Lexical and conceptual processing in Chinese-English bilinguals: Further evidence for asymmetry

According to the asymmetry model of bilingual representation (Kroll & Stewart, 1994), the first language (L1) lexicon is closely tied to an underlying conceptual memory, whereas second language (L2) items are mostly associated with their L1 equivalents. An outcome of this architecture is that L1-to-L2, or forward, translation must be mediated by the conceptual memory, whereas L2-to-L1 (backward) translation takes a direct lexical path. Some predictions derived from this hypothetical structure were tested in the present study, which took into account, through analysis of covariance, variations in response production time, concept retrieval time, and some other characteristics associated with the individual test items. Proficient Chinese-English bilinguals were tested on delayed production (Balota & Chumbley, 1985), picture naming, word translation, and category matching. The expected asymmetrical pattern of translation latencies (i.e., forward > backward) was demonstrated, although it could be statistically explained by the item characteristic of familiarity; matching an L1 item to a category name was faster than matching an L2 item, suggesting relatively strong L1 conceptual links. The present results are best accommodated by a form of asymmetry that allows for nondominant L2-concept linkage, the use of which is conditional upon the familiarity of the test item to the bilingual.     

The Role of Age of Acquisition in Bilingual Word Translation: Evidence from Spanish-English Bilinguals

The present research tested the hypothesis that the age at which one’s first language (L1) words are learned influences language processing in bilinguals. Prior research on bilingual language processing by Kroll and colleagues has suggested that memory links between L1 words and conceptual representations are stronger than memory links between one’s second language (L2) word and conceptual representations. We hypothesized that the strengths of memory links between L1 words and conceptual representations are stronger for words learned early in life than for words learned later in life. Support for the hypothesis was obtained in bilingual translation experiment with 36 Spanish–English bilinguals. Participants translated L1 words into L2 and L2 words into L1. Half of the L1 words were learned early in childhood (early AoA words), and half were learned later in life (late AoA words). The L2 words were translation equivalents of the L1 words tested; the average age at which L2 words were learned was age 7. Target words were presented either in random order or blocked by semantic category. Translation times were longer when trials were blocked by semantic category (i.e., categorical interference) occurred only when early AoA L1 words were translated into L2. Implications for current models of bilingual memory are discussed.     

不熟练汉英双语儿童翻译加工的特点

本研究使用单词翻译、图片命名和单词命名任务探查了不熟练的小学三、五和初一年级汉英双语儿童前向翻译和后向翻译的内在过程,结果发现,(1)各组被试命名图片和单词的语言效应显著,用第二语言命名图片和单词的反应时显著长于用第一语言命名图片和单词的反应时;(2)各组被试在前向翻译的反应时显著长于后向翻译,随着第二语言熟练程度的提高,反应时的差异逐渐减小。对结果的分析表明,不熟练的汉英双语儿童在两个翻译方向的内在过程相同,都是概念中介的,但两个翻译方向的加工速度差异显著。     

Vocabulary teaching strategies and conceptual representations of words in L2 in children: Evidence with novice learners

A controversial issue in bilingual research is whether in the early stages of L2 learning, access to the conceptual system involves mediation of L1 lexical representations [Kroll, J. F., & Stewart, E. (1994). Category interference in translation and picture naming: Evidence for asymmetric connections between bilingual memory representations. Journal of Memory and Language, 33, 149-174] or a direct route from the L2 word [Altarriba, J., & Mathis, K. M. (1997). Conceptual and lexical development in second language acquisition. Journal of Memory and Language, 36, 550-568; Finkbeiner, M., & Nicol, J. (2003). Semantic category effects in second language word learning. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24, 369-383]. The main goal of this paper is to study, in a child population, whether the creation of conceptual representations for L2 words is possible, even after only one session of learning of the L2 vocabulary. Furthermore, we do so by examining the efficacy of two different L2 learning methods: L2-L1 association learning vs. L2-picture association learning. A translation recognition task was employed to test whether there was a difference between a semantically related pair and an unrelated pair across conditions (i.e., a semantic interference effect). Results showed a significant semantic interference effect—a conceptual effect—in children after just one vocabulary learning session. Importantly, the L2-picture method produced a greater semantic interference effect than the L2-L1 method. The implications of these findings for models of bilingual memory are examined.     

