriam Oliver; Rebecca A Marks; Stephanie L Haft; Leo Zekelman; Ioulia Kovelman; Yuuko Uchikoshi; Fumiko Hoeft

doi:10.1038/s41598-023-27952-2

Language combinations of multilinguals are reflected in their first-language knowledge and processing

Sci Rep. 2023 Feb 2;13(1):1947. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-27952-2.

Authors

Olga Kepinska^{1

2

3

4}, Jocelyn Caballero⁵, Myriam Oliver^{5

6}, Rebecca A Marks^{7

8}, Stephanie L Haft^{5

9}, Leo Zekelman^{5

10}, Ioulia Kovelman⁷, Yuuko Uchikoshi¹¹, Fumiko Hoeft^{5

12

13

14

15}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA. olga.kepinska@univie.ac.at.
² Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA. olga.kepinska@univie.ac.at.
³ Brain and Language Lab, Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, 1090, Vienna, Austria. olga.kepinska@univie.ac.at.
⁴ Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010, Vienna, Austria. olga.kepinska@univie.ac.at.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94143, USA.
⁶ Faculdad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Europea de Valencia, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
⁷ Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
⁸ McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
⁹ Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94704, USA.
¹⁰ Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
¹¹ School of Education, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
¹² Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
¹³ Brain Imaging Research Center, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
¹⁴ Departments of Mathematics, Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Educational Psychology, Pediatrics, Computer Science and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA.
¹⁵ Haskins Laboratories, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.

Abstract

Consequences of multilingualism vary from offering cognitive benefits to poor educational and cognitive outcomes. One aspect of multilingualism that has not been systematically examined is the typology of multilinguals' languages: Do differences and similarities between languages multilinguals are exposed to contribute to the development of their cognition and brain? We investigated n = 162 5-6-year-olds with various language backgrounds on a monolingual-to-quintilingual continuum. Our results show that typological linguistic diversity can be related to expressive vocabulary knowledge in the dominant language. On neural level, it relates to brain activation patterns in (among others) the PGa area in the bilateral IPL, a brain region previously associated with multilingual experience, but never with language typology. We propose an ecologically valid way of describing the continuum of multilingual language experience and provide evidence for both the cognition and the brain of multilingual kindergartners to be related to the typological linguistic diversity of their environment.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Brain
Cognition / physiology
Language
Linguistics
Multilingualism*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding