IIT Guwahati sheds light on bilingualism: Cultural cues in non-western contexts

The IIT Guwahati study focusses on how cultural cues affect the translation process between first and second languages across different age groups.

In Short

• IIT Guwahati study explores cultural cues in bilingual comprehension.
• Research highlights importance of non-Western cultural contexts
• Findings published in Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics

In a new study, the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati have gained valuable insights into how bilingual comprehension is influenced by cultural cues in non-Western, non-immigrant communities. Their finding aligns with previously held beliefs about the role of cultural context in language processing. Their study also highlights the different types of bilingualism and socio-cultural and interactional context, suggesting the importance of taking various factors into consideration while studying bilingualism.

The study focuses on how cultural cues affect the translation process between first and second languages across different age groups. By moving beyond the typical emphasis on Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) populations, this research provides a more inclusive understanding of bilingual experiences in non-Western settings.

The findings have been published in the prestigious journal Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, published by Mouton De Gruyter and co-authored by Professor Bidisha Som and her research scholar, Dr Opangienla Kechu, from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Guwahati, along with Professor Luis Benites and Professor Roc­o Maehara from Universidad del Pac­fico, Lima, Perº.

Highlighting the significance of the research, Professor Bidisha Som stated, “This research has significant implications for fields like education, healthcare, and customer service, where multilingual communication is common. By understanding how cultural familiarity or mismatch influences comprehension, educators can design more effective bilingual programs tailored to students' backgrounds. Similarly, healthcare professionals and translators can leverage these findings to enhance communication in diverse settings.”

In the study, participants completed a task where they identified whether word pairs from the Rongmei and Meitei languages were correct translations. Before seeing the second word, they were shown cartoon images of individuals dressed in traditional Rongmei or Meitei attire, or neutral outfits such as jeans and t-shirts. The study utilised E-Prime 3.0 software to measure the speed and accuracy of participants’ responses.

The aim was to investigate whether cultural cues influenced performance in a translation word recognition task and whether factors like age, living conditions, or translation direction affected the results. Interestingly, the study found the effect of culture cues despite the cultural and geographical proximity of the two communities studied. The study also found that age played a very important role with faster response time among younger participants suggesting that culture cues may become less salient in populations where bilingualism and biculturalism are a routine part of life. The researchers suggest that in societies where switching between languages and cultures is commonplace, these differences may become less pronounced during language tasks.

Discussing the key findings, Professor Bidisha Som remarked, “This study is crucial because it adds to the current assumption that cultural context always plays a significant role in bilingual language processing. In communities where bilingualism and biculturalism are the norm, cultural cues appear to matter less in language comprehension; however, that too is dependent on other subtle cues in the environment.”

In multicultural societies, this research can aid in reducing communication misunderstandings, ultimately enhancing social integration and cognitive development for bilingual individuals.