Transfer of Spanish grammatical gender to English: Evidence from immersed and non-immersed bilinguals

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 700-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
LUIS MORALES ◽  
DANIELA PAOLIERI ◽  
ROBERTO CUBELLI ◽  
M. TERESA BAJO
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Grammatical Gender ◽  
Language Immersion ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Congruent Condition ◽  
Native Spanish Speakers ◽  
Transfer Effects ◽  
Spanish Translation ◽  
Word Task

In this study we explored whether native Spanish speakers’ knowledge of grammatical gender in their native language (L1) affects speech production in a second language (L2) which lacks this feature (English). We selected Spanish–English bilinguals for testing who were immersed in either an L1 or an L2 context. Using a picture–word task, participants had to name pictures in their L2 while ignoring distractor words that could be either gender-congruent or gender-incongruent according to the Spanish translation. Results revealed that non-immersed participants were slower naming the pictures in the congruent condition, suggesting that bilingual people are influenced by knowledge about gender in their native language, even when producing utterances in a language in which this information does not apply. However, no such influence was observed for immersed bilinguals, suggesting that immersion environment attenuates access to the native language. We interpret our results as evidence of transfer effects between languages with different lexical systems, which seem to depend on language immersion.

Voiced stop spiratization in the ESL speech of native speakers of Spanish

1996 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary L. Zampini
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Syllable Structure ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Language Transfer ◽  
Native Spanish Speakers ◽  
Equal Rate ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Phonemic Status ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

ABSTRACTThis study examines the role that voiced stop spirantization plays in the acquisition of English/b d g/ and /dgr;/ by native Spanish speakers. The results of a data-based experiment show that accuracy in English pronunciation is hindered by native language transfer, including the transfer of spirantization and LI syllable structure constraints. Furthermore, the suppression of spirantization is not achieved at an equal rate for all voiced stops: /d/ is spirantized the least often. It is proposed that the phonemic value of /δ/ in English contributes to this disparity. An examination of the L2 pronunciation of /δ/ further reveals that learners do not assign phonemic status to /δ/ in all contexts; it is acquired in postvocalic position first and only more gradually acquired elsewhere.

Letter Verbal Fluency in Spanish-, Basque-, and Catalan-Speaking Individuals: Does the Selection of the Letters Influence the Outcome?

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 2400-2410
Author(s):  
Laiene Olabarrieta-Landa ◽  
Itziar Benito-Sánchez ◽  
Montserrat Alegret ◽  
Anna Gailhajanet ◽  
Esther Landa Torre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Frontal Lobe ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Native Language ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Crucial Step ◽  
Verbal Fluency Test ◽  
Performance Differences ◽  
Frontal Lobe Functioning ◽  
Selection Of ◽  
Fluency Test

Purpose The aim of this study was to compare Basque and Catalan bilinguals' performance on the letter verbal fluency test and determine whether significant differences are present depending on the letters used and the language of administration. Method The sample consisted of 87 Spanish monolinguals, 139 Basque bilinguals, and 130 Catalan bilinguals from Spain. Participants completed the letter verbal fluency test using the letters F, A, S, M, R, P, and E. Results Bilinguals scored higher on the letter verbal fluency test when they were tested in Spanish than in Basque or Catalan. No performance differences were found according to native language or dialects within Basque participants. Catalans with Spanish as their native language scored lower on the letter F compared to those who grew up speaking Catalan and Spanish. The suggested letters to use with Basque speakers are A, E, and B; the suggested letters to use with Catalan speakers are P, F, and M; and the suggested letters to use with Spanish speakers are M, R, and P. Conclusion Selecting appropriate stimuli depending on the language of testing is the first crucial step to assess verbal fluency and thus possible frontal lobe functioning impairment.

Role of English Fluency in Performance of Native Spanish-Speakers on the Trail-Making Test

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Suarez ◽  
Tamar H. Gollan ◽  
Lidia Artiola ◽  
Igor Grant ◽  
Robert Heaton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Trail Making Test ◽  
Native Spanish Speakers ◽  
English Fluency ◽  
Trail Making

scholarly journals What is the source of L1 attrition? The effect of recent L1 re-exposure on Spanish speakers under L1 attrition

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 520-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
GLORIA CHAMORRO ◽  
ANTONELLA SORACE ◽  
PATRICK STURT
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Tracking Data ◽  
Native Spanish Speakers ◽  
Knowledge Representations ◽  
Permanent Change ◽  
L1 Attrition ◽  
Interface Structures

