Cross-linguistic similarity and task demands in Japanese-English bilingual processing

Allen, David B.; Conklin, Kathy

Abstract

Even in languages that do not share script, bilinguals process cognates faster than matched noncognates in a range of tasks. The current research more fully explores what underpins the cognate ‘advantage’ in different script bilinguals (Japanese-English). To do this, instead of the more traditional binary cognate/noncognate distinction, the current study uses continuous measures of phonological and semantic overlap, L2 (second language) proficiency and lexical variables (e.g., frequency). An L2 picture naming (Experiment 1) revealed a significant interaction between phonological and semantic similarity and demonstrates that degree of overlap modulates naming times. In lexical decision (Experiment 2), increased phonological similarity (e.g., bus/basu/vs. radio/rajio/) lead to faster response times. Interestingly, increased semantic similarity slowed response times in lexical decision. The studies also indicate how L2 proficiency and lexical variables modulate L2 word processing. These findings are explained in terms of current models of bilingual lexical processing.

Citation

Allen, D. B., & Conklin, K. (2013). Cross-linguistic similarity and task demands in Japanese-English bilingual processing. PLoS ONE, 8(8), Article e72631. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0072631

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Aug 28, 2013
• Deposit Date: Mar 31, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 31, 2014
• Journal: PLoS ONE
• Electronic ISSN: 1932-6203
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 8
• Article Number: e72631
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0072631
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/716862
• Publisher URL: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0072631