Pub Date : 2023-04-12DOI: 10.1177/13670069231164257
Ângela Tomaz, Helena M Oliveira, A. Soares, S. Casalis, Montserrat Comesaña
According to Multilink, words from the first (L1) and (L2) second languages share a common store and their access is non-selective. Thus, the presentation of a target word activates in parallel lexical candidates from both languages that share form and semantic overlap. The degree of words’ activation also depends on their resting levels of activation (words that are more used have a higher resting levels of activation). Since non-cognate translations and synonyms share meaning, they may be seen as qualitatively similar lexical representations, and consequently subject to similar processing if their frequency levels are matched. However, whereas masked priming lexical decision studies with synonyms failed to find reliable masked priming effects, the majority of those with non-cognate translations (especially in the forward direction, i.e., from L1 to L2) showed significant effects. The present study extends those findings by directly comparing the processing of synonyms and translations in bilinguals. A masked priming lexical decision task (targets were preceded by a related 50-ms word [an L1 translation or an L2 synonym] or by a 50-ms unrelated word) was conducted. Lexical frequency of usage was higher for primes than for targets. Reaction times and accuracy from 24 sequential (highly proficient) European Portuguese-English bilinguals were analyzed with linear mixed effects models. Results showed priming effects for translations, but not for synonyms, indicating a differential processing of synonyms and non-cognate translations. This is the first empirical work that directly compares the processing of synonyms and translations in bilinguals by using the same targets words for both prime types. The findings contradict the Multilink model, since they index a differential representational nature of lexico-semantic links for translations and synonyms. Modifications in the model are needed to account for the data.
{"title":"The representation and processing of synonyms and translations: A masked priming study with European Portuguese-English bilinguals","authors":"Ângela Tomaz, Helena M Oliveira, A. Soares, S. Casalis, Montserrat Comesaña","doi":"10.1177/13670069231164257","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069231164257","url":null,"abstract":"According to Multilink, words from the first (L1) and (L2) second languages share a common store and their access is non-selective. Thus, the presentation of a target word activates in parallel lexical candidates from both languages that share form and semantic overlap. The degree of words’ activation also depends on their resting levels of activation (words that are more used have a higher resting levels of activation). Since non-cognate translations and synonyms share meaning, they may be seen as qualitatively similar lexical representations, and consequently subject to similar processing if their frequency levels are matched. However, whereas masked priming lexical decision studies with synonyms failed to find reliable masked priming effects, the majority of those with non-cognate translations (especially in the forward direction, i.e., from L1 to L2) showed significant effects. The present study extends those findings by directly comparing the processing of synonyms and translations in bilinguals. A masked priming lexical decision task (targets were preceded by a related 50-ms word [an L1 translation or an L2 synonym] or by a 50-ms unrelated word) was conducted. Lexical frequency of usage was higher for primes than for targets. Reaction times and accuracy from 24 sequential (highly proficient) European Portuguese-English bilinguals were analyzed with linear mixed effects models. Results showed priming effects for translations, but not for synonyms, indicating a differential processing of synonyms and non-cognate translations. This is the first empirical work that directly compares the processing of synonyms and translations in bilinguals by using the same targets words for both prime types. The findings contradict the Multilink model, since they index a differential representational nature of lexico-semantic links for translations and synonyms. Modifications in the model are needed to account for the data.","PeriodicalId":47574,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Bilingualism","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47135135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-21DOI: 10.1177/13670069231156341
T. Kupisch, Tammer Castro, Martin Krämer, Marit Westergaard
This article investigates naturalistic acquisition of a second dialect (D2), comparing the global accent of speakers of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) exposed to European Portuguese (EP), either as children or as adults (early vs late bilectals). The focus is on the predicted advantage of an early age of onset of the D2, as well as possible crosslinguistic influence from the D2 onto the first dialect (D1). The study is an Accent Rating Task, where 50 raters judged the global accent of 30 BP speakers living in Portugal (15 early + 15 late bilectals), who were recorded in both BP and EP modes. Using a 6-point Likert-type scale, the raters judged whether the speakers sounded Brazilian or Portuguese and also indicated how certain they were about their judgment. The data consisted of two 10-second audio snippets from each speaker, one in BP and the other in EP mode (altogether 60 items). In addition, there were 10 control items produced by native BP and EP speakers. Several mixed-effects models compared the target groups to each other and to the monolectal controls. Both the early and late bilectals were rated as Brazilian in BP mode, but the degree of rater certainty was significantly lower for early than for late bilectals, which was again lower than for BP monolectals. In EP mode, early bilectals were perceived as Portuguese (though the raters were less certain than when rating EP monolectals), while late bilectals were judged as Brazilian. The study adds to the novel but increasing body of research on speakers of two closely related varieties. This research illustrates that bilectalism displays a number of similarities with bilingualism, specifically that there may be significant effects of age of onset of the D2.
