The simultaneous production of two grammars: Evidence from bimodal bilinguals

A debated issue in psycholinguistics is whether both languages are active in the bilingual mind that hosts them. We examined this issue in bimodal bilinguals, i.e., individuals competent in one spoken language and one sign language. Signed productions and story-telling data pertaining to declaratives, wh-questions, and negatives from Iranian bilingual speakers of Khuzestani Arabic and Sadat Tawaher Sign Language confirm that they produce two different grammars simultaneously, one via their vocal tract and the other on their hands. This finding provides support for these bilinguals’ double active representation of languages, suspension of articulatory constraints, lack of inhibition, and processing costs.