Relative lexical imageability modulates the relationship between bilingual language control and cognitive control

Abstract

Language control is central to bilingual research and is often assumed to interact with cognitive control. However, it remains unclear how language-internal lexical properties shape this relationship. Lexical imageability influences lexical access in both monolingual and bilingual processing and may therefore modulate language switching performance and its association with cognitive control, potentially through differences in lexical-access pathways. To examine this possibility, 56 Chinese–English bilinguals completed a cued bilingual picture-naming language-switching task and a Simon task. Linear mixed-effects modeling showed that relatively higher-imageability words exhibited more symmetrical switch costs across L1 and L2, whereas relatively lower-imageability words showed asymmetrical switch costs, with larger switch costs in L1 than in L2. In addition, switch costs were positively associated with Simon scores for relatively higher-imageability words but not for relatively lower-imageability words. These findings suggest that relative lexical imageability modulates language switching patterns and their relationship with cognitive control, highlighting the importance of considering language-internal lexical properties in understanding variability in bilingual language control.