Bilingual Processing

Question 1

What does language processing consist of?

Answer 1

Words, sentences, syntax, lexicon, production and recognition.

Question 2

What is an early bilingual?

Answer 2

Someone who was exposed to two languages as a child

Question 3

What is simultaneous bilingual?

Answer 3

Could be someone who grew up with parents speaking two different languages.

Question 4

What is early sequential bilinguals?

Answer 4

Someone who speaks one language at home and another a school. This is often seen in immigrants.

Question 5

What is the word for someone who speaks two languages but is not bilingual?

Answer 5

Late learner (I am a late learner).

Question 6

What is a balanced bilingual?

Answer 6

Someone who feels equally competent in both of their languages

Question 7

What is a multilingual?

Answer 7

Someone who speaks more than 2 languages.

Question 8

What is L1?

Answer 8

The first language. Your mother tongue. Often but not necessarily your dominant language.

My mother tongue is danish but my dominant language is English because I use it 80% of the time.

Question 9

What is L2?

Answer 9

Second language

Question 10

Why is it important to keep two languages separated

In your mind?

Answer 10

To not create ungrammatical sentences and to not mix up words from the two languages.

Question 11

What is generally assumed about translating between languages?

Answer 11

There is only one conceptual store where meaning is represented.

Question 12

What are the two theories about translating between languages?

Answer 12

Concept mediation and word association.

Question 13

What is the concept mediation theory of translating between languages?

Answer 13

One concept which goes directly to each language and back to the concept.

Question 14

What is the word association theory in translating between languages?

Answer 14

Concept goes to L1 and the to L2 and back again.

Question 15

Which task should be faster according to concept mediation? Translation or picture naming?

Answer 15

They should be equally fast since they both should require access to concepts.

Question 16

Which of picture naming and translation should be faster according to word association theory?

Answer 16

Translating because it does not require conceptual access.

Question 17

Potter et al (1984) tested highly fluent Chinese English bilinguals in a translating and picture naming task. What did they find?

Answer 17

found no difference in translation and picture naming which supports concept mediation theory

Question 18

Describe the methods of Kroll and Curley (1988) study of translating between languages is related to fluency

Answer 18

They examined late learners. Who has studied s language for either less than 2 years or more than 2 years.

Question 19

What did Kroll and Curley (1988) find in their study of concept mediation/word association theory related to fluency?

Answer 19

Participants who studied for less than 2 year were better at translating and participants who studied the language for more than two years were equally good at translating and picture naming.

This supports a developing hypothesis which says that early on you build associations between words of the two language but as you get better you establish direct connects between words of the L2 and your conceptual system.

Question 20

What are cognates?

Answer 20

Words that mean and sound similar in two languages.

Cat and Kat.
Glass and glas

Question 21

Is non target language active when speaking?

Answer 21

Yes, costa et el (200) found that both languages are automatically activated during normal language production.
They compared naming tasks for cognates vs non cognates by bilinguals and monolinguals.
The shared sounds are easier to select when they are receiving activated from two systems.

Question 22

What did Costa et al (2000) find about non target language being active when speaking?

Answer 22

Bilinguals but not monolinguals naked pictures whose names are similar in both languages faster than non cognates. Which suggests that both linguistic systems are active and pass their activation on to the phonological level, speeding activation.

Question 23

What are I trail hula homographs?

Answer 23

Words that mean different things in 2 languages but are written the same.

Question 24

Dijkstra et al (1998) conducted a visual decision study using intralingual homographs. What did they find?

Answer 24

Homographs were responded to more slowly than non-homographs. This suggest that both meanings in both languages were active. The fact that a word is also a word in the other language makes you unsure.
If both languages were relevant to the response, homographs were faster.

Question 25

Describe the study which test if the non target language is active when listening

Answer 25

Marian and Spivey (2003) conducted an eyetracking study to test for within and between language competition effect.
“Click on the plug” (plate means dress in Russian)

There were 3 choices.

• target plug
• a plum
• plate, dress

They found that it depends on L1 and L2. The dominant language affects direction and extent of potential influences of non-target language in listening.

Question 26

Is the non target language active when speaking?

Answer 26

Yes there is an interference effect from “bench”. Naming “mountain” was slower when speakers heard “bench” compared to an unrelated word.

It supports the activated of non-target linguistic system.
The distractor “bench” made the alternative word berg more active and so it was a strong competitor, which slowed naming.