{"title":"Phonological influence in bilectal speakers of Brazilian and European Portuguese","authors":"T. Kupisch, Tammer Castro, Martin Krämer, Marit Westergaard","doi":"10.1177/13670069231156341","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069231156341","url":null,"abstract":"This article investigates naturalistic acquisition of a second dialect (D2), comparing the global accent of speakers of Brazilian Portuguese (BP) exposed to European Portuguese (EP), either as children or as adults (early vs late bilectals). The focus is on the predicted advantage of an early age of onset of the D2, as well as possible crosslinguistic influence from the D2 onto the first dialect (D1). The study is an Accent Rating Task, where 50 raters judged the global accent of 30 BP speakers living in Portugal (15 early + 15 late bilectals), who were recorded in both BP and EP modes. Using a 6-point Likert-type scale, the raters judged whether the speakers sounded Brazilian or Portuguese and also indicated how certain they were about their judgment. The data consisted of two 10-second audio snippets from each speaker, one in BP and the other in EP mode (altogether 60 items). In addition, there were 10 control items produced by native BP and EP speakers. Several mixed-effects models compared the target groups to each other and to the monolectal controls. Both the early and late bilectals were rated as Brazilian in BP mode, but the degree of rater certainty was significantly lower for early than for late bilectals, which was again lower than for BP monolectals. In EP mode, early bilectals were perceived as Portuguese (though the raters were less certain than when rating EP monolectals), while late bilectals were judged as Brazilian. The study adds to the novel but increasing body of research on speakers of two closely related varieties. This research illustrates that bilectalism displays a number of similarities with bilingualism, specifically that there may be significant effects of age of onset of the D2.","PeriodicalId":47574,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Bilingualism","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48753076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-16DOI: 10.1177/13670069231158064
Seyed Hadi Mirvahedi, Mona Hosseini
This study applies the notion of chronotope as an analytical tool to explore the role of globalization, immigration, and transnationalism in shaping multilingual children’s awareness and use of semiotic resources in changing social contexts. This study is a part of an ongoing collaborative autoethnography (CAE), in which the data come from the second author’s cross-cultural transnational family and are shared with the first author for a collaborative interpretation and analysis. Data were collected through recording the observations of language practices of a nine-year-old girl in a transnational family, including her plays on her own or with her peers in and outside the home. An ethnographically grounded discourse-analytic approach was employed in analyzing the data. Despite rich linguistic and cultural repertoire, the child situated English on a higher scale level in a hierarchically layered system, and she found imaginative play as a space in which she could explore not only linguistic repertoire but also certain cultural chronotopes. She also demonstrated her awareness of and skills in drawing on variation within the English language to index certain social personae. The originality of the study lies, first, in the uniqueness of the case being in an Indian-Iranian multilingual transnational family and, second, in the unique methodology—using chronotopes as a theoretical and analytic tool to analyze audio-recorded interactions in a multilingual child’s imaginative plays. The study has implications for our understanding of how children pick up indexical meanings of linguistic choices and reproduce them in their imaginative worlds. It also sheds light on how language ideologies and practices reproduced by children may result in hierarchization and power difference between linguistic varieties.
