Number processing of Arabic and Hebrew bilinguals: Evidence supporting the distance effect

In the current study, a direct assessment of the effect of language lexical‐syntactic structure and magnitude semantic access on numerical processing was made by contrasting the performance of Arabic/Hebrew bilinguals in a digital (Hindi‐digits/Arabic‐digits) and verbal numerical comparison task (Arabic, an inverted language: Units‐Decades, Hebrew, a non‐inverted language: Decades‐Units). Our data revealed in the digital presentation format (Experiment 1) a regular distance effect in Arabic language‐Hindi digits and Hebrew language‐Arabic digits, characterized by an inverse relation between reaction times and numerical distance with no difference in the mean reaction times of participants in Arabic‐L1 and Hebrew‐L2. This indicates that both lexical digits of two‐digit numbers in L1 and L2 are similarly processed and semantically accessed. However in the verbal presentation format (Experiment 2) a similar pattern of distance effect was found, but the mean reaction times in Arabic were lower than in Hebrew in each numerical distance. This indicates that the processing of two‐digit number words in L1 and L2 is semantically accessed and determined by the syntactic structure of each language.     

Arabic digit naming speed: task context and redundancy gain

There is evidence for both semantic and asemantic routes for naming Arabic digits, but neuropsychological dissociations suggest that number-fact retrieval (2x3=6) can inhibit the semantic route for digit naming. Here, we tested the hypothesis that such inhibition should slow digit naming, based on the principle that reduced access to multiple routes would counteract redundancy gain (the response time advantage expected from parallel retrieval pathways). Participants named two single digit numbers and then performed simple addition or magnitude comparison (Experiment 1), multiplication or magnitude comparison (Experiment 2), and multiplication or subtraction (Experiment 3) on the same or on a different pair of digits. Addition and multiplication were expected to inhibit the semantic route, whereas comparison and subtraction should enable the semantic route. Digit naming time was approximately 15ms slower when participants subsequently performed addition or multiplication relative to comparison or subtraction, regardless of whether or not the same digit pair was involved. A letter naming control condition in Experiment 3 demonstrated that the effect was specific to digit naming. Number fact retrieval apparently can inhibit Arabic digit naming processes.     

The processing of two-digit numbers in bilinguals

We explored possible between-language influences when bilinguals processed two-digit numbers. Spanish/English bilinguals and German/English bilinguals performed a number comparison task with Arabic digits and verbal numbers in their first language (L1) and second language (L2) while the unit-decade compatibility was manipulated. The two bilingual groups showed regular compatibility effect with Arabic digits. In L1, Spanish/English bilinguals showed reverse compatibility effect, while German/English bilinguals showed regular compatibility effect. However, both groups of bilinguals presented reverse compatibility effect in English (L2), which suggested that the bilinguals' L1 did not determine the processing of number words in their L2. The results indicated that bilinguals processed two-digit number words selectively in their L1 and L2 and that they did not transcode L2 numbers into Arabic format.     

Semantic processing in the production of numerals across notations

In the present work, we conducted a series of experiments to explore the processing stages required to name numerals presented in different notations. To this end, we used the semantic blocking paradigm previously used in psycholinguist studies. We found a facilitative effect of the semantic blocked context relative to the mixed context for Arabic digits and number words. However, the blocked context produced an interference effect for physical numerosity and Roman numbers. Our results provided further evidence to models suggesting that Arabic digits may be named through an asemantic route similar to that of number words, whereas a semantic route is mandatory to name physical numerosity and Roman numerals.     

Are Arabic numerals processed as pictures in a Stroop interference task?

In a picture-word interference task, picture naming is interfered by an incongruent word, but word naming is hardly hindered by the presence of an incongruent picture. In this study, we investigated whether Arabic digits are processed more like pictures or like words. We report two experiments in which Arabic digits and verbal numerals were confronted in a Stroop task. Arabic digit naming is interfered by the presence of an incongruent verbal numeral, while naming the verbal numeral is not influenced by the presence of an incongruent Arabic digit. In a second experiment, we excluded the hypothesis that the results are due to ignoring the Arabic digits: interferences from an incongruent distracter were similar for both notations in a semantic classification task. It seems that an asemantic conversion for Arabic digits is too slow to influence naming times, and that Arabic digit naming, like picture naming, is semantically mediated.     

