No abstract

The goal of the present study was to identify the cognitive processes that underlie lexical ambiguity resolution in a second language (L2). We examined which cognitive factors predict the efficiency in accessing subordinate meanings of L2 homonyms in a sample of highly-proficient, Spanish–English bilinguals. The predictive ability of individual differences in (1) homonym processing in the L1, (2) working memory capacity and (3) sensitivity to cross-language form overlap were examined. In two experiments, participants were presented with cognate and noncognate homonyms as either a prime in a lexical decision task (Experiment 1) or embedded in a sentence (Experiment 2). In both experiments speed and accuracy in accessing subordinate meanings in the L1 was the strongest predictor of speed and accuracy in accessing subordinate meanings in the L2. Sensitivity to cross-language form overlap predicted performance in lexical decision while working memory capacity predicted processing in sentence comprehension.

This study investigated the role of verbal working memory on bilingual lexical disambiguation. Spanish–English bilinguals read sentences that ended in either a cognate or noncognate homonym or a control word. Participants decided whether follow-up target words were related in meaning to the sentences. On critical trials, sentences biased the subordinate meaning of a homonym and were followed by targets related to the dominant meaning. Bilinguals with high span were faster at rejecting unrelated targets when the sentences ended in a homonym, whereas bilinguals with low span were slower. Furthermore, error rates for bilinguals with low span showed cognate inhibition, while bilinguals with high span showed no effects of cross-language activation. Results demonstrated that bilinguals with high span benefit from shared lexical codes whether these converge on to a single semantic representation (cognates) or not (homonyms). Conversely, bilinguals with low span showed inhibition from the competing lexical codes, even when they converge onto a single semantic representation.

No abstract

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S1366728907003239How to cite this article: ANA I. SCHWARTZ and ANA B. ARÊAS DA LUZ FONTES (2008). Cross-language mediated priming: Effects of context and lexical relationship. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 11, pp 95-110We examined how linguistic context influences the nature of bilingual lexical activation. We hypothesized that in single-word context, form-related words would receive the strongest activation while, in sentence context, semantically related words would receive the strongest activation. Spanish-English bilinguals performed a semantic verification task on English target words preceded by a prime. On critical trials, the prime and target words were paired based either on a form-mediated relationship through the native language (L1), [e.g., bark ( barco): BOAT] (Experiment 1) or on a semantically-mediated relationship [e.g., boat ( barco): BARK] (Experiment 2). The prime word was presented either in isolation or after a sentence context. In Experiment 1 interference was observed in the single word condition only. In Experiment 2 interference was observed in both single-word and sentence contexts. The findings demonstrate that the context in which words are embedded has an impact on the type of lexical competitors that become active.

Abstract:The present study aimed to investigate how different Voice Onset Time (VOT) patterns are categorized by native speakers of American English and Brazilian Learners of English. American English and Brazilian Portuguese diverge as to the voicing patterns of plosive Revista de Estudos da Linguagem, Belo Horizonte, v. 23, n.2, p. 311-334, 2015 312 consonants, for the VOT cue plays different roles in the distinction between voiced and voiceless consonant categories in each system. This study contrasted four VOT patterns (Negative VOT, Zero VOT, Positive VOT and a manipulated pattern, named Artificial Zero VOT) in two perceptual tasks (AxB discrimination and identification tests), and verified how the two groups of participants categorized these patterns. Results reinforce the idea that speech perception is multimodal and, therefore, the action of multiple cues must be taken into account when we consider phonetic-phonological processes. Keywords: Voice Onset Time; Speech Perception; Discrimination; Identification. Resumo: O presente estudo buscou investigar como diferentes padrões de Voice Onset Time (VOT) são categorizados por falantes nativos deInglês Americano e aprendizes brasileiros de Inglês. O Inglês Americano e o Português Brasileiro divergem quanto ao padrão de vozeamento das consoantes plosivas, uma vez que a pista VOT desempenha diferentes papéis na formação de categorias de consoantes vozeadas e desvozeadas em cada sistema. Este estudo contrastou quatro padrões de VOT (VOT Negativo, VOT Zero, VOT Positivo e um padrão manipulado, nomeado VOT Zero Artificial) em duas tarefas perceptuais (testes de discriminação AxB e identificação), e verificou como os dois grupos de participantes categorizaram esses padrões. Os resultados corroboram a ideia de que a percepção da fala é multimodal e, portanto, a ação de múltiplas pistas acústicas deve ser levada em consideração quando abordamos processos fonético-fonológicos.

Research with bilinguals apply different measures to assess proficiency, one of them being language background questionnaires, which include questions about individuals’ experience and self-rated proficiency. Studies suggest that bilinguals can report their proficiency consistently with objective measures (MARIAN et al., 2007; LUK et al., 2013; GERTKEN et al., 2014; BRANTMEIR et al., 2012). Within this context, the goal of the present study was to investigate the relationship between two distinct measures of proficiency. In order to do so, we correlated participants’ self-rated proficiency (N = 112) in the Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (QuExPLi - Questionário de Experiência e Proficiência Linguística) with their scores on the TOEFL ITP. We also carried out a simple linear regression between the mean scores of the two measures. Results show a significant weak correlation between participants’ self-rated proficiency and their scores on the TOEFL ITP, as well as a significant regression equation. Also, when the scores on individual skills were correlated with participants’ self-rated proficiency on those skills (N = 16), significant moderate to strong correlations were found. These results add to research that have found that bilinguals are able to report their proficiency accurately; however, more studies in different contexts are needed.

Pesquisadores sugerem que o aprendizado de línguas adicionais e a experiência com o uso dessas línguas tem um papel importante no desenvolvimento da competência linguística de um indivíduo (MARIAN, BLUMENFELD e KAUSHANSKAYA, 2007). O objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar quais fatores relacionados a uma experiência linguística são  associados à proficiência autoavaliada pelos usuários de uma língua adicional. Para esse fim, correlacionamos variáveis da experiência linguística de 535 participantes brasileiros falantes de inglês como língua adicional com a proficiência reportada por eles no Questionário de Experiência e Proficiência Linguística (QuExPLi). Os resultados sugerem que os fatores relacionados a marcos de idade, tempo de imersão e uso atual da língua associam-se de forma significativa à proficiência autorreportada pelosparticipantes.