Bilingualism: Language and Cognition最新文献

Using a priming paradigm, we investigated the processing of overtly identical verb forms with different sets of morphosyntactic features in L1 and L2 German. We found that more specific functions of a verb (inflected verbs) were better primes for less specific verb functions (past participles) than vice versa. For L1 speakers, these priming asymmetries were observed regardless of whether the lexical verb was repeated in prime and target or not (i.e., priming also for abstract configurations). For L2 learners, a similar but not native-like asymmetric priming pattern was seen only with repetition of the lexical verb. It was absent when the verb was not repeated. We conclude that in L2, morphosyntactic information is processed more on a lexical, item-based level compared to L1. We discuss our results in the context of several accounts, e.g., Shallow Structure Hypothesis, Declarative Procedural Model and the Ontogenesis Model of the L2 Lexical Representation.

A key question in the study of language representation in bilinguals is whether knowledge is shared across languages. Crosslinguistic syntactic priming has been widely used to test bilingual adults’ shared representations, but studies with child bilinguals are few and have several limitations.

We addressed these limitations in two studies with Polish–English bilingual children aged 5–11 years (N=96). We investigated bidirectional priming across languages and within each language for a structural alternation with syntactic overlap (attributive constructions) and one without structural overlap (possessive constructions).

Bidirectional crosslinguistic priming was found for possessives but not for attributives. Within-languages, there was priming for possessives and attributives in both languages. Priming was not related to children's age, vocabulary, or language dominance scores.

We show that representations can be selectively shared between languages at the construction level. The extent to which young bilinguals have shared representations depends on the frequency and complexity of structures in each language.

Adults often encounter difficulty perceiving and processing sounds of a second language (L2). In order to acquire word-meaning mappings, learners need to determine what the language-relevant phonological contrasts are in the language. In this study, we examined the influence of phonology on non-native word learning, determining whether the language-relevant phonological contrasts could be acquired by abstracting over multiple experiences, and whether awareness of these contrasts could be related to learning. We trained English- and Mandarin-native speakers with pseudowords via a cross-situational statistical learning task (CSL). Learners were able to acquire the phonological contrasts across multiple situations, but similar-sounding words (i.e., minimal pairs) were harder to acquire, and words that contrast in a non-native suprasegmental feature (i.e., Mandarin lexical tone) were even harder for English-speakers, even with extended exposure. Furthermore, awareness of the non-native phonology was not found to relate to learning.

Evidence from various empirical study types have converged to show bilingualism's potential for serving as a cognitive and brain reserves contributor. In this article, I contextualize, frame the need for and offer some expanding questions in this endeavor, inclusive of empirical pathways to address them. While the set of variables and questions discussed herein are definitively incomplete, they embody a good starting point for shaping future directions in research that considers the role bilingual language engagement can have for the developing mind and brain, inclusive of how various, non-linear factors impact the descent bilinguals of various types take down the proverbial mountain of life.

Demonstratives are cross-linguistically widespread deictic expressions. Demonstrative systems exhibit variation in number of terms, and parameters affecting their usage. The present paper assesses the relationship between spatial deixis and bilingualism: how language dominance affects speakers of two languages with different demonstrative systems. Here, we compare the use of demonstratives by 72 European Spanish-Catalan simultaneous bilinguals in Mallorca to 30 European Spanish monolinguals. Our results confirmed a significant effect of physical distance between speaker and referent on demonstrative choice in both languages, and differences between languages in the use of the middle term. We did not find the expected effect of language dominance in simultaneous bilinguals. Moreover, we found no influence of the hearer's position on demonstrative choice in monolinguals or bilinguals in European Spanish or Majorcan Catalan. In view of our results, the present study contributes to the debate on how bilingual speakers employ different deictic expressions.

The current study explores the interplay between central and peripheral processes in second language (L2) handwriting among bilinguals with diverse orthographic backgrounds. Our investigation delves into the cross-linguistic transfer effect in Spanish–English and Chinese–English bilinguals, emphasizing lexical frequency and phoneme-grapheme (P-O) consistency in spelling-to-dictation and immediate copying tasks. Results reveal that the interaction between central and peripheral processes in L2 handwritten production is shaped by the bilinguals' native language (L1) orthographic characteristics. Spanish–English bilinguals exhibited sensitivity to P-O consistency and the spread of this effect from central to peripheral processes throughout both tasks. Conversely, Chinese–English bilinguals showed heightened sensitivity to lexical frequency during orthographic planning and motor execution, particularly in the immediate copying task. In a broader context, these findings suggest that the parallel and cascading coordination of the L2 writing system is modulated by cross-linguistic variations. The implications of our findings hold relevance for handwriting production and bilingualism research.