The recent hypothesis that L1 attrition affects the ability to process interface structures but not knowledge representations (Sorace, 2011) is tested by investigating the effects of recent L1 re-exposure on antecedent preferences for Spanish pronominal subjects, using offline judgements and online eye-tracking measures. Participants included a group of native Spanish speakers experiencing L1 attrition (‘attriters’), a second group of attriters exposed exclusively to Spanish before they were tested (‘re-exposed’), and a control group of Spanish monolinguals. The judgement data shows no significant differences between the groups. Moreover, the monolingual and re-exposed groups are not significantly different from each other in the eye-tracking data. The results of this novel manipulation indicate that attrition effects decrease due to L1 re-exposure, and that bilinguals are sensitive to input changes. Taken together, the findings suggest that attrition affects online sensitivity with interface structures rather than causing a permanent change in speakers’ L1 knowledge representations.

scholarly journals Effects of orthography in the picture-word task: Evidence from Japanese scripts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra S. Dylman ◽  
Mariko Kikutani ◽  
Miho Sasaki ◽  
Christopher Barry
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Interference Effect ◽  
Distractor Word ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Lexical Selection ◽  
Semantic Interference ◽  
Facilitation Effect ◽  
Word Combination ◽  
Word Task ◽  
Different Populations

AbstractThe picture-word task presents participants with a number of pictured objects together with a written distractor word superimposed upon each picture, and their task is to name the depicted object while ignoring the distractor word. Depending on the specific picture and word combination, various effects, including the identity facilitation effect (e.g., DOG + dog) and the semantic interference effect (e.g., GOAT + cow), are often observed. The response patterns of the picture-word task in terms of naming latencies reflect the mechanisms underlying lexical selection in speech production. Research using this method, however, has typically focused on alphabetic languages, or involved bilingual populations, making it difficult to specifically investigate orthographic effects in isolation. In this paper, we report five experiments investigating the role of orthography in the picture-word task by varying distractor script (using the multiscriptal language Japanese, and pseudohomophonic spellings in English) across three different populations (Japanese monolinguals, Japanese-English bilinguals, and English monolinguals), investigating both the identity facilitation effect and the semantic interference effect. The results generally show that the magnitude of facilitation is affected by orthography even within a single language. The findings and specific patterns of results are discussed in relation to current theories on speech production.

Identity Markers and L2 Pronunciation

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Zuengler
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
American English ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
American Identity ◽  
Native Spanish Speakers ◽  
Sociolinguistic Variation ◽  
English Pronunciation ◽  
Identity Markers ◽  
Social Markers ◽  
Social Marking

This is a report of a study of social marking in second language pronunciation. In particular, it tested out Trudgill's (1981) suggestion that sounds that are most likely to undergo sociolinguistic variation, that is, that may become social markers, are those that Labov (1972a, 1972b), calls stereotypes. This study sought to determine whether there were certain aspects of English pronunciation that native Spanish speakers would, at some level of awareness, associate with American English/American identity. The speakers were asked to perform several tasks, including a mimic of an American speaking Spanish with an American accent (following Flege & Hammond, 1982). Among the results, speakers displayed a tacit awareness of English-Spanish sound distinctions (in particular, allophonic differences) in performing the mimic (supporting Flege & Hammond, 1982). Additionally, some of the alterations they were very conscious of held as stereotypes of American English. Support was found for Trudgill's (1981) suggestion.

scholarly journals Shrinking Your Deictic System: How Far Can You Go?

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mila Vulchanova ◽  
Pedro Guijarro-Fuentes ◽  
Jacqueline Collier ◽  
Valentin Vulchanov
Keyword(s):  
First Language ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Language Attrition ◽  
Native Spanish Speakers ◽  
Language Competence ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
Open Question

Languages around the world differ in terms of the number of adnominal and pronominal demonstratives they require, as well as the factors that impact on their felicitous use. Given this cross-linguistic variation in deictic demonstrative terms, and the features that determine their felicitous use, an open question is how this is accommodated within bilingual cognition and language. In particular, we were interested in the extent to which bilingual language exposure and practice might alter the way in which a bilingual is using deictic demonstratives in their first language. Recent research on language attrition suggests that L2 learning selectively affects aspects of the native language, with some domains of language competence being more vulnerable than others. If demonstratives are basic, and acquired relatively early, they should be less susceptible to change and attrition. This was the hypothesis we went on to test in the current study. We tested two groups of native Spanish speakers, a control group living in Spain and an experimental group living in Norway using the (Spatial) Memory game paradigm. Contra to our expectations, the results indicate a significant difference between the two groups in use of deictic terms, indicative of a change in the preferred number of terms used. This suggests that deictic referential systems may change over time under pressure from bilingual language exposure.

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