Matching words to concepts in two languages: A test of the concept mediation model of bilingual representation

A categorization paradigm was used to investigate the relations between lexical and conceptual connections in bilingual memory. Fifty-one more fluent and less fluent English-French bilinguals viewed category names (e.g.,vegetable) and then decided whether a target word (e.g.,peas) was a member of that category. The category names and target words appeared in both English and French across experimental conditions. Because category matching requires access to conceptual memory, only relatively fluent bilinguals, who are able to directly access meaning for their second language, were expected to be able to use category information across languages. The performance of lessfluent bilinguals was expected to reflect reliance on lexical-level connections between languages, requiring translation of second-language words. The results provided evidence for concept mediation by more-fluent bilinguals, because categorization latencies were independent of the language of the category name. However, the performance of less-fluent bilinguals indicated that they did not follow a simple lexical translation strategy. Instead, these subjects were faster at categorizing words in both languages when the language of the category name matched the language of the target word, suggesting that they were able to access limited conceptual information from the second language. A model of the development of concept mediation during second language acquisition is described.     

Masked translation priming asymmetry in Chinese-English bilinguals: Making sense of the Sense Model

Masked translation priming asymmetry is the robust finding that priming from a bilingual's first language (L1) to their second language (L2) is stronger than priming from L2 to L1. This asymmetry has been claimed to be task dependent. The Sense Model proposed by Finkbeiner, Forster, Nicol, and Nakamura (2004) claims that the asymmetry is reduced in semantic categorization relative to lexical decision due to a category filtering mechanism that limits the features considered in categorization decisions to dominant, category-relevant features. This paper reports two pairs of semantic categorization and lexical decision tasks designed to test the Sense Model's predictions. The experiments replicated the finding of Finkbeiner et al. that L2-L1 priming is somewhat stronger in semantic categorization than lexical decision, selectively for exemplars of the category. However, the direct comparison of L2-L1 and L1-L2 translation priming across tasks failed to confirm the Sense Model's central prediction that translation priming asymmetry is significantly reduced in semantic categorization. The data therefore fail to support the category filtering account of translation priming asymmetry. Rather, they suggest that pre-activation of conceptual features of the target category provides feedback to lexical forms that compensates for the weak connections between the lexical and conceptual representations of L2 words.     

熟练中-英双语者对多义词早期识别中语义和语法的相互作用

以中、英文的多义词为材料, 采用跨语言隐蔽启动的实验范式, 考察在无语境条件下熟练中–英双语者对多义词的早期识别。结果表明：(1)熟练中–英双语者表现出显著的隐蔽翻译启动效应, 当目标词是主要翻译对等词时, 启动效应更加显著。(2)翻译对等词的性质、多义词的义项联系程度以及是否是词类歧义词都影响熟练中–英双语者对中、英多义词的早期加工。(3)在无语境条件下, 词类信息在意义通达的早期就已经激活, 并且同语义信息之间存在着交互作用。根据研究结果, 扩展和修正了分布式概念表征模型。     

Effects of language dominance on item and order memory in free recall,serial recall and order reconstruction

Spanish–English bilinguals (N = 144) performed free recall, serial recall and order reconstruction tasks in both English and Spanish. Long-term memory for both item and order information was worse in the less fluent language (L2) than in the more fluent language (L1). Item scores exhibited a stronger disadvantage for the L2 in serial recall than in free recall. Relative order scores were lower in the L2 for all three tasks, but adjusted scores for free and serial recall were equivalent across languages. Performance of English-speaking monolinguals (N = 72) was comparable to bilingual performance in the L1, except that monolinguals had higher adjusted order scores in free recall. Bilingual performance patterns in the L2 were consistent with the established effects of concurrent task performance on these memory tests, suggesting that the cognitive resources required for processing words in the L2 encroach on resources needed to commit item and order information to memory. These findings are also consistent with a model in which item memory is connected to the language system, order information is processed by separate mechanisms and attention can be allocated differentially to these two systems.     

Processing hyponymy in L1 and L2

This study examined the processing of hyponymy in L1 and two levels of performance (overall and high proficiency) in L2 in a group of Persian-English bilinguals. In two experiments, the same participants detected semantic relation in hyponymy pairs (i.e., hyponym-superordinate vs. superordinate-hyponym) in L1 (experiment 1) and L2 (experiment 2). The variables of pair type, stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA), language, and language proficiency were manipulated. Overall, the results showed that participants' median RTs and SDs were significantly greater in L2. This suggests that L2 processing in unbalanced bilinguals is less automatic than L1 processing. The findings of experiment 2 with the higher proficiency group showed a trend toward performance in L1 and therefore confirmed the prediction of the hierarchical model of bilingual memory that lexical processes in more-fluent bilinguals approximate those of L1 speakers. The results of the two experiments also showed that participants were significantly faster when presented with superordinate-hyponym word pairs than with hyponym-superordinate word pairs at 100-ms SOA in both L1 and L2 conditions. The results at 200-ms SOA, however, showed an opposite trend, although the results with L2 did not reach significance. This trend of results points to a possibility of automatic vs. strategic processing in the sense that participants' processing of hyponymy relation was more strategic than automatic at 200-ms SOA.     

