Code-switching behavior of late Dutch-English bilinguals and its relation to inhibition task outcomes

Code-switching from one language to the next is seen as a hallmark of bilingualism (Meuter & Allport, 1999). Sociolinguistic approaches to code-switching have stressed the social significance of the phenomenon: bilinguals often use code-switching for identification purposes, showing their belonging to a social group (cf. Auer, 1998). Psycholinguistic accounts, on the other hand, have mainly focused on the switching costs involved, in the sense that it takes the brain time to adjust from one language system to the next (cf. Grosjean, 1995). In recent years, the behavioral ecology of the bilingual has become prominent in theorizing about code-switching (cf. Green, 2011): bilinguals greatly differ in the extent to and contexts in which they code-switch and this in turn affects the processing costs they show. This new approach thus allows for a unification between previously distinct sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic perspectives on code-switching. In this paper, we explore the dynamic between code-switching contexts and switching costs, by presenting spontaneous code-switching data (collected as part of a semi-structured interview) from sequential Dutch-English bilinguals (L1 Dutch speakers now living in Australia). The quantity and quality of the code-switches found in this population are related to their self-reported language use patterns, linguistic measures (such as productive and receptive vocabulary tests) and cognitive control tasks, tapping mainly inhibition (such as a Stroop Test).