Studies investigating the role of dual language use in modulating executive functions have reported mixed results, with some studies reporting benefits in older adults. These studies typically focus on bilingual settings, while the role of dual language use in diglossic settings is rarely investigated. In diglossia, the two language varieties are separated by context, making it an ideal test case for the effects on cognition of Single Language Contexts, as defined by the Adaptive Control Hypothesis (Green & Abutalebi, 2013). We compare the performances of three groups of older adults, Arab diglossics (n = 28), bilinguals (n = 29), and monolinguals (n = 41), on the Flanker and Stroop tasks, measuring inhibition abilities, and the Color-shape task, measuring switching abilities. We report a diglossic benefit in inhibition as measured by the Flanker task only, and no benefits for the bilingual group. These findings are discussed with reference to conversational contexts in dual language use.

调查双语使用在调节执行功能中的作用的研究报告了不同的结果，其中一些研究报告了对老年人的好处。这些研究通常关注双语环境，而双语环境中双语使用的作用很少被研究。在双语中，两种语言变体被上下文分开，使其成为自适应控制假说（Green & Abutalebi，2013）所定义的单语言上下文认知影响的理想测试用例。我们比较了三组老年人——阿拉伯双语者（n = 28）、双语者（n = 29）和单语者（n = 41）在侧卫和斯特鲁普任务中的表现，测量抑制能力和颜色形状任务，测量切换能力。我们报告了仅通过侧翼任务测量的双语抑制方面的益处，并且对双语组没有任何益处。这些发现是参考双语言使用中的对话上下文进行讨论的。