Abstract
The present study examined effects of cross-linguistic overlap and language proficiency on bilingual parallel language activation. Recognition of cognates (e.g., English hen, German Henne) was compared to recognition of non-cognates (e.g., English bike, German Fahrrad) in English-German bilinguals, German-English bilinguals, and monolinguals. In an eye-tracking paradigm, participants identified English cognate and non-cognate targets in picture displays that also contained German competitors with shared phonological
onsets. The duration of phonological overlap between targets and competitors was manipulated. English-German bilinguals co-activated German competitors of cognate targets, while German-English bilinguals co-activated German competitors of non-cognate targets, as well as German competitors of cognate targets with high phonological overlap. These results suggest that proficiency in target and non-target languages, as well as cross-linguistic overlap, determine the extent of bilinguals’ parallel language activation.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society |
Editors | Bruno G. Bara, Lawrence Barsalou, Monica Bucciarelli |
Publisher | Lawrence Erlbaum |
ISBN (Print) | 0976831813 |
State | Published - Jul 2005 |
Event | The Twenty-Seventh Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society - Stresa, Italy Duration: Jul 1 2005 → … |
Conference
Conference | The Twenty-Seventh Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society |
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Period | 7/1/05 → … |