SHAPING BILINGUAL MINDS: COGNITIVE AND SOCIAL DYNAMICS IN L1 AND L2 COMMUNICATION

Abstract

The study aims to analyze the interactional and cognitive patterns that underpin language choice between the first language (L1) and the second language (L2). The sample comprised 500 bilingual individuals hailing from different linguistic and cultural settings: an approach considered common in both quantitatively and qualitatively inclined researchers. Cognitive efficiency and context-selective language response were measured through a Lexical Decision Task and a Code-Switching Paradigm, which supplied quantitative data. Self-administered qualitative questionnaires in semi-structured interviews on social factors, affective reactions, and contextual modifications were used. The analysis of quantitative results showed that participants read and comprehended L1 faster than L2; balanced bilinguals exhibited higher cognitive control and flexibility in switching between languages. The qualitative cross-sectional analysis of language choice showed that the clients select L2 in context-demand and identity-related aspects and L1 in emotional aspects. The ensemble of such findings underscores the dialectic between the social-cognitive processes that the current models of bilingualism acknowledge. The findings reflect views know as the Adaptive Control Hypothesis and expand understanding of contextual and identity regulatory language. The present study has implications for research, education, and practice in bilingualism, workplace communication, and intercultural relations; particularly for increasing understanding of the benefits of BP and the importance of sociolinguistic variation. Future research is urged to apply the longitudinal and naturalistic interface to dissect the changes in communication in bilingual society continuously.