{"title":"Multilingual children’s imaginative worlds and their language use: A chronotopic analysis","authors":"Seyed Hadi Mirvahedi, Mona Hosseini","doi":"10.1177/13670069231158064","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069231158064","url":null,"abstract":"This study applies the notion of chronotope as an analytical tool to explore the role of globalization, immigration, and transnationalism in shaping multilingual children’s awareness and use of semiotic resources in changing social contexts. This study is a part of an ongoing collaborative autoethnography (CAE), in which the data come from the second author’s cross-cultural transnational family and are shared with the first author for a collaborative interpretation and analysis. Data were collected through recording the observations of language practices of a nine-year-old girl in a transnational family, including her plays on her own or with her peers in and outside the home. An ethnographically grounded discourse-analytic approach was employed in analyzing the data. Despite rich linguistic and cultural repertoire, the child situated English on a higher scale level in a hierarchically layered system, and she found imaginative play as a space in which she could explore not only linguistic repertoire but also certain cultural chronotopes. She also demonstrated her awareness of and skills in drawing on variation within the English language to index certain social personae. The originality of the study lies, first, in the uniqueness of the case being in an Indian-Iranian multilingual transnational family and, second, in the unique methodology—using chronotopes as a theoretical and analytic tool to analyze audio-recorded interactions in a multilingual child’s imaginative plays. The study has implications for our understanding of how children pick up indexical meanings of linguistic choices and reproduce them in their imaginative worlds. It also sheds light on how language ideologies and practices reproduced by children may result in hierarchization and power difference between linguistic varieties.","PeriodicalId":47574,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Bilingualism","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42271458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-16DOI: 10.1177/13670069231159169
Amy L Lebkuecher, B. Malt
English allows inanimate objects to be sentence subjects (e.g., “The knife cut the bread”) but Korean and Japanese restrict subjects of causal sentences on the basis of animacy. In previous work, we found that Korean speakers relaxed their native grammatical animacy constraint when immersed in English (e.g., found knives to be acceptable sentence subjects in Korean). We suggested this L2 influence occurred because the Korean animacy constraint does not map cleanly onto the semantic representation of animacy—some inanimate objects (e.g., “fire”) can be subjects of causal sentences. In the current study, we further test this idea by examining the case of Japanese–English bilinguals. We predict that because the Japanese animacy constraint aligns well with the semantic representation of animacy, it will be less susceptible to L2 influence. We first independently assessed the semantic representation of animacy by comparing animacy ratings from native speakers of Korean, Japanese, and English for 60 objects. We then asked Japanese–English bilinguals and Japanese monolinguals to provide grammaticality judgments for sentences that varied in subject animacy. We analyzed participants’ animacy ratings and grammaticality judgments using mixed-effects models. Animacy ratings supported a closer correspondence between semantic representation of animacy and the grammatical animacy constraint for Japanese grammar than for Korean grammar. In contrast to previous results for Korean speakers, Japanese–English bilinguals’ grammaticality judgments did not significantly differ from those of Japanese monolinguals. The current study is unique in that it suggests the vulnerability of structures at the syntax–semantics interface to L2 influence varies across different language groups based on the alignment between syntactic and semantic features. The current findings support the possibility that representations at the syntax–semantics interface may only be vulnerable to influence when syntax is incongruent with semantic features.
