Cued vs. voluntary language switching in frequent code switchers: behavioral costs and benefits

Abstract

Language control in bilinguals is often studied using switch and mixing costs, primarily with bilinguals who separate the languages they speak by context. However, some bilinguals, such as Lebanese Arabic–French speakers, use languages in an integrated manner, by code-switching daily, a pattern captured by language entropy. This study examines language-switching costs and benefits in 62 frequent code switchers (FCS) using cued and voluntary picture-naming tasks. Results showed reduced switch and mixing costs in the voluntary condition compared to the cued condition. Half the participants even exhibited a mixing benefit when switching freely, modulated by L2 proficiency, with more balanced bilinguals showing larger benefits. In line with De Bruin et al. (2018), these findings suggest that less constrained language switching may reduce language control demands, and for FCS, mixing languages can even be easier than having to stay in one. Findings remain to be supported by more ecological discourse-based research.