Lexical processing in bilinguals

In this article data from an auditory lexical decision experiment with English-Dutch bilinguals are compared with data from a similar experiment using visual lexical decision. The aim of the experiments was to investigate three factors that may play a role in lexical processing: level of proficiency in the second language, mode of presentation (visual vs. auditory) and cognate- ness of lexical items. The structure of this article is as follows. In the first part a description is given of current theoretical models of the bilingual lexicon. In the second part we present a summary of an experiment on visual lexical decision (Kerkman, 1984; Kerkman and De Bot, 1989), and in the third part we report on the auditory lexical decision experiment. In the last part these two sets of data are discussed in the light of recent theorizing on the bilingual lexicon.

Download Full-text

Disentangling Context Availability and Concreteness in Lexical Decision and Word Translation

The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A ◽

10.1080/713755752 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 51 (1) ◽

pp. 41-63 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Janet G. van Hell ◽

Annette M. B. de Groot

Keyword(s):

Lexical Decision ◽

Coding Theory ◽

Lexical Processing ◽

Dual Coding ◽

The Third ◽

Concreteness Effect ◽

Decision Performance ◽

Context Availability ◽

Bilingual Processing ◽

Concrete Words

This study examines contrasting predictions of the dual coding theory and the context availability hypothesis regarding concreteness effects in monolingual and bilingual lexical processing. In three experiments, concreteness was controlled for or confounded with rated context availability. In the first experiment, bilingual subjects performed lexical decision in their native language (Dutch, L1). In the second experiment, lexical decision performance of bilinguals in their second language (English, L2) was examined. In the third experiment, bilinguals translated words “forwards” (from L1 to L2) or “backwards” (from L2 to L1). Both monolingual and bilingual tasks showed a concreteness effect when concreteness was confounded with context availability. However, concreteness effects disappeared when abstract and concrete words were matched on context availability, and even occasionally reversed. Implications of these results for theories that account for concreteness effects, particulary in bilingual processing, are discussed.

Download Full-text

On the processing of nonwords in word naming and auditory lexical decision

10.31234/osf.io/ekvma ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yu-Ying Chuang ◽

Marie-lenka Voller ◽

Elnaz Shafaei-Bajestan ◽

Susanne Gahl ◽

Peter Hendrix ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lexical Decision ◽

Speech Signal ◽

Lexical Processing ◽

Semantic Space ◽

Word Naming ◽

Model Fit ◽

Discriminative Learning ◽

Auditory Lexical Decision ◽

Improve Model

Nonwords are often used to clarify how lexical processing takes place in the absence of semantics. This study shows that nonwords are not semantically vacuous. We used Linear Discriminative Learning (Baayen et al., 2019) to estimate the meanings of nonwords in the MALD database (Tucker et al., 2018) from the speech signal. We show that measures gauging nonword semantics significantly improve model fit for both acoustic durations and RTs. Although nonwords do not evoke meanings that afford conscious reflexion, they do make contact with the semantic space, and the angles and distances of nonwords with respect to actual words co-determine articulation and lexicality decisions.

Download Full-text

L2 Processing of Words Containing English /æ/-/ɛ/ and /l/-/ɹ/ Contrasts, and the Uses and Limits of the Auditory Lexical Decision Task for Understanding the Locus of Difficulty

Frontiers in Communication ◽

10.3389/fcomm.2021.689470 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Author(s):

Shannon Barrios ◽

Rachel Hayes-Harb

Keyword(s):

Lexical Decision ◽

Lexical Processing ◽

Native Speaker ◽

Control Group ◽

Decision Task ◽

Phonological Representations ◽

Auditory Lexical Decision ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Mandarin Speakers ◽