{"title":"Does L2 influence on use of L1 animacy constraints depend on alignment of syntactic and semantic features?: Evidence from Japanese–English bilinguals","authors":"Amy L Lebkuecher, B. Malt","doi":"10.1177/13670069231159169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069231159169","url":null,"abstract":"English allows inanimate objects to be sentence subjects (e.g., “The knife cut the bread”) but Korean and Japanese restrict subjects of causal sentences on the basis of animacy. In previous work, we found that Korean speakers relaxed their native grammatical animacy constraint when immersed in English (e.g., found knives to be acceptable sentence subjects in Korean). We suggested this L2 influence occurred because the Korean animacy constraint does not map cleanly onto the semantic representation of animacy—some inanimate objects (e.g., “fire”) can be subjects of causal sentences. In the current study, we further test this idea by examining the case of Japanese–English bilinguals. We predict that because the Japanese animacy constraint aligns well with the semantic representation of animacy, it will be less susceptible to L2 influence. We first independently assessed the semantic representation of animacy by comparing animacy ratings from native speakers of Korean, Japanese, and English for 60 objects. We then asked Japanese–English bilinguals and Japanese monolinguals to provide grammaticality judgments for sentences that varied in subject animacy. We analyzed participants’ animacy ratings and grammaticality judgments using mixed-effects models. Animacy ratings supported a closer correspondence between semantic representation of animacy and the grammatical animacy constraint for Japanese grammar than for Korean grammar. In contrast to previous results for Korean speakers, Japanese–English bilinguals’ grammaticality judgments did not significantly differ from those of Japanese monolinguals. The current study is unique in that it suggests the vulnerability of structures at the syntax–semantics interface to L2 influence varies across different language groups based on the alignment between syntactic and semantic features. The current findings support the possibility that representations at the syntax–semantics interface may only be vulnerable to influence when syntax is incongruent with semantic features.","PeriodicalId":47574,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Bilingualism","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41814941","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-16DOI: 10.1177/13670069231155775
Sidney Gordon, N. Meir
This study examines the extent to which language skills of adult speakers of heritage language (HL) English in a Hebrew-speaking society are affected by individual HL input patterns and cross-linguistic influence. Adult HL-English speakers who grew up in families with one ( N = 22) or two ( N = 25) English-speaking parents were compared to a baseline group of native English speakers who emigrated to Israel as adults ( N = 20). Proficiencies in morphosyntactic and lexical domains were measured based on formal test performance and error types and frequencies in narratives. Detailed histories of speakers’ linguistic input were documented. Results showed near-ceiling performance across the three groups in the morphosyntactic domain, while significant differences were observed between the baseline and HL groups in the lexical domain. No differences were found between HL-English speakers who grew up in families with one or two English-speaking parents. Individual HL input patterns explained a larger proportion of the variance in the lexical abilities, compared to morphosyntactic ones. Evidence of cross-linguistic influence from Hebrew was not detected in the morphosyntactic domain, but only in the lexicon, in the form of minor lexical production errors and calques. The HL examined here was English which, unlike other HLs, is heard and used in a variety of contexts outside the home. In most previous studies on HLs, English was the dominant societal language. The results suggest that morphosyntactic divergences, unlike lexical divergences, are not necessarily found in all HLs—morphosyntactic structures acquired in childhood, reinforced periodically in the societal environment, may be well-maintained because of the language’s ubiquity and relatively sparse morphology.
{"title":"English as a heritage language: The effects of input patterns and contact with Hebrew","authors":"Sidney Gordon, N. Meir","doi":"10.1177/13670069231155775","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069231155775","url":null,"abstract":"This study examines the extent to which language skills of adult speakers of heritage language (HL) English in a Hebrew-speaking society are affected by individual HL input patterns and cross-linguistic influence. Adult HL-English speakers who grew up in families with one ( N = 22) or two ( N = 25) English-speaking parents were compared to a baseline group of native English speakers who emigrated to Israel as adults ( N = 20). Proficiencies in morphosyntactic and lexical domains were measured based on formal test performance and error types and frequencies in narratives. Detailed histories of speakers’ linguistic input were documented. Results showed near-ceiling performance across the three groups in the morphosyntactic domain, while significant differences were observed between the baseline and HL groups in the lexical domain. No differences were found between HL-English speakers who grew up in families with one or two English-speaking parents. Individual HL input patterns explained a larger proportion of the variance in the lexical abilities, compared to morphosyntactic ones. Evidence of cross-linguistic influence from Hebrew was not detected in the morphosyntactic domain, but only in the lexicon, in the form of minor lexical production errors and calques. The HL examined here was English which, unlike other HLs, is heard and used in a variety of contexts outside the home. In most previous studies on HLs, English was the dominant societal language. The results suggest that morphosyntactic divergences, unlike lexical divergences, are not necessarily found in all HLs—morphosyntactic structures acquired in childhood, reinforced periodically in the societal environment, may be well-maintained because of the language’s ubiquity and relatively sparse morphology.","PeriodicalId":47574,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Bilingualism","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46320322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-16DOI: 10.1177/13670069231159840
Dieter Thoma
Whether bilinguals show language-dependent emotions often depends on the emotion measure used. Here, we examine if differences between automatic pupil reactions and self-reported feelings in response to an emotional narrative presented in a first, second, or heritage language (HL) indicate different stages of emotion processing. German HL speakers of Russian and Turkish ( n = 72) and German second language (L2) speakers of English and French ( n = 89) listened to a video-based emotional narrative in German or their other language and rated how they felt about it (arousal and valence). We contrasted pupil diameter during the video with a language-specific baseline. Age of acquisition, language use frequency in emotional contexts, and language proficiency were used to verify that HL speakers were balanced simultaneous and L2 speakers unbalanced sequential bilinguals. Linear mixed-effects models were fitted to the pupillometry data and ordinal logistic models to the self-report data. HL speakers showed similar automatic reactions in both languages but rated the German narrative less emotional. L2 speakers showed weaker automatic reactions in L2 yet rated the narrative similar in both languages. This reversed pattern confirmed that automatic and conscious emotion measures tap into different stages of bilingual emotion processing. Furthermore, language-dependent emotions in self-reports seem to be linked to sociocultural frames that go beyond the scope of context and processing-based explanations. The study is among the first to systematically examine discrepancies between automatic and conscious measures of bilingual language-dependent emotions with different types of bilinguals and within one experimental paradigm. The findings imply that theories of bilingual emotions need further development to explain consistently and explicitly why language-dependent emotional reactions vary with bilingualism and emotion measures. Methodologically, the findings advocate for multi-measure approaches to enhance the validity of future research.