Performance of bilinguals in a picture-word interference task

The picture-word interference task was administered to Spanish-English adults in order to determine whether the lexicons of bilinguals are integrated or whether words are stored and accessed separately in semantic memory. Pictures were printed with Spanish words naming other objects, with English translations, and with X's. Spanish and English distractor words were observed to slow down picture naming in both languages. Also, an interaction was detected among subjects naming pictures in English. On the first trial Spanish words produced more interference than English words, whereas the pattern was reversed thereafter. This effect is attributed to task novelty, which disappears with practice. No differential patterns of interference were observed among subjects naming pictures in Spanish, probably because of greater error variance. Results for English picture-naming bilinguals supported the integration hypothesis but suggested that there is less distance between words within a language than between languages in semantic memory.     

Cross-notation number priming investigated at different stimulus onset asynchronies in parity and naming tasks

In this paper, a parity judgment task and a number naming task were used to investigate cross-notational number priming. Primes and targets could be verbal (e.g., seven) or Arabic numbers (e.g., 7), and were always presented in a different notation within the same trial (either a verbal prime and an Arabic target or an Arabic prime and a verbal target). Previous experiments showed that response latencies increase when the distance between prime and target increases (for example, in a naming task, seven is pronounced faster after 6 than after 5). This semantic distance priming effect was the same for Arabic and verbal targets and was the same for within-notation trials as for cross-notation trials. In the present experiments, we wanted to investigate whether the cross-notational priming effect also occurs at SOAs shorter than the ones used in previous experiments. Therefore, we used SOAs of 43, 57, 86, and 115 ms. Semantic distance effects were indeed present at these shorter SOAs: Processing times in the semantic parity judgment task and in the non-semantic naming task increased when the distance between prime and target increased. The results are discussed and integrated within an interactive dual-route model of number processing that postulates that the impact of the semantic and the non-semantic route depends on the task and the notation of the stimuli.     

Single-digit and two-digit Arabic numerals address the same semantic number line.

Many theories about human number representation stress the importance of a central semantic representation that includes the magnitude information of small integer numbers, and that is conceived as an abstract, compressed number line. However, thus far there has been little or no direct evidence that units and teens are represented on the same number line. In two masked priming experiments, we show that single-digit and two-digit Arabic numerals are equally well primed by an Arabic numeral with the same number of digits as by an equally distant Arabic numeral with a different number of digits (e.g. the priming effect of 7 on the target 9 is the same as the priming effect of 11 on the target 9). The finding was obtained both with a number naming task and with a parity judgement task. This is in line with the hypothesis that units and teens are part of a continuous number line.     

Asymmetries in the processing of Arabic digits and number words

Numbers can be represented as Arabic digits ("6") or as number words ("six"). The present study investigated potential processing differences between the two notational formats. In view of the previous finding (e.g., Potter & Faulconer, 1975) that objects are named slower, but semantically categorized faster, than corresponding words, it was investigated whether a similar interaction between stimulus format and task could be obtained with numbers. Experiment 1 established that number words were named faster than corresponding digits, but only if the two notation formats were presented in separate experimental blocks. Experiment 2 contrasted naming with a numerical magnitude judgment task and demonstrated an interaction between notation and task, with slower naming but faster magnitude judgment latencies for digits than for number words. These findings suggest that processing of the two notation formats is asymmetric, with digits gaining rapid access to numerical magnitude representations, but slower access to lexical codes, and the reverse for number words.     

Do we access meaning when we name Arabic digits? Electrophysiological evidence

In this study, we evaluated whether the naming of Arabic digits required access to semantic information. Participants named pictures and Arabic digits blocked by category or intermixed with exemplars of other categories while behavioural and electrophysiological measures were gathered. Pictures were named slower and Arabic digits faster in the blocked context relative to the mixed context. Around 350–450 ms after the presentation of pictures and Arabic digits, brain waves were more positive in anterior regions and more negative in posterior regions when the blocked context was compared with the mixed context. The pattern of electrophysiological results suggests that pictures and Arabic digits are both processed semantically and they are subject to repetition effects during the naming task.     

Speaking two languages with different number naming systems: What implications for magnitude judgments in bilinguals at different stages of language acquisition?

