First Language Activation during Second Language Lexical Processing in a Sentential Context
Subject Areas : آموزش زبان انگلیسی
1 - Shahid Madani University of Azarbaijan, Tabriz, Iran
2 - Shahid Madani University of Azarbaijan, Tabriz, Iran
Keywords: Bilingual Lexicon, Lexicalization Pattern, Lexical Processing, polysemy, Translation Equivalent,
Abstract :
Lexicalization-patterns, the way words are mapped onto concepts, differ from one language to another. This study investigated the influence of first language (L1) lexicalization patterns on the processing of second language (L2) words in sentential contexts by both less proficient and more proficient Persian learners of English. The focus was on cases where two different senses of a polysemous word in Persian are realized by two independent words in English. For example, Persian uses ‘ماه’ to refer to both ‘moon’ and ‘month’ in English. In the present study, the researchers examined the processing of English translations (moon, month) of polysemous Persian words such as ‘ماه’ in a semantic anomaly judgment task. The participants who were two groups of more proficient and less proficient Persian learners of English were presented with two types of anomalous sentences: anomalous test sentences in which one of the two English words (e.g., month) was used in a context where the other word (e.g., moon) was appropriate (e.g., “A pleasant thing to watch at night is a full month”) and anomalous control sentences in which the same word was used in a context where neither of the two words was appropriate (e.g., “A pleasant thing to eat at night is a full month”). The participants were asked to judge, as quickly and accurately as possible, whether the final word could complete the sentence meaningfully (YES response) or whether the final word was semantically unacceptable (NO response). The participants’ reaction time (RT) for correct No responses and their error rates were recorded using DMDX, a psycholinguistics experimentation software package. Using two General Linear Model Repeated Measures, a main effect of sentence type was obtained in the analysis of both RT and errors. Also, there was an interaction between sentence type and proficiency level in the analysis of both RT and errors. The results are discussed in terms of the activation of the semantic specifications of L1 translation equivalent of L2 words.
Altarribs, J., & Mathis, K. M. (1997). Conceptual and lexical development in a second language acquisition. Journal of Memory and Language, 36, 550-568.
Aryanpur, M. (2008). The Aryanpur progressive Persian-English dictionary. Tehran: Jahane Rayane Publications.
Chen, H. –C., & Leung, Y. –S. (1989). Patterns of lexical processing in a nonnative language. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 15, 316-325.
Dijkstra, A. (2005). Bilingual word recognition and lexical access. In J. F. Kroll & A. M. B. De Groot (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches (pp. 179-201). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Dijkstra, A., & Van Heuven, W. J. B. (2002). The architecture of the bilingual word recognition system: From identification to decision. Bilingualism: language and Cognition, 1, 51-66.
Dussias, P. E. (2003). Syntactic ambiguity resolution in L2 learners: Some effects of bilinguality on L1 and L2 processing strategies. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 25, 529-557.
Elston-Güttler, K. E. (2000). An enquiry into cross-language lexical-conceptual relationships and their effects of L2 lexical processing. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Cambridge.
Frenck-Mestre, C., & Prince, P. (1997). Second language autonomy. Journal of Memory and Language, 37, 481-501.
Jared, D., & Kroll, J. F. (2001). Do bilinguals activate phonological representations in one or both of their languages when naming words? Journal of Memory and Language, 44, 2-31.
Jiang, N. (20000. Lexical representation and development in a second language. Applied Linguistics, 21, 47-77.
Jiang, N. (2002). Form-meaning mapping in vocabulary acquisition in a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24, 617-637.
Kroll, J. F., & Curley, J. (1988). Lexical memory in novice bilinguals: The role of concepts in retrieving second language words. In M. Gruneberg, P. Morris, & R. Skyes (Eds.), Practical aspects of memory (Vol. 2, pp. 383-395). London: John Wiley & Sons.
Kroll, J. F., & Sholl, A. (1992). Lexical and conceptual memory in fluent and nonfluent bilinguals. In R. J. Harris (Ed.), Cognitive processing in bilinguals (pp. 191-206). Amsterdam: Elsevier Science.
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.
Kroll, J. F., & Tokowicz, N. (2001). The development of conceptual representation for words in a second language. In J. N. Nicol (Ed.), One mind, two languages: Bilingual language processing (pp. 49-71). Oxford, UK: Blachwell.
Lado, R. (1957). Linguistics across cultures. An Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Marian, V., & Spivey, M. (2003). Bilingual and monolingual processing of competing lexical items. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24, 173-197.
Potter, M., So, K. –F., Von Eckardt, B., & Feldman, L. (1984). Lexical and conceptual representation in beginning and more proficient bilinguals. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 23, 23-38.
Ratcliff, R. (19993). Methods for dealing with reaction time outliers. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 510-532.
Sundara, M., Pulka, L., & Baum, S. (2006). Production of coronal stops by simultaneous bilingual adults. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 9, 97-114.
Sunderman, G., & Kroll, J. F. (2006). First language actication during second language lexical processing: An investigation of form, meaning, and grammatical class. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28, 287-322.
Talamas, A., Kroll, J. F., & Dufour, R. (1999). From form to meaning: Stages in the acquisition of second language vocabulary. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 2, 45-58.