The influence of second language proficiency on bilingual parallel language activation in Hindi–English bilinguals

We investigated the spontaneous activation of phonologically related words in high and low proficient Hindi–English bilinguals during spoken word processing in an eye-tracking study. Participants listened to spoken words in L1/L2 and looked at a display (consisting of line drawings of phonological cohort of the translation equivalent of the spoken word and unrelated distractors). Both the groups were quick in orienting their attention towards the competitor with the onset of the spoken word. Furthermore, high proficient bilinguals showed higher and earlier activation of the competitor compared to low proficient bilinguals. Cross-language activations were higher in the L2–L1 direction for both the groups. The results strongly suggest language non-selective access of translation in Hindi–English bilinguals in both language directions. We discuss the results with regard to the predictions of the bilingual language processing models and the effect of language proficiency on conceptual access during listening in bilinguals.     

Visual word recognition in bilinguals: phonological priming from the second to the first language

In this study, the authors show that cross-lingual phonological priming is possible not only from the 1st language (L1) to the 2nd language (L2), but also from L2 to L1. In addition, both priming effects were found to have the same magnitude and to not be related to differences in word naming latencies between L1 and L2. The findings are further evidence against language-selective access models of bilingual word processing and are more in line with strong phonological models of visual word recognition than with the traditional dual-route models.     

The Distractor Picture Paradox in Speech Production: Evidence from the Word Translation Task

Several naming studies show that distractor pictures, even when intentionally ignored by the speaker, are still capable of activating their respective phonological representations. However results from word translation studies suggest that distractor pictures are only conceptually activated. Here we tested the reliability of the word translation results. In four experiments, bilingual participants translated words from one language to the other one while ignoring the presentation of pictures. In Experiment 1a phonological related pictures sped up translation latencies. However, the effect disappeared when the percentage of related trials was reduced (Experiment 1b). In Experiment 2a translation latencies were faster when the words were accompanied by semantically related pictures than by unrelated pictures. Importantly, the effect was still reliable when the proportion of related trials was reduced and the total number of semantic categories was increased (Experiment 2b). Theoretical implications of the influence of distractor pictures during speech production are discussed.     

Code-switching across brainstorming sessions: implications for the revised hierarchical model of bilingual language processing

The revised hierarchical model (RHM) of bilingual language processing posits independent word form representations for the dominant language (L1) and the nondominant language (L2), facilitated translation from L2 words to L1 words, access to common concepts for L1 and L2, and stronger activation of concepts for L1 than for L2. Spanish-English and English-Spanish bilinguals brainstormed for two sessions; half switched languages (L1-L2 or L2-L1) and half stayed in the same language (L1-L1 or L2-L2) across sessions. In both sessions, L1 brainstorming resulted in more efficient idea productivity than L2 brainstorming, supporting stronger concept activation for L1, consistent with the RHM. Switching languages from L2 to L1 resulted in the most efficient idea productivity in Session 2, suggesting that switching to L1 not only permits strong concept activation, but also the activation of concepts that are relatively different than those activated by L2, inconsistent with the RHM. Switching languages increased the proportion of Session 1 ideas repeated during Session 2, despite instructions not to repeat. This finding suggests that there is activation of concepts as well as word forms in same language brainstorming and that this dual activation aids in following instructions not to repeat, consistent with the RHM. It is suggested that the RHM be re-specified to accommodate the notion that L1 and L2 access relatively different concepts.     

联结再认中双语者第二语言记忆优势效应

研究使用ERPs技术, 考察了双语者在联结再认中是否存在第二语言记忆优势效应。实验要求被试完成维吾尔语(L1)和汉语(L2)两类“学习-测试”任务。学习阶段要求被试学习混合呈现的复合词和无关词, 测验阶段要求被试区分“旧”、“重组”或“新”词对。行为结果发现：(1)复合词中, L2的正确率高于L1, L2的反应时快于L1; 无关词中, L2的正确率与L1无显著差异, 但L2的反应时快于L1。(2) 在L2和L1中, 复合词的正确率均高于无关词, 反应时均快于无关词。ERPs结果发现：(1)在高整合条件下, L2仅诱发了FN400效应, L1诱发了FN400效应和LPC效应; 在低整合条件下, L2和L1都只诱发了LPC效应。(2)在时间进程上, L2和L1分别在650 ms和900 ms完成联结关系的提取。上述结果表明, 在高整合条件下, 双语者在联结再认中存在L2记忆优势。此外, 实验结果也从双语角度证明了, 整合编码能促进熟悉性在维吾尔语联结再认中发挥作用。本研究结果的实践意义在于, 为我国少数民族学生习得国家通用语言文字提供了认知神经科学依据。     

