Linguistic frame switching in German–English bilinguals: implications for neuroscience

Abstract

Introduction: Multilingual speakers frequently report that operating in a different language involves more than a change in grammatical system. The phenomenon at issue is linguistic frame switching (LFS): the involuntary reorganisation of cognitive, emotional, and identity-relevant schemas when a multilingual speaker moves between languages. This study investigated whether German–English bilinguals exhibit systematic language-dependent differences in self-perception and narrative content. Materials and methods: This report presents findings from an original mixed-methods study of 27 German–English bi- and multilinguals, combining self-report questionnaire data with computational text analysis (linguistic inquiry and word count, LIWC) of matched narrative pairs elicited by identical picture prompts in both languages at a six-week interval. Results: Approximately 78% of the participants reported feeling distinctly different when using their respective languages (21 of 27; χ2(1) = 8.33, p = 0.004). LIWC analysis revealed systematic cross-linguistic divergences: German narratives were consistently richer in cognitive processing, occupation-related content, and achievement themes; English narratives were higher in social process language. At the individual level, the contrasts were sometimes dramatic—the same person, the same picture, but two narratives that read as if written by different authors. Conclusions: It is argued that these patterns cannot be explained by code-switching or translation equivalence effects alone. LFS, the present report suggests, has largely untapped implications for how neuroscience conceptualises the brain–mind–environment relationship. These findings are exploratory and subject to important limitations: the sample was small (N = 27) and self-selected, language proficiency was self-rated rather than objectively measured, and no monolingual control group was included.