Cross-script L2-L1 noncognate translation priming in lexical decision depends on L2 proficiency: Evidence from Japanese–English bilinguals

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 1001-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIKO NAKAYAMA ◽  
KEISUKE IDA ◽  
STEPHEN J. LUPKER
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Null Results ◽  
Translation Priming ◽  
Japanese English ◽  
Masked Translation Priming ◽  
Sense Model

Previous research with unbalanced, different-script bilinguals has typically produced null L2-L1 noncognate masked translation priming effects in lexical decision tasks (LDT). Two novel models of the bilingual mental lexicon have emerged to account for these null results: the episodic L2 hypothesis and the Sense model. In contrast, the BIA+ model predicts significant priming whenever bilinguals are sufficiently proficient in L2. Using Japanese–English bilinguals, the role of L2 proficiency in L2-L1 noncognate translation priming in an LDT was examined. In Experiments 1 and 2, significant priming effects were observed for highly proficient bilinguals. In contrast, in Experiment 3, less-proficient bilinguals produced a null priming effect. This pattern demonstrates that L2-L1 priming effects do arise in an LDT and those effects are modulated by L2 proficiency, consistent with the BIA+ model's expectations. The pattern can be also explained by the episodic L2 hypothesis, provided that certain modifications are made to its assumptions.

Masked Translation Priming Effects With Highly Proficient Simultaneous Bilinguals

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia ◽  
Manuel Perea ◽  
Manuel Carreiras
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Hierarchical Model ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Masked Priming ◽  
The Other ◽  
Memory Organization ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Bilingual Memory ◽  
Translation Priming ◽  
Masked Translation Priming

One essential issue for models of bilingual memory organization is to what degree the representation from one of the languages is shared with the other language. In this study, we examine whether there is a symmetrical translation priming effect with highly proficient, simultaneous bilinguals. We conducted a masked priming lexical decision experiment with cognate and noncognate translation equivalents. Results showed a significant masked translation priming effect for both cognates and noncognates, with a greater priming effect for cognates. Furthermore, the magnitude of the translation priming was similar in the two directions. Thus, highly fluent bilinguals do develop symmetrical between-language links, as predicted by the Revised Hierarchical model and the BIA+ model. We examine the implications of these results for models of bilingual memory.

scholarly journals Making sense of the Sense Model

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Allen ◽  
Kathy Conklin ◽  
Walter J.B. van Heuven
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
First Language ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
Japanese English ◽  
Sense Model ◽  
Total Activation

Many studies have reported that first language (L1) translation primes speed responses to second language (L2) targets, whereas L2 translation primes generally do not speed up responses to L1 targets in lexical decision. According to the Sense Model (Finkbeiner, Forster, Nicol & Nakamura, 2004) this asymmetry is due to the proportion of senses activated by the prime. Because L2 primes activate only a subset of the L1 translations senses, priming is not observed. In this study we test the predictions of the Sense Model by using Japanese-English cognates, which allow us to manipulate the number of senses that words have in each language. Contrary to the predictions of the Sense Model, our results replicated the typical asymmetrical priming effects, suggesting that it is not the total activation of senses that drives the priming effect. Rather the results are more in line with theories that postulate slower, and thus ineffective, activation of semantics by L2 primes.

An examination of L2-L1 noncognate translation priming in the lexical decision task: insights from distributional and frequency-based analyses

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIKO NAKAYAMA ◽  
STEPHEN J. LUPKER ◽  
YOSHIHIRO ITAGUCHI
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Lexical Decision Task ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Very High Frequency ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Target Frequency ◽  
Translation Priming ◽  
Japanese English ◽  
Very High

The main fact that is currently known about the nature of masked L2-L1 noncognate translation priming effects in the lexical decision task is simply that those effects are significant in some studies but not in others. In an effort to better understand these effects, we examined the data pattern for very proficient Japanese–English bilinguals using RT distributional analyses. We also examined the impacts of prime and target frequency on the priming effect. Significant priming was present even on the fastest trials, becoming larger on slower trials. Nonetheless, priming effects were generally constant across prime and target frequency with the only exception being when very high frequency L2 primes were used. In that situation, priming and target frequency were negatively related, a result that essentially produced the observed pattern of increasing priming on slower trials. Implications of these results and potential reasons for the presence/absence of L2-L1 priming effects are discussed.

Can masked synonym priming replicate masked translation priming?

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (10) ◽  
pp. 2554-2562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naoko Witzel
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Masked Priming ◽  
Semantic Interpretation ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Translation Priming ◽  
Masked Translation Priming ◽  
Robust Evidence

This study examines whether synonyms are represented similarly to translation equivalents in the bilingual mind. In particular, this study investigated whether there is masked synonym priming such that it will simulate masked translation priming in the L1-L2 direction. Given that masked translation priming studies consistently show priming in the L1-L2 direction, it was predicted that synonyms should show a masked priming effect if the prime was higher in frequency than the target. Contrary to what Bilingual Interactive Activation models would predict, there was no priming for synonyms in the high-to-low frequency (HF-LF) condition or in the low-to-high frequency (LF-HF) condition in Experiment 1. Experiment 2 only tested the HF-LF condition to ensure that previous exposure to LF words within the experiment did not affect the results. Again, no HF-LF synonym priming was observed. The effect sizes of these synonym priming effects were comparable with that of L2-L1 translation priming, all of which were weak. This is not surprising given that semantic interpretation of a given word usually occurs post-lexically and requires partial awareness. What is surprising is that there is robust evidence showing strong L1-L2 masked translation priming effect, which bilingual lexical processing models should attempt to explain, thereby uncovering the relations between L1 words and their L2 translations.