Phonological Contrasts

Second language (L2) learners often exhibit difficulty perceiving novel phonological contrasts and/or using them to distinguish similar-sounding words. The auditory lexical decision (LD) task has emerged as a promising method to elicit the asymmetries in lexical processing performance that help to identify the locus of learners’ difficulty. However, LD tasks have been implemented and interpreted variably in the literature, complicating their utility in distinguishing between cases where learners’ difficulty lies at the level of perceptual and/or lexical coding. Building on previous work, we elaborate a set of LD ordinal accuracy predictions associated with various logically possible scenarios concerning the locus of learner difficulty, and provide new LD data involving multiple contrasts and native language (L1) groups. The inclusion of a native speaker control group allows us to isolate which patterns are unique to L2 learners, and the combination of multiple contrasts and L1 groups allows us to elicit evidence of various scenarios. We present findings of an experiment where native English, Korean, and Mandarin speakers completed an LD task that probed the robustness of listeners’ phonological representations of the English /æ/-/ɛ/ and /l/-/ɹ/ contrasts. Words contained the target phonemes, and nonwords were created by replacing the target phoneme with its counterpart (e.g., lecture/*[ɹ]ecture, battle/*b[ɛ]ttle). For the /æ/-/ɛ/ contrast, all three groups exhibited the same pattern of accuracy: near-ceiling acceptance of words and an asymmetric pattern of responses to nonwords, with higher accuracy for nonwords containing [æ] than [ɛ]. For the /l/-/ɹ/ contrast, we found three distinct accuracy patterns: native English speakers’ performance was highly accurate and symmetric for words and nonwords, native Mandarin speakers exhibited asymmetries favoring [l] items for words and nonwords (interpreted as evidence that they experienced difficulty at the perceptual coding level), and native Korean speakers exhibited asymmetries in opposite directions for words (favoring [l]) and nonwords (favoring [ɹ]; evidence of difficulty at the lexical coding level). Our findings suggest that the auditory LD task holds promise for determining the locus of learners’ difficulty with L2 contrasts; however, we raise several issues requiring attention to maximize its utility in investigating L2 phonolexical processing.

Download Full-text

Feature distinctiveness effects in language acquisition and lexical processing: Insights from megastudies

10.31234/osf.io/p45gf ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Cynthia S. Q. Siew

Keyword(s):

Language Acquisition ◽

Lexical Decision ◽

Semantic Processing ◽

Lexical Processing ◽

Semantic Feature ◽

Decision Task ◽

Semantic Features ◽

Decision Performance ◽

Semantic Decision ◽

Visual Lexical Decision

Semantic features are central to many influential theories of word meaning and semantic memory, but new methods of quantifying the information embedded in feature production norms are needed to advance our understanding of semantic processing and language acquisition. This paper capitalized on databases of semantic feature production norms and age-of-acquisition ratings, and megastudies including the English Lexicon Project and the Calgary Semantic Decision Project, to examine the influence of feature distinctiveness on language acquisition, visual lexical decision, and semantic decision. A feature network of English words was constructed such that edges in the network represented feature distance, or dissimilarity, between words (i.e., Jaccard and Manhattan distances of probability distributions of features elicited for each pair of words), enabling us to quantify the relative feature distinctiveness of individual words relative to other words in the network. Words with greater feature distinctiveness tended to be acquired earlier. Regression analyses of megastudy data revealed that Manhattan feature distinctiveness inhibited performance on the visual lexical decision task, facilitated semantic decision performance for concrete concepts, and inhibited semantic decision performance for abstract concepts. These results demonstrate the importance of considering the structural properties of words embedded in a semantic feature space in order to increase our understanding of semantic processing and language acquisition.

Download Full-text

Perception of Unfamiliar English Phonemes by Native Mandarin Speakers

Alberta Academic Review ◽

10.29173/aar46 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 37-38

Author(s):

Gabriela Holko ◽

Matthew C. Kelley ◽

Scott James Perry ◽

Benjamin V. Tucker

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Reaction Time ◽

Second Language Acquisition ◽

Lexical Decision ◽

Language Processing ◽

Decision Task ◽

Increase Reaction Time ◽

Auditory Lexical Decision ◽

First Case ◽

Mandarin Speakers

In second language acquisition, speech sounds, or phonemes, not present in a learner’s native language often pose an extra challenge for speech production. When hearing one of these unfamiliar phonemes, the learner either maps it to a similar native phoneme, perceives it as a completely foreign sound, or does not perceive it as speech at all. In the first case, the learner is unable to perceive a difference between the unfamiliar phoneme and the native phoneme to which it is mapped. This mapping difficulty potentially creates problems for the learner during word recognition. The present research investigated the extent to which English phonemes absent from the Mandarin phonological inventory impact processing of native Mandarin speakers in an auditory lexical decision task. Results of this research will expand the understanding of second language perception, especially within the context of auditory lexical decision tasks. A list of ten phonemes—/ɪ/, /æ/, /ʊ/, /ɛ/, /v/, /z/, /ʒ/, /ɵ/, /ð/, /ʤ/—present in the English phonological inventory but absent from that of Mandarin were identified as unfamiliar to native Mandarin speakers. Data from the Massive Auditory Lexical Decision (MALD) database, in which participants decided whether recorded utterances were English words or made-up words, were utilized. The effects of the proportion of unfamiliar phonemes, proportion of unfamiliar vowels, and proportion of unfamiliar consonants on reaction time, representative of processing difficulty, were then calculated using statistical techniques. It was found that the proportion of all unfamiliar phonemes in an utterance had no significant effect on the reaction time of the native Mandarin speakers. However, when the list of unfamiliar phonemes was divided into vowels and consonants, a greater proportion of unfamiliar vowels was noticed to increase reaction time, while a greater proportion of unfamiliar consonants was found to decrease reaction time. Further research in this area is required to determine a concrete explanation for these results. Interestingly, when the same analysis was performed on the data of native English speakers, similar results were observed. This may reflect a common language processing mechanism in second language learners and native speakers.

