Kode-alternantziak eta kognatuek sarbide lexikoa errazten dute elebidun osasuntsuetan, baina ez beti afasian: Kasu azterketa bat

Abstract

This study examines code-switching (switching between languages) and cognates (words with similar form and meaning in both languages, e.g., lehoi-león) in highly proficient Basque-Spanish bilinguals (L1 Basque, L2 Spanish). Young adults and a bilingual individual with anomic aphasia completed a picture-naming task under single-language and voluntary-switching conditions. We measured accuracy and reaction times in both groups. As expected, healthy bilinguals showed ceiling accuracy, named cognates faster (especially in Spanish), and were quicker when allowed to switch freely between languages. Those effects were not observed in the aphasic participant. It suggests that code-switching and cognate status facilitate lexical access in healthy bilinguals but may not benefit all individuals with anomic aphasia. In this study, we discuss current psycholinguistic theories on bilingual lexical access and argue that different underlying sources of anomia may lead to distinct patterns of impairment in code-switching and cognate facilitation.