IIT Guwahati Research Decodes the Influence of Cultural Cues on Bilingualism in Non-Western Societies

IIT Guwahati has uncovered valuable insights into how cultural cues influence bilingual comprehension in non-Western, non-immigrant communities, supporting existing views on the role of cultural context. Know details here

IIT Guwahati Research

A recent study by the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati has shed light on how cultural cues influence bilingual comprehension in non-Western, non-immigrant communities. Their findings reinforce existing theories on the role of cultural context in language processing. The study also emphasizes the diverse forms of bilingualism and the socio-cultural and interactional factors that shape it, underscoring the need for a more nuanced approach when studying bilingualism.

The study explores how cultural cues influence the translation process between first and second languages across various age groups. By shifting the focus away from the usual emphasis on Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) populations, this research offers a more inclusive perspective on bilingual experiences in non-Western contexts.

The findings have been published in the Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, by Mouton De Gruyter. The study is co-authored by Prof. Bidisha Som and her research scholar, Dr. Opangienla Kechu, from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Guwahati, alongside Prof. Luis Benites and Prof. Rocío Maehara from Universidad del Pacífico, Lima, Perú.

Prof. 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 were asked to identify whether word pairs from the Rongmei and Meitei languages were accurate translations. Before seeing the second word, they were shown cartoon images of individuals dressed in traditional Rongmei or Meitei attire, or neutral outfits like jeans and t-shirts. E-Prime 3.0 software was used to measure the speed and accuracy of their responses. The study aimed to explore how cultural cues impacted performance in the translation recognition task, while also considering factors such as age, living conditions, and translation direction.

Interestingly, despite the cultural and geographical closeness of the two communities, cultural cues still influenced performance. Age was also a significant factor, with younger participants responding faster, suggesting that cultural cues may become less prominent in populations where bilingualism and biculturalism are part of everyday life. The researchers propose that in societies where frequent switching between languages and cultures is common, these differences may diminish during language tasks.

Discussing the key findings, Prof. 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.”

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