The Effect of Difference in Word Order on Semantic Processing in Hindi−English Bilinguals

Background The typology of word order in Hindi (Subject-Object-Verb, SOV) differs from that of English (Subject-Verb-Object, SVO). Bilinguals whose two languages have conflicting word order provide a unique opportunity to understand how word order affects language processing. Earlier behavioural and event-related brain potential (ERP) studies with Spanish-Basque bilinguals showed longer reading times and more errors in the comprehension of OSV sentences than SOV sentences in Basque language, indicating that non-canonical word orders (OSV) were difficult to process than canonical word order (SOV). Purpose This study was designed to explore how the difference in word order in Hindi and English languages affects N400 parameters in proficient Hindi−English bilinguals, using semantic congruity paradigm. Methods Twenty-five proficient Hindi−English bilingual subjects were asked to silently read the congruent and incongruent sentences presented in one word at a time in both the languages. ERPs were recorded from midline frontal, central and parietal sites. Results The mean amplitude of the N400 effect at the parietal sites in Hindi−English proficient bilinguals was larger for English than for Hindi but there was no significant difference in the N400 latencies. Conclusion Hindi−English bilingual subjects processed SOV and SVO sentences with equal ease as evidenced by the N400 latencies. Higher amplitude of the N400 effect with English sentences indicate that placing ‘Object’ as the final word makes sentences more predictable than verb as the final word. Understanding the word order difference might help to unravel the neurophysiological mechanisms of language comprehension and may offer some insights in terms of functional advantage of a particular word order in bilinguals.