Morphological processing in old-age bilinguals
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Harald Clahsen
Abstract
Language processing in older adults has been the subject of much recent research. While previous research on language processing in bilingual older adults has focused on vocabulary and lexical access, very little is known about potential effects of aging on grammar in bilinguals. The current study investigates morphologically complex words in old-age bilinguals using German past participle formation as a test case, for which grammar-based processes (-t suffixation) can be distinguished from memory-based properties (e.g., stem changes). We will discuss results from two experimental studies with young and old bilinguals as well as with young and old monolinguals relying on lexical priming and speeded production, to determine changes of morphological processing across the lifespan. Our findings indicate that lexically mediated priming effects, which require access of inflected word forms from memory, are affected by aging. The combinatorial aspects of morphological processing (viz. stem+affix decomposition), however, seem to be more stable.
Abstract
Language processing in older adults has been the subject of much recent research. While previous research on language processing in bilingual older adults has focused on vocabulary and lexical access, very little is known about potential effects of aging on grammar in bilinguals. The current study investigates morphologically complex words in old-age bilinguals using German past participle formation as a test case, for which grammar-based processes (-t suffixation) can be distinguished from memory-based properties (e.g., stem changes). We will discuss results from two experimental studies with young and old bilinguals as well as with young and old monolinguals relying on lexical priming and speeded production, to determine changes of morphological processing across the lifespan. Our findings indicate that lexically mediated priming effects, which require access of inflected word forms from memory, are affected by aging. The combinatorial aspects of morphological processing (viz. stem+affix decomposition), however, seem to be more stable.
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