Download Full-text

The processing of pseudoword form and meaning in production and comprehension: A computational modeling approach using Linear Discriminative Learning

10.31234/osf.io/byrux ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yu-Ying Chuang ◽

Marie-lenka Voller ◽

Elnaz Shafaei-Bajestan ◽

Susanne Gahl ◽

Peter Hendrix ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lexical Decision ◽

Lexical Processing ◽

Cognitive Model ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Discriminative Learning ◽

Common Assumption ◽

Auditory Lexical Decision ◽

Model Predictions ◽

Morphological Theory ◽

Shed Light

Pseudowords have long served as key tools in psycholinguistic investigations of the lexicon. A common assumption underlying the use of pseudowords is that they are devoid of meaning: Comparing words and pseudowords may then shed light on how meaningful linguistic elements are processed differently from meaningless sound strings.However, pseudowords may in fact carry meaning. On the basis of a computational model of lexical processing, Linear Discriminative Learning (LDL Baayen et al., 2019), we compute numeric vectors representing the semantics of pseudowords. We demonstrate that quantitative measures gauging the semantic neighborhoods of pseudowords predict reaction times in the Massive Auditory Lexical Decision (MALD) database (Tucker et al., 2018). We also show that the model successfully predicts the acoustic durations of pseudowords. Importantly, model predictions hinge on the hypothesis that the mechanisms underlying speech production and comprehension interact. Thus, pseudowords emerge as an outstanding tool for gauging the resonance between production and comprehension.Many pseudowords in the MALD database contain inflectional suffixes. Unlike many contemporary models, LDL captures the semantic commonalities of forms sharing inflectional exponents without using the linguistic construct of morphemes. We discuss methodological and theoretical implications for models of lexical processing and morphological theory. The results of this study, complementing those on real words reported in Baayen et al. (2019), thus provide further evidence for the usefulness of LDL both as a cognitive model of the mental lexicon, and as a tool for generating new quantitative measures that are predictive for human lexical processing.

Download Full-text

On advantage of seeing text and hearing speech

Psihologija ◽

10.2298/psi1101061z ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 44 (1) ◽

pp. 61-70

Author(s):

Jelena Zivanovic ◽

Dusica Filipovic-Djurdjevic

Keyword(s):

Word Recognition ◽

Lexical Decision ◽

Lexical Decision Task ◽

Sensory Modality ◽

Decision Task ◽

Auditory Lexical Decision ◽

Perceptual Representations ◽

Font Color ◽

Visual Lexical Decision

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of congruence between the sensory modality through which a concept can be experienced and the modality through which the word denoting that concept is perceived during word recognition. Words denoting concepts that can be experienced visually (e.g. ?color?) and words denoting concepts that can be experienced auditorily (e.g. ?noise?) were presented both visually and auditorily. We observed shorter processing latencies when there was a match between the modality through which a concept could be experienced and the modality through which a word denoting that concept was presented. In visual lexical decision task, ?color? was recognized faster than ?noise?, whereas in auditory lexical decision task, ?noise? was recognized faster than ?color?. The obtained pattern of results can not be accounted for by exclusive amodal theories, whereas it can be easily integrated in theories based on perceptual representations. This article has been corrected. Link to the correction <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/PSI1602211E">10.2298/PSI1602211E</a>

Download Full-text

Effects of the relationships between forms within and across paradigms on lexical processing and representation

The Mental Lexicon ◽

10.1075/ml.18013.par ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 285-310

Author(s):

Jeff Parker

Keyword(s):