Differences between languages in terms of number naming systems may lead to performance differences in number processing. The current study focused on differences concerning the order of decades and units in two-digit number words (i.e., unit-decade order in German but decade-unit order in French) and how they affect number magnitude judgments. Participants performed basic numerical tasks, namely two-digit number magnitude judgments, and we used the compatibility effect (Nuerk et al. in Cognition 82(1):B25–B33, 2001) as a hallmark of language influence on numbers. In the first part we aimed to understand the influence of language on compatibility effects in adults coming from German or French monolingual and German–French bilingual groups (Experiment 1). The second part examined how this language influence develops at different stages of language acquisition in individuals with increasing bilingual proficiency (Experiment 2). Language systematically influenced magnitude judgments such that: (a) The spoken language(s) modulated magnitude judgments presented as Arabic digits, and (b) bilinguals’ progressive language mastery impacted magnitude judgments presented as number words. Taken together, the current results suggest that the order of decades and units in verbal numbers may qualitatively influence magnitude judgments in bilinguals and monolinguals, providing new insights into how number processing can be influenced by language(s).     

Naming two-digit arabic numerals: evidence from masked priming studies

The authors investigated how 2-digit Arabic numerals are named by looking at the effects of masked primes on the naming latencies. Target numerals were named faster when prime and target shared a digit at the same position (e.g., the target 28 primed by 18 and 21). In contrast, naming latencies were slower when prime and target shared 1 or 2 digits at non-corresponding places (e.g., the target 28 primed by 82, 86, or 72). Subsequent experiments showed that these priming effects were situated at the level of the verbal production of the Arabic numerals. The data point to a non-semantically mediated route from visual input to verbal output in the naming of 2-digit Arabic numerals.     

Two routes for the processing of verbal numbers: evidence from the SNARC effect

The functional locus of the semantic system is an important issue in number processing. In the present article, the necessity of addressing a central semantic magnitude system in the processing of printed verbal number words is evaluated by looking at the presence of a spatial-numerical association of response codes or SNARC effect. This effect consists of an association of number magnitude and response-preference (preferred responses to small numbers with the left hand and to large numbers with the right hand) and reflects semantic access. Two experiments were run. In Experiment 1, participants performed a parity judgment task which requires access to number semantics. A SNARC effect was observed. In Experiment 2 a phoneme monitoring task was used, which can, in principle, be performed through direct asemantic transcoding. No SNARC effect occurred. Apparently, written number words access the semantic system only if this is necessary for correct task completion. Hence, a semantic and an asemantic route can be postulated for the processing of word numerals. These observations contrast with the processing of Arabic numerals for which semantic effects are omnipresent. Implications of this explicit demonstration of a dissimilarity between the processing of digits and of number words are discussed. Received: 25 October 2000 / Accepted: 21 May 2001     

延迟命名任务中图词干扰效应的眼动研究

采用图-词分离呈现及眼动技术探讨在延时命名条件下图-词干扰效应发生的位置。结果发现：（1）延时命名图片时,仍出现图-词干扰效应和频率效应;（2）与命名干扰词相比,命名图片时图片的回视率高,注视时间长;（3）图片的注视时间也出现频率效应和图-词干扰效应。这说明即使在延时命名图片的条件下,目标词汇仍需要再次激活,频率效应和图-词干扰效应是发生在词汇化过程中,反驳反应排除理论的图-词干扰反应选择阶段的观点,支持了词汇化选择竞争的理论。     

Negative priming with numbers: No evidence for a semantic locus

Selective attention has been studied extensively using the negative priming (NP) paradigm. An important issue regards the representational level at which NP occurs. We investigated this issue by using numbers as stimuli. Because numbers have a well-defined semantic organization, which can be clearly measured by means of the distance effect, they are very suitable for testing the assumption that NP is situated at a central semantic level. Four experiments are presented in which the numerical distance between prime distractor and probe target was manipulated. The task was magnitude comparison. Target and distractor were defined on the basis of colour. In Experiment 1, all numbers were presented in Arabic format; NP was observed only with identical prime distractor and probe target, and no distance-related NP was observed. This could not be explained by a decay of inhibition since in Experiment 2 similar results were obtained with a shortened response-to-stimulus interval. Experiment 3 showed that these observations also hold for numbers presented verbally. Nevertheless, a cross-notational experiment with Arabic prime and verbal probe (Experiment 4) revealed no NP whatsoever and excluded the possibility that the absence of distance-related negative priming was the result of a fine-tuned inhibitory mechanism operating at the semantic level. The results are considered in the light of current theories of negative priming.     