{"title":"Language-dependent emotions in heritage and second language bilinguals: When physiological reactions deviate from feelings","authors":"Dieter Thoma","doi":"10.1177/13670069231159840","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069231159840","url":null,"abstract":"Whether bilinguals show language-dependent emotions often depends on the emotion measure used. Here, we examine if differences between automatic pupil reactions and self-reported feelings in response to an emotional narrative presented in a first, second, or heritage language (HL) indicate different stages of emotion processing. German HL speakers of Russian and Turkish ( n = 72) and German second language (L2) speakers of English and French ( n = 89) listened to a video-based emotional narrative in German or their other language and rated how they felt about it (arousal and valence). We contrasted pupil diameter during the video with a language-specific baseline. Age of acquisition, language use frequency in emotional contexts, and language proficiency were used to verify that HL speakers were balanced simultaneous and L2 speakers unbalanced sequential bilinguals. Linear mixed-effects models were fitted to the pupillometry data and ordinal logistic models to the self-report data. HL speakers showed similar automatic reactions in both languages but rated the German narrative less emotional. L2 speakers showed weaker automatic reactions in L2 yet rated the narrative similar in both languages. This reversed pattern confirmed that automatic and conscious emotion measures tap into different stages of bilingual emotion processing. Furthermore, language-dependent emotions in self-reports seem to be linked to sociocultural frames that go beyond the scope of context and processing-based explanations. The study is among the first to systematically examine discrepancies between automatic and conscious measures of bilingual language-dependent emotions with different types of bilinguals and within one experimental paradigm. The findings imply that theories of bilingual emotions need further development to explain consistently and explicitly why language-dependent emotional reactions vary with bilingualism and emotion measures. Methodologically, the findings advocate for multi-measure approaches to enhance the validity of future research.","PeriodicalId":47574,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Bilingualism","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43407311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-07DOI: 10.1177/13670069221149941
Karolina Muszyńska, Joanna Kołak, E. Haman, M. Białecka-Pikul, Agnieszka Otwinowska
Previous research on bilingual vocabulary has focussed largely on words for imaginable objects and actions (e.g., ‘apple’, ‘write’), but did not consider abstract words. We looked for a disproportion across two languages (a cross-language gap) in bilingual children’s knowledge of concrete verbs (e.g., ‘jump’, ‘drink’) and metacognitive verbs (e.g., ‘think’, ‘know’). We also investigated the effects of language exposure and age on bilinguals’ knowledge of both concrete and metacognitive verbs. Thirty-nine Polish–English children aged 4;0–7;7 living in the United Kingdom performed vocabulary tasks in both languages: subtasks from Cross-linguistic Lexical Tasks (CLTs) measuring concrete verbs comprehension and production, and metacognitive vocabulary task (METVOC) measuring metacognitive verbs comprehension. Information on children’s cumulative exposure (CE) to each language was collected via parental reports. The amount of metacognitive talk children received in Polish was obtained from parental oral semi-structured narratives. Mixed-effects regression models were fitted separately for each task. A cross-language gap was observed for comprehension of concrete verbs, but metacognitive verbs did not show a cross-language gap. In production of concrete verbs, the English scores showed a steeper increase over age than the Polish scores. CE affected only production of concrete verbs. Correlational analyses showed children’s knowledge of metacognitive verbs in Polish (but not in English) was related to parental metacognitive talk in Polish. To date, few studies on bilingual children focused on words beyond those referring to imaginable objects and actions, and no study has explored both concrete and metacognitive vocabulary knowledge in bilinguals. A cross-language gap was observed for bilinguals’ concrete verbs, but metacognitive verbs showed a carry-over effect across languages. The two categories of verbs were also related to different types of linguistic input. While CE affected production of concrete verbs, parental metacognitive talk supported children’s knowledge of metacognitive verbs, but only in the language it was provided in.