Lexical Decision ◽

Lexical Decision Task ◽

Lexical Access ◽

Lexical Processing ◽

Decision Task ◽

Theoretical Studies ◽

Priming Task ◽

Word Forms ◽

Better Than ◽

Visual Lexical Decision

Abstract The frequency and distribution of forms within a lexeme’s paradigm affect how quickly forms are accessed (e.g., Kostić, 1991; Milin, Filipović Đurđević, & Moscoso del Prado Martín, 2009; Moscoso del Prado Martı́n, Kostić, & Baayen, 2004). The distribution of forms across paradigms, in contrast, has received little experimental attention. Theoretical studies investigate the distribution of forms across paradigms because forms vary in how predictive they are of other (unknown) forms. Such investigations have uncovered typological tendencies (e.g., Ackerman & Malouf, 2013; Stump & Finkel, 2013) and contribute to explanations of language-specific phenomena (e.g., Sims, 2015; Parker & Sims, To appear). The intersection of these research approaches raises questions about how the distribution of forms within and across paradigms affects lexical access and representation. Based on forms of Russian nouns representing two morphosyntactic property sets and lexemes from three inflection classes, it is shown that speakers are sensitive to differences in form and morphosyntactic property set in a visual lexical decision task. In a priming task, nominative forms prime locative forms better than vice versa regardless of suffix, despite differences between the same forms in the lexical decision task. These results suggest that speakers make generalizations about forms across classes, including at the level of word forms and morphosyntactic property sets.

Download Full-text

STEM Education Problem Through Striking Differences Between Physics and Biology

10.31219/osf.io/4kydt ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Adib Rifqi Setiawan

Keyword(s):

Nature Of Science ◽

Stem Education ◽

Functional Relationship ◽

Theoretical Models ◽

Natural Sciences ◽

Physical Sciences ◽

P Values ◽

The Third ◽

Differences Of Opinion ◽

Biological Education

This work argues that fundamental differences of opinion as to the nature of science affect whether the “S” in STEM can really apply to all the natural sciences, which will affect how we structure and implement improvements in STEM education. The first part of the argument deals with often-taught definitions of words like “law” and “theory” that don’t really apply to much of physics. In the second part, we notes that mathematics remains inseparable from education in the physical sciences, but this is not the case in biology. Moreover, an appreciation for the worth of mathematical or theoretical models, even disjoint from experiments, is not generally a part of biological education. The third part is “the tyranny of hypotheses.” One of the “cultural” shocks I’ve had moving into biological fields is constantly hearing people talk about “hypotheses” and seeing a steady stream of bar graphs with asterisks and p-values. In physics, one almost never discusses hypotheses; rather, one test relationships between parameters, either analyzing them within some mechanistic framework, or empirically determining what the underlying functional relationship is.

Download Full-text

FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING THROUGH TEXTBOOKS IN ALBANIAN SCHOOLS (COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW OF ALBANIAN AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEXTBOOKS)

Knowledge International Journal ◽

10.35120/kij28072319r ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (7) ◽

pp. 2319-2324

Author(s):

Rina Muka ◽

Irida Hoti

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Second Language Learning ◽

English Language ◽

Mother Tongue ◽

First Language ◽

Grammatical Knowledge ◽

Level Of Education ◽

The Third

The language acquired from the childhood is the language spoken in the family and in the place of living. This language is different from one pupil to another, because of their social, economical conditions. By starting the school the pupil faces first the ABC book and then in the second grade Albanian language learning through the Albanian language textbook. By learning Albanian language step by step focused on Reading, Writing, Speaking and Grammar the pupil is able to start learning the second language on the next years of schooling. So, the second language learning in Albanian schools is related to the first language learning (mother tongue), since the early years in primary school. In our schools, the second language (English, Italian) starts in the third grade of the elementary class. On the third grade isn’t taught grammar but the pupil is directed toward the correct usage of the language. The textbooks are structured in developing the pupil’s critical thinking. The textbooks are fully illustrated and with attractive and educative lessons adequate to the age of the pupils. This comparative study will reflect some important aspects of language learning in Albanian schools (focused on Albanian language - first language and English language - second language), grade 3-6. Our point of view in this paper will show not only the diversity of the themes, the lines and the sub-lines but also the level of language knowledge acquired at each level of education. First, the study will focus on some important issues in comparing Albanian and English language texts as well as those which make them different: chronology and topics retaken from one level of education to another, so by conception of linear and chronological order will be shown comparatively two learned languages (mother tongue and second language). By knowing and learning well mother tongue will be easier for the pupil the foreign language learning. The foreign language (as a learning curriculum) aims to provide students with the skills of using foreign language written and spoken to enable the literature to recognize the achievements of advanced world science and technology that are in the interest of developing our technique. Secondly, the study will be based on the extent of grammatical knowledge, their integration with 'Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing' as well as the inclusion of language games and their role in language learning. The first and second language learning in Albanian schools (grade III-VI) is based on similar principles for the linearity and chronology of grammatical knowledge integrated with listening, reading, writing and speaking. The different structure of both books help the pupils integrate and use correctly both languages. In the end of the sixth grade, the pupils have good knowledge of mother tongue and the second language and are able to write and speak well both languages.

Download Full-text