Early Activation of Cross-Language Meaning from Phonology during Sentence Processing

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  • Author(s): Friesen, Deanna C. (ORCID Friesen, Deanna C. (ORCID 0000-0002-1510-6102); Ward, Olivia; Bohnet, Jessica (ORCID Bohnet, Jessica (ORCID 0000-0002-4569-8110); Cormier, Pierre (ORCID Cormier, Pierre (ORCID 0000-0002-2574-0131); Jared, Debra
  • Language:
    English
  • Source:
    Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. Sep 2020 46(9):1754-1767.
  • Publication Date:
    2020
  • Document Type:
    Journal Articles
    Reports - Research
  • Additional Information
    • Availability:
      American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.apa.org
    • Peer Reviewed:
      Y
    • Source:
      14
    • Education Level:
      Higher Education
      Postsecondary Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Phonology; Language Processing; Bilingualism; Reading Processes; French; English; Comparative Analysis; Eye Movements; Spelling; Vocabulary; Error Patterns; Transfer of Training; Individual Differences; Semantics; Sentences; Tests; College Students; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Foreign Countries
    • Subject Terms:
      Canada
    • Accession Number:
      10.1037/xlm0000849
    • ISSN:
      0278-7393
    • Abstract:
      The current study investigated whether shared phonology across languages activates cross-language meaning when reading in context. Eighty-five bilinguals read English sentences while their eye movements were tracked. Critical sentences contained English members of English-French interlingual homophone pairs (e.g., "mow"; French homophone mate "mot" means "word") or they contained spelling control words (e.g., "mop"). Only the meaning of the unseen French homophone mate fit the context (e.g., Hannah wrote another "mow/mop" on the blackboard for the spelling test). Differences in fixation durations between homophone errors and spelling control errors provided evidence for cross-language activation that extended to semantic representations. When the unseen French homophone was of high frequency, shorter first fixations and gaze durations were observed on English interlingual homophones than on English control words, providing evidence that the French meaning associated with the shared phonology was activated during early stage word identification. Individual differences analyses showed that these effects were larger when bilinguals were using the nontarget language (i.e., French) more regularly in daily life. Results provide evidence that cross-language activation of phonology can be sufficiently strong to activate corresponding semantic representations during single language sentence processing.
    • Abstract:
      As Provided
    • Publication Date:
      2020
    • Accession Number:
      EJ1267163