{"title":"Metacognitive verbs do not show a cross-language gap: An investigation of metacognitive and concrete verbs in bilingual children","authors":"Karolina Muszyńska, Joanna Kołak, E. Haman, M. Białecka-Pikul, Agnieszka Otwinowska","doi":"10.1177/13670069221149941","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069221149941","url":null,"abstract":"Previous research on bilingual vocabulary has focussed largely on words for imaginable objects and actions (e.g., ‘apple’, ‘write’), but did not consider abstract words. We looked for a disproportion across two languages (a cross-language gap) in bilingual children’s knowledge of concrete verbs (e.g., ‘jump’, ‘drink’) and metacognitive verbs (e.g., ‘think’, ‘know’). We also investigated the effects of language exposure and age on bilinguals’ knowledge of both concrete and metacognitive verbs. Thirty-nine Polish–English children aged 4;0–7;7 living in the United Kingdom performed vocabulary tasks in both languages: subtasks from Cross-linguistic Lexical Tasks (CLTs) measuring concrete verbs comprehension and production, and metacognitive vocabulary task (METVOC) measuring metacognitive verbs comprehension. Information on children’s cumulative exposure (CE) to each language was collected via parental reports. The amount of metacognitive talk children received in Polish was obtained from parental oral semi-structured narratives. Mixed-effects regression models were fitted separately for each task. A cross-language gap was observed for comprehension of concrete verbs, but metacognitive verbs did not show a cross-language gap. In production of concrete verbs, the English scores showed a steeper increase over age than the Polish scores. CE affected only production of concrete verbs. Correlational analyses showed children’s knowledge of metacognitive verbs in Polish (but not in English) was related to parental metacognitive talk in Polish. To date, few studies on bilingual children focused on words beyond those referring to imaginable objects and actions, and no study has explored both concrete and metacognitive vocabulary knowledge in bilinguals. A cross-language gap was observed for bilinguals’ concrete verbs, but metacognitive verbs showed a carry-over effect across languages. The two categories of verbs were also related to different types of linguistic input. While CE affected production of concrete verbs, parental metacognitive talk supported children’s knowledge of metacognitive verbs, but only in the language it was provided in.","PeriodicalId":47574,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Bilingualism","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42246298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-06DOI: 10.1177/13670069231153301
Tal Norman, T. Degani
We examined how context is used to facilitate reading in the second language (L2) compared with the first language (L1), and how L2 availability and age modulate these context effects. Using self-paced reading, participants read high- and low-constraint Hebrew sentences. In Experiment 1, L1 ( n = 45) and L2 ( n = 48) Hebrew readers were compared, whereas in Experiment 2, only L2 readers ( n = 131) were examined, testing modulations by L2 availability and age. Reading times of target, post target, and sentence final words were analyzed using linear-mixed-effects models. In Experiment 1, L2 readers differed from L1 readers in contextual processing, as evident in the significant interaction between context type and language background on the final word measure. In Experiment 2, L2 readers with lower L2 availability scores differed from those with higher scores, and younger readers differed from older ones, in the way high- and low-constraining context affected their reading behavior in the target word and in the final word of the sentence. These differences were indicated by significant interactions between context type and L2 availability as well as between context type and age group. These findings are best understood under a compensatory processing account. By complementing L1–L2 group comparisons with in-depth examination of the L2 profile, the current study reveals a continuous effect of L2 availability, such that a lower L2 availability is associated with a greater reliance on context. Furthermore, the inclusion of older and younger adults provides converging evidence to the use of contextual support as a compensatory mechanism when lexical processing is more effortful.
