scholarly journals An Investigation of Idiom Processing Advantage using Translated Familiar Idioms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianshu Zhu ◽  
John Paul Minda
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Times ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Facilitatory Effect ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Dual Route ◽  
Dual Route Model ◽  
Chinese Idioms

The facilitatory effect shown in native speakers processing idiomatic phrases compared to matched novel phrases may be explained by a dual route model. This postulates that all phrases are processed literally at first, and if a phrase was recognized as familiar during processing, it would then be processed by a faster retrieval-route; if the phrase was not perceived as familiar, it would continue to be processed literally by the slower computation-route. The goals of the current project were to test the dual route model and to decipher the underlying mechanism in retrieval-route activation. English idioms and translated Chinese idioms were presented to both native English speakers and Chinese-English bilinguals in random order. Participants listened to the idiom up until the last word (e.g., “draw a snake and add”), then saw either the idiom ending (e.g., “feet”) or the matched control ending (e.g., “hair”); to which they made lexical decision and reaction times were recorded. We examined the priming effect for idioms compared to controls across the two language groups. Results showed that the two groups processed idioms of different origins differently. Native English speakers’ faster responses to English idioms than controls supported a dual route model; however, both native English and bilingual speakers’ faster responses to Chinese idioms than controls called for a less straightforward interpretation.

scholarly journals An Investigation of Idiom Processing Advantage using Translated Familiar Idioms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianshu Zhu ◽  
John Paul Minda
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Times ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Facilitatory Effect ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Dual Route ◽  
Dual Route Model ◽  
Chinese Idioms

The facilitatory effect shown in native speakers processing idiomatic phrases compared to matched novel phrases may be explained by a dual route model. This postulates that all phrases are processed literally at first, and if a phrase was recognized as familiar during processing, it would then be processed by a faster retrieval-route; if the phrase was not perceived as familiar, it would continue to be processed literally by the slower computation-route. The goals of the current project were to test the dual route model and to decipher the underlying mechanism in retrieval-route activation. English idioms and translated Chinese idioms were presented to both native English speakers and Chinese-English bilinguals in random order. Participants listened to the idiom up until the last word (e.g., “draw a snake and add”), then saw either the idiom ending (e.g., “feet”) or the matched control ending (e.g., “hair”); to which they made lexical decision and reaction times were recorded. We examined the priming effect for idioms compared to controls across the two language groups. Results showed that the two groups processed idioms of different origins differently. Native English speakers’ faster responses to English idioms than controls supported a dual route model; however, both native English and bilingual speakers’ faster responses to Chinese idioms than controls called for a less straightforward interpretation. For R code and outputs, refer to Rpubs post.

De Konstruktie Van Een Vokabulair Amsterdam in Tweede-Taalverwerving

1978 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 121-149
Author(s):  
Geert Jan Hartman
Keyword(s):  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Cognitive Structure ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Sorting Task ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
General Question ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Dutch Children

The general question to be answered in this study, and to be reported in this talk,reads: is there a transfer of cognitive structure from mother tongue to second language? As far as the construction of the vocabulary in a foreign language is concerned, the question means: does this process go just like the construction of the Ll-vocabulary (no transfer), or is the L2 vocabulary directly from the beginning onwards stored in a structure similar to the structure resulting from the process of aquiring the mother tongue (transfer)? If transfer takes place from the beginnings then simple English words have to be stored by speakers of Dutch, beginning to learn English, in the same way as by native English speakers, if and only if both groups have in their mother tongue the same cognitive structures at their disposal. In the experiment thirty Dutch children participated, 13-15 years of age, who had just started to learn English, and an equal number of English/Dutch bilingual children of similar age. There were two experimental tasks 1) the sorting task: based on similarity in meaning twenty cards (on every card a single word) had to be sorted in piles? 2} free recall: twenty words in random order were presented to the subject, after which he/she had to mention the words he could recall. The results were analysed in two separate ways; a) a"hierarchical clustering scheme" and b) an analysis of the degree to which the words were sorted together, res-pectively recalled as a function of the abstractness of the relationship that exists between those words. As predicted, the hypothesis that transfer does take place could not be falsified.

