Ana Beatriz Arêas da Luz Fontes

Cross-language mediated priming: Effects of context and lexical relationship

We examined how linguistic context influences the nature of bilingual lexical activation. We hypothesized that in single-word context, form-related words would receive the strongest activation while, in sentence context, semantically related words would receive the strongest activation. Spanish–English bilinguals performed a semantic verification task on English target words preceded by a prime. On critical trials, the prime and target words were paired based either on a form-mediated relationship through the native language (L1), [e.g., bark (barco): BOAT] (Experiment 1) or on a semantically-mediated relationship [e.g., boat (barco): BARK] (Experiment 2). The prime word was presented either in isolation or after a sentence context. In Experiment 1 interference was observed in the single word condition only. In Experiment 2 interference was observed in both single-word and sentence contexts. The findings demonstrate that the context in which words are embedded has an impact on the type of lexical competitors that become active.

On a different plane: Cross-language effects on the conceptual representations of within-language homonyms

We examined whether bilinguals’ conceptual representation of homonyms in one language are influenced by meanings in the other. One hundred and seventeen Spanish–English bilinguals generated sentences for 62 English homonyms that were also cognates with Spanish and which shared at least one meaning with Spanish (e.g., plane/plano). Production probabilities for each meaning were calculated. A stepwise multiple regression revealed that whether a meaning was shared with Spanish or not accounted for a significant portion of the variance, even after entering production probabilities from published monolingual norms (Twilley et al., 1994). Homonyms classified as highly biased based on monolingual responses became less biased if the less frequent meaning was shared whereas balanced homonyms increased in polarisation if the dominant meaning was shared. Results are discussed in terms of models of bilingual conceptual and lexical representation as well as theories of ambiguity resolution.

Working Memory Influences on Cross-Language Activation during Bilingual Lexical Disambiguation.

This study investigated the role of verbal working memory on bilingual lexical disambiguation. Spanish–English bilinguals read sentences that ended in either a cognate or noncognate homonym or a control word. Participants decided whether follow-up target words were related in meaning to the sentences. On critical trials, sentences biased the subordinate meaning of a homonym and were followed by targets related to the dominant meaning. Bilinguals with high span were faster at rejecting unrelated targets when the sentences ended in a homonym, whereas bilinguals with low span were slower. Furthermore, error rates for bilinguals with low span showed cognate inhibition, while bilinguals with high span showed no effects of cross-language activation. Results demonstrated that bilinguals with high span benefit from shared lexical codes whether these converge on to a single semantic representation (cognates) or not (homonyms). Conversely, bilinguals with low span showed inhibition from the competing lexical codes, even when they converge onto a single semantic representation.

Bilingual access of homonym meanings: Individual differences in bilingual access of homonym meanings

The goal of the present study was to identify the cognitive processes that underlie lexical ambiguity resolution in a second language (L2). We examined which cognitive factors predict the efficiency in accessing subordinate meanings of L2 homonyms in a sample of highly-proficient, Spanish–English bilinguals. The predictive ability of individual differences in (1) homonym processing in the L1, (2) working memory capacity and (3) sensitivity to cross-language form overlap were examined. In two experiments, participants were presented with cognate and noncognate homonyms as either a prime in a lexical decision task (Experiment 1) or embedded in a sentence (Experiment 2). In both experiments speed and accuracy in accessing subordinate meanings in the L1 was the strongest predictor of speed and accuracy in accessing subordinate meanings in the L2. Sensitivity to cross-language form overlap predicted performance in lexical decision while working memory capacity predicted processing in sentence comprehension.

Correlação entre fatores de experiência linguística bilíngue e controle inibitório

There is an ongoing debate in the literature on the hypothesis of a bilingual advantage in the executive functions and linguistic factors possibly related to it. This exploratory research aimed to investigate which bilingual linguistic experience factors could be correlated to inhibitory control. It was found that the inhibitory control correlated negatively to the amount of mixing (of two or more languages while speaking) the bilinguals performed. There was also a negative correlation between inhibitory control and the mean age of acquisition of a third language. The evidence goes against the conceptions on the relationship between linguistic experience factors and executive functions found in the literature, which would predict that the amount of mixing and age of acquisition of a third language would be associated with higher inhibitory control.

The role of L1 knowledge on L2 speech perception: investigating how native speakers and Brazilian learners categorize different VOT patterns in English

Abstract : The present study aimed to investigate how different Voice Onset Time (VOT) patterns are categorized by native speakers of American English and Brazilian Learners of English. American English and Brazilian Portuguese diverge as to the voicing pattern of plosive consonants, for the VOT cue plays different roles in the distinction between voiced and voiceless consonant categories in each system. This study contrasted four VOT patterns ( Negative VOT , Zero VOT , Positive VOT and a manipulated pattern, named Artificial Zero VOT ) in two perceptual tasks (AxB discrimination and identification tests), and verified how the two groups of participants categorized these patterns. Results reinforce the idea that speech perception is multimodal and, therefore, the action of multiple cues must be taken into account when we consider phonetic-phonological processes. Keywords : Voice Onset Time; Speech Perception; Discrimination; Identification. Resumo : O presente estudo buscou investigar como diferentes padroes de Voice Onset Time (VOT) sao categorizados por falantes nativos de Ingles Americano e aprendizes brasileiros de Ingles. O Ingles Americano e o Portugues Brasileiro divergem quanto ao padrao de vozeamento das consoantes plosivas, uma vez que a pista VOT desempenha diferentes papeis na formacao de categorias de consoantes vozeadas e desvozeadas em cada sistema. Este estudo contrastou quatro padroes de VOT ( VOT Negativo, VOT Zero, VOT Positivo e um padrao manipulado, nomeado VOT Zero Artificial ) em duas tarefas perceptuais (testes de discriminacao AxB e identificacao), e verificou como os dois grupos de participantes categorizaram esses padroes. Os resultados corroboram a ideia de que a percepcao da fala e multimodal e, portanto, a acao de multiplas pistas acusticas deve ser levada em consideracao quando abordamos processos fonetico-fonologicos. Palavras-chave : Voice Onset Time; Percepcao da Fala; Discriminacao; Identificacao.