{"title":"Context effects in the L2: Evidence for compensatory mechanisms","authors":"Tal Norman, T. Degani","doi":"10.1177/13670069231153301","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069231153301","url":null,"abstract":"We examined how context is used to facilitate reading in the second language (L2) compared with the first language (L1), and how L2 availability and age modulate these context effects. Using self-paced reading, participants read high- and low-constraint Hebrew sentences. In Experiment 1, L1 ( n = 45) and L2 ( n = 48) Hebrew readers were compared, whereas in Experiment 2, only L2 readers ( n = 131) were examined, testing modulations by L2 availability and age. Reading times of target, post target, and sentence final words were analyzed using linear-mixed-effects models. In Experiment 1, L2 readers differed from L1 readers in contextual processing, as evident in the significant interaction between context type and language background on the final word measure. In Experiment 2, L2 readers with lower L2 availability scores differed from those with higher scores, and younger readers differed from older ones, in the way high- and low-constraining context affected their reading behavior in the target word and in the final word of the sentence. These differences were indicated by significant interactions between context type and L2 availability as well as between context type and age group. These findings are best understood under a compensatory processing account. By complementing L1–L2 group comparisons with in-depth examination of the L2 profile, the current study reveals a continuous effect of L2 availability, such that a lower L2 availability is associated with a greater reliance on context. Furthermore, the inclusion of older and younger adults provides converging evidence to the use of contextual support as a compensatory mechanism when lexical processing is more effortful.","PeriodicalId":47574,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Bilingualism","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41990310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-06DOI: 10.1177/13670069231158293
Anastasia Sorokina
This study investigates the effects of language loss on bilingual autobiographical memory. More specifically, the study focuses on whether severe language loss would lead to any linguistic changes and/or interfere with how memories are recalled and shared. Autobiographical memories were elicited with the help of a cued-recall technique and memory questionnaire from two groups of immigrants—attriters (who experienced significant language loss) and bilinguals (who retained their first language proficiency). The data set consisted of pre-immigration memories that were originally encoded in the first language, Russian. The frequency of recall (i.e., sharing memories with others as well as reminiscing) and linguistic components (i.e., words) of memories elicited from the attriters and bilinguals were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Overall, attriters were able to recall memories that were originally encoded in the forgotten language. They also reported reminiscing about their pre-immigration memories and sharing their memories with others. However, attriters revealed that the pre-immigration memories came to them with words in the second language, English, which was not the case with bilinguals. Attriters also reframed memories for several Russian culture-specific items and events. This finding is indicative of memory re-encoding—a phenomenon when memories are updated, stored, and subsequently retrieved with added information. While this finding points to the bilingual mind’s ability to adapt to language loss, it may also suggest linguistic and cultural assimilation under the influence of the new language and culture. This is the first investigation of autobiographical memory in bilinguals with severe language loss that highlights the malleability and adaptability of the bilingual mind as well as the importance of language maintenance.