L2-L1 noncognate masked translation priming as a task-specific phenomenon

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Mark J. McPhedran ◽  
Stephen J. Lupker
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Semantic Categorization ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Translation Priming ◽  
Machine Learning Approach ◽  
Listening Proficiency ◽  
Task Differences ◽  
Masked Translation Priming

Abstract The masked translation priming effect was examined in Chinese–English bilinguals using lexical decision and semantic categorization tasks in an effort to understand why the two tasks seem to produce different patterns of results. A machine-learning approach was used to assess the participant-based factors that contribute to the sizes of translation priming effects in these tasks. As expected, the participant-based factors that predicted translation priming effects did vary across tasks. Priming effects in lexical decision were associated with higher self-rated listening, reading, and writing abilities in English. Priming effects in semantic categorization were associated with more frequent use of English in daily life, spoken English proficiency, and self-rated listening proficiency in English. These results are discussed within the framework of Multilink, the logic of which is then expanded in an attempt to account for these task differences.

The locus of Katakana–English masked phonological priming effects

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
ERIKO ANDO ◽  
KAZUNAGA MATSUKI ◽  
HEATHER SHERIDAN ◽  
DEBRA JARED
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Frequency Effect ◽  
Phonological Priming ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Phonological Representations ◽  
Orthographic Representations ◽  
Latency Distributions ◽  
Japanese English

Japanese–English bilinguals completed a masked phonological priming study with Japanese Katakana primes and English targets. Event related potential (ERP) data were collected in addition to lexical decision responses. A cross-script phonological priming effect was observed in both measures, and the effect did not interact with frequency. In the ERP data, the phonological priming effect was evident before the frequency effect. These data, along with analyses of response latency distributions, provide evidence that the cross-script phonological priming effects were the consequence of the activation of sublexical phonological representations in a store shared by both Japanese and English. This activation fed back to sublexical and lexical orthographic representations, influencing lexical decision latencies. The implications for the Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA+) model of word recognition are discussed.

Masked translation priming with semantic categorization: Testing the Sense Model

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
XIN WANG ◽  
KENNETH I. FORSTER
Keyword(s):  
Priming Effect ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Semantic Interpretation ◽  
Categorization Task ◽  
Semantic Categorization ◽  
Translation Priming ◽  
The Asymmetry ◽  
Masked Translation Priming ◽  
Sense Model

Four experiments are reported which were designed to test hypotheses concerning the asymmetry of masked translation priming. Experiment 1 confirmed the presence of L2–L1 priming with a semantic categorization task and demonstrated that this effect was restricted to exemplars. Experiment 2 showed that the translation priming effect was not due to response congruence. Experiment 3 replicated this finding, and demonstrated that the 150 ms backward mask that had been used in earlier translation priming experiments was not essential. Finally, it was demonstrated in Experiment 4 that L2–L1 priming was not obtained for an ad hoc category, indicating that priming was not obtained merely because the task required semantic interpretation. These results provide further support for the Sense Model proposed by Finkbeiner et al. (2004).

Masked translation priming asymmetry in Chinese-English bilinguals: Making sense of the Sense Model

2015 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violet Xia ◽  
Sally Andrews
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Lexical Decision ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Category ◽  
Semantic Categorization ◽  
Conceptual Representations ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Translation Priming ◽  
Masked Translation Priming ◽  
Sense Model

Masked translation priming asymmetry is the robust finding that priming from a bilingual's first language (L1) to their second language (L2) is stronger than priming from L2 to L1. This asymmetry has been claimed to be task dependent. The Sense Model proposed by Finkbeiner, Forster, Nicol, and Nakamura (2004) claims that the asymmetry is reduced in semantic categorization relative to lexical decision due to a category filtering mechanism that limits the features considered in categorization decisions to dominant, category-relevant features. This paper reports two pairs of semantic categorization and lexical decision tasks designed to test the Sense Model's predictions. The experiments replicated the finding of Finkbeiner et al. that L2-L1 priming is somewhat stronger in semantic categorization than lexical decision, selectively for exemplars of the category. However, the direct comparison of L2-L1 and L1-L2 translation priming across tasks failed to confirm the Sense Model's central prediction that translation priming asymmetry is significantly reduced in semantic categorization. The data therefore fail to support the category filtering account of translation priming asymmetry. Rather, they suggest that pre-activation of conceptual features of the target category provides feedback to lexical forms that compensates for the weak connections between the lexical and conceptual representations of L2 words.

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