语义相似性与类别大小对图-词干扰范式下语义效应的影响

采用基本水平命名和类别水平命名任务, 通过2个实验, 考察了图-词之间的语义相似性与类别大小对图-词干扰范式下语义效应的影响。实验1发现, 图片命名时间在语义相似性高的干扰词条件下显著快于在语义相似性低的干扰词条件下, 但这种效应只出现在基本水平命名任务中, 未出现在类别水平命名任务中。图-词之间的语义相似性高低对低熟悉图片命名影响大, 对高熟悉图片命名影响小。实验2显示, 语义关联的干扰词对图片的基本水平命名产生了语义干扰效应, 对图片的类别水平命名产生了语义促进效应。类别大小强化了语义效应：类别大, 图片的基本水平命名的语义干扰效应更大, 图片的类别水平命名的语义促进效应更强。整个研究表明, 图-词之间的语义关联的强度影响语义效应的方向, 图-词之间的语义关联的广度影响语义效应的强弱。需要结合多种理论来解释图-词之间的语义相似性和类别大小对图-词干扰范式下语义效应的影响。     

熟练潮-普双言者的语义通达机制:来自通道比较的证据

采用跨语言启动的范畴判断范式,通过2个实验,考察了熟练潮-普双言者在听觉通道内和听-视跨通道条件下的语义通达机制。结果发现,无论是以潮州话词语为启动词,还是以普通话词语为启动词,当词对具有高语义相关时,启动词均对目标词产生了显著的跨语言启动效应;在听觉通道内,两种语言之间的启动量无差异,而在听-视跨通道条件下,L2对L1的启动量显著大于L1对L2的启动量。这些结果表明,熟练潮-普双言者共享语义(概念)表征,词汇表征既相互独立又互相联系,L1与L2的词汇均能直接通达语义表征,但其联系强度及其相互之间的词汇表征联系强度均存在通道差异性。整个研究结果支持Kroll等人的修正分级模型。     

Photograph method fosters direct access to second-language word meaning: Direct evidence from a word-picture matching task

This experiment was designed to investigate conceptual links directly through a word–picture matching task in children. Participants were asked to indicate between two pictures the one depicting the same concept as the newly learned L2 word (target). One of the two pictures was the target, while the other was either semantically related to it or was unrelated. To investigate whether learning methods modulate L2 word processing, two learning methods were compared: an L2-photograph method and an L1-L2 method. Results showed a semantic interference effect only with the L2-photograph method: Children responded more slowly in the related condition than in the unrelated one. The learning method modulated L2 word processing and L2 word meaning was not necessarily accessed through L1 mediation in the first steps of learning. The method used paves the way for the direct investigation of conceptual links.     

The bilingual L2 advantage in recognition memory

To better understand the mechanisms by which bilingual proficiency impacts memory processes, two recognition memory experiments were conducted with matched monolingual and bilingual samples. In Experiment 1, monolingual speakers of English and Spanish studied high- and low-frequency words under full attention or cognitive load conditions. In Experiment 2, Spanish–English bilingual participants studied high- and low-frequency words under full-attention conditions in each language. For both monolinguals and bilinguals, low-frequency words were better recognized than high-frequency words. The central new findings were that bilingual recognition was more accurate in the less fluent language (L2) than in the more fluent language (L1) and that bilingual L2 recognition was more accurate than monolingual recognition. The bilingual L2 advantage parallels word frequency effects in recognition and is attributed to the greater episodic distinctiveness of L2 words, relative to L1 words.     

Associated or dissociated effects of syllable frequency in lexical decision and naming

Most empirical work investigating the role of syllable frequency in visual word recognition has focused on the Spanish language, in which syllable frequency seems to produce a classic dissociation: inhibition in lexical decision tasks but facilitation in naming. In the present study, two experiments were run in German, using identical stimulus materials, in a lexical decision task and a naming task. In both tasks, there was an inhibitory effect for words with a high-frequency first syllable. This pattern of results, suggesting a stronger weight of lexical access in the naming process in German than in Spanish, is discussed with regard to the issue of stress assignment in the two languages and within the framework of word production models. Items, mean response latencies, and accuracy rates per item for both experiments can be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org/archive.