scholarly journals Getting your wires crossed: Evidence for fast processing of L1 idioms in an L2

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 784-797 ◽  
Author(s):  
GARETH CARROL ◽  
KATHY CONKLIN
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Matched Control ◽  
Control Word ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Fast Processing ◽  
Dual Route ◽  
Language Activation ◽  
Dual Route Model ◽  
Chinese Idioms ◽  
Cross Language

Monolingual speakers show priming for idiomatic sequences (e.g. a pain in the neck) relative to matched controls (e.g. a pain in the foot); single word translation equivalents show cross-language activation (e.g. dog–chien) for bilinguals. If the lexicon is heteromorphic (Wray, 2002), larger units may show cross-language priming in the same way as single words. We used the initial words of English idioms (e.g. to spill the. . . beans) and transliterated Chinese idioms (e.g. draw a snake and add. . . feet) as primes for the final words in a lexical decision task with high proficiency Chinese–English bilinguals and English monolinguals. Bilinguals responded to targets significantly faster when they completed a Chinese idiom (e.g. feet) than when they were presented with a matched control word (e.g. hair). The results are discussed in terms of conceptual activation and lexical translation processes, and are also incorporated into a dual route model of formulaic and novel language processing.

scholarly journals Different measurements of bilingualism and their effect on performance on a Simon task

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Marie-France Champoux-Larsson ◽  
Alexandra S. Dylman
Keyword(s):  
Simon Task ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Continuous Variable ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Continuous Variables ◽  
Nonnative Language ◽  
Social Use

Abstract We investigated how operationalizing bilingualism affects the results on a Simon task in a population of monolingual and bilingual native English speakers (N = 166). Bilingualism was measured in different ways within participants, and the measurements were used both as dichotomous and continuous variables. Our results show that the statistical significance and effect size varied across operationalizations. Specifically, the Composite Factor Score (the Language and Social Background Questionnaire’s general score), showed a bilingual disadvantage on reaction times regardless of how it was used (dichotomously or continuously). When dividing participants into monolinguals and bilinguals based on the Nonnative Language Social Use score (a Language and Social Background Questionnaire subscore), differences in accuracy and reaction times were found between the groups, but the Nonnative Language Social Use score did not predict accuracy when used as a continuous variable (only reaction times). Finally, earlier age of acquisition predicted faster reaction times, but only when used on a continuum. Effect sizes were between the small and medium range. No differences on the Simon effect were found. Our results call for cautiousness when comparing studies using different types of measurements, highlight the need for clarity and transparency when describing samples, and stresses the need for more research on the operationalization of bilingualism.

Do Linguistic Categories Affect Colour Perception? A Comparison of English and Turkish Perception of Blue

Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 305-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Ozgen ◽  
I R L Davies
Keyword(s):  
Simultaneous Presentation ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Colour Perception ◽  
Linguistic Differences ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Linguistic Categories ◽  
Colour Terms ◽  
Dark Blue

Cultural relativists adduce the variation in colour categories across languages as prima facie evidence for linguistic relativity (language affects thought). However, there have been very few experiments that have gone beyond this observational level to assess the extent and the nature of linguistic differences on colour categorisation and perception. Here, we report experiments comparing English and Turkish speakers using a colour-grouping task and same - different tasks aimed at redressing this lack. Turkish categorises the blue region with two basic colour terms (lacivert ‘dark blue’ and mavi ‘blue’) whereas English has a single basic term. In experiment 1 subjects sorted a representative set of 65 colours into groups on the basis of their perceptual similarity. Native Turkish speakers were significantly more likely than native English speakers to form two distinct blue groups corresponding to the two basic blue terms of Turkish. In the same - different tasks we sought for possible categorical effects: enhanced discrimination across category boundaries and/or reduced discrimination within categories. For successive presentation, Turkish speakers were more accurate than English speakers in judgments of colour pairs that fell on opposite sides of the lacivert - mavi boundary. However, for simultaneous presentation, there was no difference between the two language groups. The results suggest that there are detectable effects of linguistic categories on colour cognition, but the locus of the effect may be in memory rather than perception.

