Semantic and conceptual factors in Spanish–English bilinguals’ processing of lexical categories in their two languages

Abstract

This study examines possible semantic interaction in fully fluent adult simultaneous and early L2 bilinguals. Monolingual and bilingual speakers of Spanish and English (N=144) were tested for their understanding of lexical categories that differed in their two languages. Simultaneous bilinguals came from homes in which Spanish or Spanish and English were spoken when they were children, and L2 bilinguals entered the US as children. Accuracy data show higher ultimate attainment of languagespecific semantic knowledge in English than in Spanish, but in both languages the interaction of the semantic categories with conceptual knowledge is observable. The data reveal subtle differences in early bilinguals' extensions of words, but only in some types of categories, and modified by level of proficiency. SEMANTIC AND CONCEPTUAL FACTORS IN SPANISH-ENGLISH BILINGUALS' PROCESSING OF LEXICAL CATEGORIES IN THEIR TWO LANGUAGESThe question of convergence between a bilingual's languages has long been of interest, with the focus on a wide range of linguistic areas, including phonology, morphosyntax, and syntax. Recently, the interest in how bilinguals represent the semantics of their languages and how the semantic systems relate to conceptual understanding has intensified. We provide further evidence here on such issues from a population of fully-fluent adult simultaneous and early-L2 bilinguals. The data provide evidence on the ultimate attainment of language-specific semantic knowledge, the potential long-term convergence of the semantic systems, and the role of cognitive knowledge (i.e., knowledge of the world independent of language) in such convergence. BACKGROUNDIn this work, we use the term semantic to refer to the language-specific ways in which meaning is encoded in language. No two languages carve up the semantic space in identical fashion (Jarvis and Pavlenko, 2008; Malt, Gennari, Imai, Ameel, Saji, and Majid, in press), so how do bilingual speakers manage differences between their two languages? Non-isomorphic relations between words in the two languages are common and pervasive: A word in one language can have more than one translation equivalent in the other (Spanish dedo -English finger, toe), the categories can cross-cut each other (as in the case of Korean verbs of placement distinguishing acts according to the tight or loose fit of the objects, versus the English focus on containment versus support, Bowerman and Choi, 2001), or a category in one language may be absent in the other (English nut has no generic equivalent in Spanish) (Elston-Güttler and Williams, 2008;Prior, Kroll and MacWhinney, 2013;Prior, MacWhinney, and Kroll, 2007;Tokowicz, Kroll, De Groot, and Van Hell, 2002).Corresponding to these differences in inter-language lexical correspondences, the internal semantics of words can vary dramatically, both across languages and within a language. On one end of the continuum some words can be relatively homogeneous/consistent in application, in that members in the category share necessary and sufficient con...

L1 – L2 semantic and syntactic processing: The influence of language proximity

“…watch, whereas English wall encompasses Spanish pared and muro. Gathercole et al (2016) argued that when lexical items have a broad category in one language it is relatively harder to distinguish more precise categorisation in another language. Moreover, Gathercole et al (2016) acknowledged that restructuring relates to conceptual underpinning.…”

“…Gathercole et al (2016) argued that when lexical items have a broad category in one language it is relatively harder to distinguish more precise categorisation in another language. Moreover, Gathercole et al (2016) acknowledged that restructuring relates to conceptual underpinning. They showed that (L2) polysemous lexical items such as leg are conceptually plausible and accordingly easier to restructure in the L2 than homophones.…”

Asymmetric semantic interaction in Jedek-Jahai bilinguals: Spatial language in a small-scale, non-standardized, egalitarian, long-term multilingual setting in Malaysia

“…Other findings suggest that bilinguals tend to adopt the use of broader semantic categories over more specific ones in lexical areas where their languages differ in semantic granularity, at least for some semantic categories (cf. Gathercole, Stadthagen-González, Pérez-Tattam, & Yavas, 2017). Klɛŋ is a fine example of both these tendencies.…”

Understanding L2 word learning outcomes: The roles of semantic relations, input, and language dissimilarity

“…Existing data have not always supported this prediction, however. For instance, Jessen and Cadierno (2013) found learners trying to create distinctions in L2 to match those in their L1 (see also Gathercole & Moawad, 2010; Gathercole, Stadhagen-Conzalez, Perez-Tattam, & Yavas 2017; Jarvis, 2000).…”