Semantic interference in a delayed naming task: evidence for the response exclusion hypothesis

In 2 experiments participants named pictures of common objects with superimposed distractor words. In one naming condition, the pictures and words were presented simultaneously on every trial, and participants produced the target response immediately. In the other naming condition, the presentation of the picture preceded the presentation of the distractor by 1,000 ms, and participants delayed production of their naming response until distractor word presentation. Within each naming condition, the distractor words were either semantic category coordinates of the target pictures or unrelated. Orthogonal to this manipulation of semantic relatedness, the frequency of the pictures' names was manipulated. The authors observed semantic interference effects in both the immediate and delayed naming conditions but a frequency effect only in the immediate naming condition. These data indicate that semantic interference can be observed when target picture naming latencies do not reflect the bottleneck at the level of lexical selection. In the context of other findings from the picture-word interference paradigm, the authors interpret these data as supporting the view that the semantic interference effect arises at a postlexical level of processing.     

Age-related differences in interlingual priming: a behavioural and electrophysiological investigation

Reaction time (RT) and the N400 ERP component were measured to examine age-related differences in bilingual language processing. Although young bilinguals appear to access both languages simultaneously (i.e., non-selective access), little is known about language selection in older adults. The effect of language context on language selectivity was investigated using interlingual homographs (IH; i.e., words with identical orthography but distinct semantic features in two languages, e.g., coin meaning 'corner' in French and 'money' in English). Younger and older French/English bilinguals were presented with triplets of letter strings comprised of a language context cue, an IH, and a target word, in a lexical decision semantic priming task. RT and ERP results support non-selective language access in young adults; however, the older bilinguals used the language context cue to bias their reading of the IH. Results are discussed in terms of age-related changes in language processing and context use in bilinguals.     

Word Naming in Bodo–Assamese Bilinguals: The Role of Semantic Context,Cognate Status,Second Language Age of Acquisition and Proficiency

The current study investigated the effects of the semantic context, cognate status of the word and second language age of acquisition and proficiency in two word naming experiments (Experiment 1 and 2). Three groups of Bodo–Assamese bilinguals named cognate and non-cognate words in their first language, Bodo and second language, Assamese, which were presented in categorized and randomized lists. Experiment 1 demonstrated significant category interference for both cognate and non-cognate words; whereas, in Experiment 2, category interference was observed only in case of cognate words, indicating that naming in L2 was more prone to semantic effects. In Experiment 1, the magnitude of the category interference effect was larger for the low proficient bilinguals, but in Experiment 2, only the high proficient bilinguals demonstrated category interference effect. Further, cognate facilitation effect was not observed in both experiments which is in line with the findings of previous studies. The findings are discussed in light of the predictions of the Revised Hierarchical Model.     

Bilinguals Show Weaker Lexical Access During Spoken Sentence Comprehension

When bilinguals process written language, they show delays in accessing lexical items relative to monolinguals. The present study investigated whether this effect extended to spoken language comprehension, examining the processing of sentences with either low or high semantic constraint in both first and second languages. English-German bilinguals, German-English bilinguals and English monolinguals listened for target words in spoken English sentences while their eye-movements were recorded. Bilinguals’ eye-movements reflected weaker lexical access relative to monolinguals; furthermore, the effect of semantic constraint differed across first versus second language processing. Specifically, English-native bilinguals showed fewer overall looks to target items, regardless of sentence constraint; German-native bilinguals activated target items more slowly and maintained target activation over a longer period of time in the low-constraint condition compared with monolinguals. No eye movements to cross-linguistic competitors were observed, suggesting that these lexical access disadvantages were present during bilingual spoken sentence comprehension even in the absence of overt interlingual competition.     

感觉记忆中含语义对象的视觉表征

感觉记忆能够以特征形式构建对视觉对象表面信息的表征, 然而对于具有重要意义的潜在抽象信息, 尚未有研究考察其是否影响感觉记忆的视觉表征。结合掩蔽技术与部分报告法范式考察了感觉记忆的视觉表征中是否包含语义信息。以阿拉伯数字作为目标, 实验1与实验2分别采用正立与倒置的汉字大写数字作为掩蔽刺激, 比较其与白噪音刺激的掩蔽效应。结果显示, 汉字大写数字的掩蔽效应均强于白噪音刺激, 且正立汉字大写数字的掩蔽效果较倒置汉字大写数字更强。实验3采用汉字大写数字与汉字常用字分别作为掩蔽刺激, 结果显示汉字大写数字的掩蔽效果强于汉字常用字。上述结果显示, 刺激间的语义相似性带来了视觉表征冲突, 表明感觉记忆的视觉表征中包含了刺激的语义信息。