When cognate status produces no benefits
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Paola E. Dussias
Abstract
Experimental studies examining the production and comprehension of language switches have provided evidence for a subtle but significant “switch cost:” switched words take longer to process than non-switched words (e.g., Altarriba, Kroll, Sholl, & Rayner, 1996; Gollan & Ferreira, 2009; Gollan, Montoya, & Werner, 2002; Meuter & Allport, 1999). However, bilingual speakers produce code-switches seamlessly and effortlessly (Myers-Scotton, 2002) and do not experience disruptions during the comprehension of naturally occurring code-switches (Guzzardo Tamargo, 2012). These two observations suggest that bilinguals make use of particular sources of information to seemingly alleviate the challenges associated with switching between two languages. In the work presented here, we ask whether the cognate status of switched words may be one such source of information. To examine this question, the eye movements of Spanish-English early and late bilinguals were recorded while they read sentences on a computer screen. The experimental stimuli consisted of 4 versions of the same sentence, corresponding to 4 experimental conditions. Conditions 1 and 2 were code-switched conditions with a progressive verb. In Condition 1 the switch occurred immediately before the verb (…los instructores are preparing) and in Condition 2 it occurred at the verb (…los instructores están preparing). Conditions 3 and 4 were analogous to Conditions 1 and Conditions 2 but involved a verb in the perfect form (…los instructores have prepared and los instructores han prepared). Critically, half of the verbs (48) were cognates (‘prepare’/ ‘preparar’) and half were non-cognates (‘ship’/ ‘enviar’). Bilinguals demonstrated an asymmetry in how they process code-switched sentences with the perfect structure vis-à-vis code-switched sentences with the progressive structure, and how cognate status impacted the integration of code-switch.
Abstract
Experimental studies examining the production and comprehension of language switches have provided evidence for a subtle but significant “switch cost:” switched words take longer to process than non-switched words (e.g., Altarriba, Kroll, Sholl, & Rayner, 1996; Gollan & Ferreira, 2009; Gollan, Montoya, & Werner, 2002; Meuter & Allport, 1999). However, bilingual speakers produce code-switches seamlessly and effortlessly (Myers-Scotton, 2002) and do not experience disruptions during the comprehension of naturally occurring code-switches (Guzzardo Tamargo, 2012). These two observations suggest that bilinguals make use of particular sources of information to seemingly alleviate the challenges associated with switching between two languages. In the work presented here, we ask whether the cognate status of switched words may be one such source of information. To examine this question, the eye movements of Spanish-English early and late bilinguals were recorded while they read sentences on a computer screen. The experimental stimuli consisted of 4 versions of the same sentence, corresponding to 4 experimental conditions. Conditions 1 and 2 were code-switched conditions with a progressive verb. In Condition 1 the switch occurred immediately before the verb (…los instructores are preparing) and in Condition 2 it occurred at the verb (…los instructores están preparing). Conditions 3 and 4 were analogous to Conditions 1 and Conditions 2 but involved a verb in the perfect form (…los instructores have prepared and los instructores han prepared). Critically, half of the verbs (48) were cognates (‘prepare’/ ‘preparar’) and half were non-cognates (‘ship’/ ‘enviar’). Bilinguals demonstrated an asymmetry in how they process code-switched sentences with the perfect structure vis-à-vis code-switched sentences with the progressive structure, and how cognate status impacted the integration of code-switch.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Author information ix
- Prologue xiii
- The dynamic lexicon 1
- Languages without borders 7
- The bilingual lexicon 27
- Mechanisms underlying word learning in second language acquisition 49
- The bilingual mental lexicon 73
- Non-selective language activation and bilingualism as the default mental lexicon 103
- The influence of contextual cues on representations in the mental lexicon for bilinguals 123
- When cognate status produces no benefits 143
- Lexical retrieval difficulty in bilingual speakers with and without pathology 181
- Morphological integration and the bilingual lexicon 197
- Morphological processing in old-age bilinguals 217
- Index 249
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Author information ix
- Prologue xiii
- The dynamic lexicon 1
- Languages without borders 7
- The bilingual lexicon 27
- Mechanisms underlying word learning in second language acquisition 49
- The bilingual mental lexicon 73
- Non-selective language activation and bilingualism as the default mental lexicon 103
- The influence of contextual cues on representations in the mental lexicon for bilinguals 123
- When cognate status produces no benefits 143
- Lexical retrieval difficulty in bilingual speakers with and without pathology 181
- Morphological integration and the bilingual lexicon 197
- Morphological processing in old-age bilinguals 217
- Index 249
