Bilingual and Tongue-Tied

It's one of the most frustrating feelings: you know the word exists, you know what it means, but you just can’t spit it out.

It's one of the most frustrating feelings: you know the word exists, you know what it means, but you just can’t spit it out. This forgetfulness may have to do with how frequently we use certain words. Researchers tested people who speak two languages, as well as deaf people who use sign language. And yes, they found signers did experience tip-of-the-fingers and about as often—roughly once a week—as speakers do. Furthermore, just as speakers can often recall the first letter of the word, signers could sometimes think of part of the sign. One leading idea for what causes these lapses is that when people try to think of a specific word, some other similar-sounding word may come up in the brain and ‘block’ their ability to access the correct word. This is called phonological blocking.

Previous research has shown bilingual people have more tip-of-the-tongue moments than those who speak one language. Experts have suggested this is because bilingual people have twice as many words to act as phonological blockers. But this study found that this kind of forgetfulness is due to infrequency of use; basically, the less often you use a word, the harder it is for your brain to access it.