The Effects of Clear Speech on American English Listener Perception of Spanish-Accented and Native English Speech

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1698-1709
Author(s):  
Alison Behrman ◽  
Sarah Hargus Ferguson ◽  
Peter Flom
Keyword(s):  
Visual Analog Scale ◽  
American English ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Clear Speech ◽  
Analog Scale ◽  
Accented Speech ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
The Difference

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore (a) the effect of clear speech on intelligibility, ease of understanding, and accentedness in Spanish-accented and native English speakers of American English and (b) the extent to which accentedness predicts intelligibility and ease of understanding. Method Ten adult talkers, five native English speakers and five native Spanish speakers, read aloud 28 short sentences in habitual speech and clear speech. One hundred monolingual English listeners transcribed what they heard and rated ease of understanding using a 10-cm visual analog scale while hearing the sentences in six-talker babble. Then, accentedness (using a visual analog scale) was judged in quiet. Intelligibility was calculated as the number of words transcribed correctly for each sentence. Ten listeners with significant exposure to Spanish-accented speech rated each talker. Each listener heard only one talker, rating half the sentences in clear speech and half in habitual speech, so that no listener heard a sentence more than once for the intelligibility and ease of understanding assessments. Results Clear speech improved intelligibility and ease of understanding for both language groups, with greater improvement in nonnative talkers. Clear speech did not alter accentedness in nonnative talkers but did increase accentedness in native talkers. Accentedness did not strongly predict intelligibility but did predict ease of understanding, although the relationship was nonlinear. Conclusions Listeners who are experienced in hearing Spanish-accented speech derive significant benefits from clear speech. The difference in the predictability of accentedness for intelligibility and ease of understanding contributes further evidence to the difference in underlying cognitive processes for these two variables.

Research, Reflection, Practice: Collaborative Problem Solving in Mixed-Language Groups

2003 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 534-538
Author(s):  
Laurie D. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Mathematical Problem ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Collaborative Problem Solving ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
Mathematical Problems ◽  
People First ◽  
Problem Solvers

An important goal of mathematics teaching is to help all students, including students whose first language is not English, become effective problem solvers. Yet Englishlanguage learners face obstacles that may not apply to native English speakers because they must make sense of mathematical situations while interpreting a new language. The purpose of the research described in this article was to investigate mathematical problem solving involving both native English speakers and native Spanish speakers working in small, collaborative groups. The work of psychologist Lev Vygotsky provides a theoretical justification for having students solve problems in groups. A central tenet of Vygotsky's theory is that people first develop cognitive activity socially, through interaction with others, and later internalize it (Vygotsky 1978). Therefore, we wanted to investigate whether students who worked together to solve mathematical problems would later be more adept at solving similar problems on their own.

Phonological Processing in Visual Rhyming: A Developmental ERP Study

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 610-625 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giordana Grossi ◽  
Donna Coch ◽  
Sharon Coffey-Corina ◽  
Phillip J. Holcomb ◽  
Helen J. Neville
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Frontal Asymmetry ◽  
Priming Paradigm ◽  
The One

We employed a visual rhyming priming paradigm to characterize the development of brain systems important for phonological processing in reading. We studied 109 right-handed, native English speakers within eight age groups: 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18, 19-20, and 21-23. Participants decided whether two written words (prime-target) rhymed (JUICE-MOOSE) or not (CHAIR-MOOSE). In similar studies of adults, two main event-related potential (ERP) effects have been described: a negative slow wave to primes, larger over anterior regions of the left hemisphere and hypothesized to index rehearsal of the primes, and a negative deflection to targets, peaking at 400-450 msec, maximal over right temporal-parietal regions, larger for nonrhyming than rhyming targets, and hypothesized to index phonological matching. In this study, these two ERP effects were observed in all age groups; however, the two effects showed different developmental timecourses. On the one hand, the frontal asymmetry to primes increased with age; moreover, this asymmetry was correlated with reading and spelling scores, even after controlling for age. On the other hand, the distribution and onset of the more posterior rhyming effect (RE) were stable across age groups, suggesting that phonological matching relied on similar neural systems across these ages. Behaviorally, both reaction times and accuracy improved with age. These results suggest that different aspects of phonological processing rely on different neural systems that have different developmental timecourses.

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