{"title":"Coping with a language loss: A case of linguistic and cultural re-encoding of memories in language attriters","authors":"Anastasia Sorokina","doi":"10.1177/13670069231158293","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069231158293","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates the effects of language loss on bilingual autobiographical memory. More specifically, the study focuses on whether severe language loss would lead to any linguistic changes and/or interfere with how memories are recalled and shared. Autobiographical memories were elicited with the help of a cued-recall technique and memory questionnaire from two groups of immigrants—attriters (who experienced significant language loss) and bilinguals (who retained their first language proficiency). The data set consisted of pre-immigration memories that were originally encoded in the first language, Russian. The frequency of recall (i.e., sharing memories with others as well as reminiscing) and linguistic components (i.e., words) of memories elicited from the attriters and bilinguals were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Overall, attriters were able to recall memories that were originally encoded in the forgotten language. They also reported reminiscing about their pre-immigration memories and sharing their memories with others. However, attriters revealed that the pre-immigration memories came to them with words in the second language, English, which was not the case with bilinguals. Attriters also reframed memories for several Russian culture-specific items and events. This finding is indicative of memory re-encoding—a phenomenon when memories are updated, stored, and subsequently retrieved with added information. While this finding points to the bilingual mind’s ability to adapt to language loss, it may also suggest linguistic and cultural assimilation under the influence of the new language and culture. This is the first investigation of autobiographical memory in bilinguals with severe language loss that highlights the malleability and adaptability of the bilingual mind as well as the importance of language maintenance.","PeriodicalId":47574,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Bilingualism","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47225913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-22DOI: 10.1177/13670069231156535
Beatriz Barragan, Elizabeth Alvarado, Sandy Cordon, Jacqueline Samols, Mike Zandona
Current research suggests that motor articulatory representations are relevant for optimal speech processing under difficult circumstances. The challenging situation of a second language (L2) listener mimics this sub-optimal condition; therefore, activation of motor brain regions to support L2 processing is expected. This study aimed to investigate if the motor system associated with speech articulators exerts an influence on processing bilingual acoustic inputs. Thirty proficient bilinguals performed twice on a word-to-picture matching task: (1) while producing constant contraction of the orbicularis oris (OO) muscle interfering with the articulator’s movement and (2) while producing constant contraction of the first dorsal interosseus (index finger) muscle. Accuracy and reaction times (RTs) were collected from the bilingual task during the experimental and control conditions. Two-way repeated measures analyses of variance were conducted to assess if constant contraction of articulators yielded a significant effect on word recognition in L1 and L2. Word recognition was significantly slower in L2 compared with the native language (L1) during articulator contraction. Task accuracy in L1 was marginally better during the finger muscle contraction compared with OO muscle contraction, and no difference in accuracy was found in L2. An interesting distinct speed-accuracy trade-off strategy for L1 and L2 was observed. The findings support the hypothesis of a motor system facilitatory effect on processing acoustic inputs in bilinguals. The role of motor components in language processing has been studied in challenging linguistic environments, but little has been done to identify its role in L2 processing. This study used an innovative behavioral strategy to interfere with articulatory muscles during word recognition. Our results provide evidence of motor system processing support to L2 word recognition. In addition, a bilingual tendency to sacrifice speed for accuracy in L2 compared with L1 is suggested.
{"title":"Bilingual lips: Motor activation for second language word processing","authors":"Beatriz Barragan, Elizabeth Alvarado, Sandy Cordon, Jacqueline Samols, Mike Zandona","doi":"10.1177/13670069231156535","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069231156535","url":null,"abstract":"Current research suggests that motor articulatory representations are relevant for optimal speech processing under difficult circumstances. The challenging situation of a second language (L2) listener mimics this sub-optimal condition; therefore, activation of motor brain regions to support L2 processing is expected. This study aimed to investigate if the motor system associated with speech articulators exerts an influence on processing bilingual acoustic inputs. Thirty proficient bilinguals performed twice on a word-to-picture matching task: (1) while producing constant contraction of the orbicularis oris (OO) muscle interfering with the articulator’s movement and (2) while producing constant contraction of the first dorsal interosseus (index finger) muscle. Accuracy and reaction times (RTs) were collected from the bilingual task during the experimental and control conditions. Two-way repeated measures analyses of variance were conducted to assess if constant contraction of articulators yielded a significant effect on word recognition in L1 and L2. Word recognition was significantly slower in L2 compared with the native language (L1) during articulator contraction. Task accuracy in L1 was marginally better during the finger muscle contraction compared with OO muscle contraction, and no difference in accuracy was found in L2. An interesting distinct speed-accuracy trade-off strategy for L1 and L2 was observed. The findings support the hypothesis of a motor system facilitatory effect on processing acoustic inputs in bilinguals. The role of motor components in language processing has been studied in challenging linguistic environments, but little has been done to identify its role in L2 processing. This study used an innovative behavioral strategy to interfere with articulatory muscles during word recognition. Our results provide evidence of motor system processing support to L2 word recognition. In addition, a bilingual tendency to sacrifice speed for accuracy in L2 compared with L1 is suggested.","PeriodicalId":47574,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Bilingualism","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41626507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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