Week 4 multilingualism

  1. Bilingual Lexicons: refers to the mental storage and organization of words and their meanings in two languages. Dependent on parsimony is dependent on proficiency and translational pairs (conceptuality)

  2.  Parsimony of the Bilingual Lexicon (De Groot, 2011): The bilingual lexicon is _____ avoiding redundancy by not storing the same meaning twice across two languages. For instance, a bilingual English-Spanish speaker does not store the concept of "dog" twice, once for "dog" and once for "perro." Instead, a single shared concept is linked to both words.

  3.  Translation Pairs:  are word pairs in two languages that map onto the same or highly similar conceptual representations (e.g., "house" in English and "maison" in French).

  4.  Proficiency and Independence in Meaning Representation (Kroll & de Groot): Proficiency influences the independence of the two lexicons.

    1. Low proficiency: At the early stages of bilingualism, lexical items in the second language (L2) depend more on their equivalents in the first language (L1). For example, an English learner of Spanish might associate "casa" with the English word "house," rather than directly with the concept of a house.

    2. High proficiency: As bilinguals become more proficient, their mental lexicons for each language become more independent. The word "casa" is processed directly in Spanish without requiring mediation through English.

  5. Opposing View for Parsimony: Developmental Trajectories of Lexicon Interdependence: Bilinguals begin with independent lexicons for each language. Over time and with increased proficiency, their lexicons become more interdependent as they develop shared representations for overlapping concepts across languages.

  6. Concrete vs. Abstract Words: 

    1. Concrete words (e.g., "chair" or "apple") have strong perceptual features (e.g., visual or tactile properties) that are largely consistent across languages. These words are easier to learn and map directly to a shared concept.

    2. Abstract words (e.g., "justice" or "freedom") rely on cultural or linguistic context and are more prone to semantic variability across languages. These words may be represented less consistently in the bilingual lexicon, leading to fuzzier or less direct mappings.

  7. Semantic vs. Conceptual Distinction

    1. Conceptual representation refers to the underlying idea or meaning that a word expresses. It is shared across languages (e.g., the concept of a "big book" or a "large book").

    2. Semantic representation refers to the specific linguistic expression of that concept within a language. It encompasses nuances, collocations, and idiomatic usage, which are language-specific

    3. Example: In English, "big book" is a common collocation, but "*large book" is less natural. Both "big" and "large" express a similar concept of size, but their semantic constraints differ due to collocational preferences in English. A bilingual English-Spanish speaker might think of the Spanish equivalent "libro grande" (literally "big book") and expect both "big" and "large" to work interchangeably in English until they learn the specific semantic rules.

  8. Revised Hierarchical Model (RHM): was proposed by Kroll and Stewart (1994) to describe how bilinguals represent and process words in their two languages. It is a foundational model in bilingual psycholinguistics, particularly in understanding lexical (word form) and conceptual (meaning) relationships across the two languages.

  9. Two Key Components of RHM: Lexical and conceptual links

    1. Lexical links: Direct connections between word forms in the first language (L1) and the second language (L2).

    2. Conceptual links: Connections between words and their underlying meanings (concepts).

  10. Asymmetry in Lexical and Conceptual Links: early = lexical and more proficiency = conceptual links

    1. Early bilinguals rely heavily on lexical connections between L2 and L1 (translation-based access). E.g., "apple" in English connects to "manzana" in Spanish through a translation link.

    2. With increased proficiency, conceptual links between L2 words and their meanings strengthen. E.g., "manzana" directly connects to the concept of an apple without mediation through "apple."

  11. Directionality of RHM: L1 provides strong conceptual links to L2 and L2 provides heavier reliance on lexical connection to L1

    1. L1 → L2: Stronger conceptual links from the first language to the second language.

    2. L2 → L1: Heavier reliance on lexical connections when retrieving L2 words early in learning.

    3. Example: An English speaker learning Spanish might access "casa" (house) by first activating "house" in English.

  12. Proficiency Effectsin RHM

    1. Low proficiency learners depend on translation-based access (L2 ↔ L1 links).

    2. High proficiency learners use conceptually mediated access (L2 ↔ Concept links), bypassing L1.

  13. Structure of the RHM: The model is typically depicted as a triangle:

    1. L1 (Word Forms in First Language)↔ L2 (Word Forms in Second Language) ↔ Conceptual Store (Shared Meanings)

    2. Lexical connections are stronger from L1 to L2 because L1 is usually dominant.

    3. Conceptual connections for L2 become stronger with greater exposure and proficiency.

  14. Strengths of the RHM: explains developmental progression, accounts for proficiency and dominance, and is applicable across modalities. 

    1. Explains Developmental Progression:

      1. Captures how bilinguals transition from reliance on L1-mediated translation to direct L2 conceptual processing.

      2. Aligns with stages of Second Language Acquisition (SLA).

    2. Accounts for Proficiency and Dominance:

      1. Recognizes the role of L1 dominance in early learning.

      2. Explains how higher L2 proficiency reduces dependence on L1.

    3. Applicable Across Modalities:

      1. Applies to both spoken and written bilingual processing.

  15. Limitations of RHM: Simplistic representation, individual variation, and abstract language 

    1. Simplistic Representation in RHM

      1. Real bilingual lexicons involve complex connections and RHM does not account for the bidirectional influence between L1 and L2

    2. Individual variation in RHM

      1. Age of acquisition, language similarities and frequency are not accounted 

    3. Abstract and idiomatic lang in RHM

      1. The model primarily focuses on concrete nouns and does not explain abstract words accurately ‘

  16. Learing in L2 with bilinigual lexicon contec

    1. Early stages of L2 learning:

      • Originally thought to require L1 mediation but now shown to vary with context and learning method.

      • Immersion and direct contextual learning can enable direct L2 ↔ Concept connections from the start.

    2. High proficiency:

      • L2 processing becomes more direct but does not eliminate bidirectional activation between L1 and L2, especially under cognitive load or task-specific demands.

    3. Dynamic and flexible lexicon:

      • The bilingual lexicon remains interconnected, with persistent L1 activation even at advanced proficiency levels, reflecting the integrated nature of bilingual cognition.

  17. semantic accents: refers to how bilinguals may interpret or use words in ways influenced by their two languages. This phenomenon arises from the parallel activation of both language systems during lexical access and is shaped by the shared and distinct conceptual representations between the two languages. Let’s explore this idea in depth with the examples provided.

  18. Parallel Activation When bilinguals process language, both of their languages are activated simultaneously, leading to interaction or competition between meanings and representations from each language

    1. Example 1: Costume (French-English bilinguals)

      • In French, "costume" primarily means "men’s suit," while in English, it typically refers to "theatre costume."

      • A French-English bilingual might interpret "costume" as "men’s suit" even in English due to conceptual transfer from their dominant or first language (L1).

  19. Lexical Priming: A Methodology in Psycholinguistics Lexical priming is a widely used experimental paradigm to study how words and their representations are organized and accessed in the mind. By analyzing response times and patterns of activation, researchers gain insight into the relationships between words, including their semantic, phonological, and morphological connection

  20. Cognates vs. Non-Cognates in Lexical Priming

    The role of cognates (words with a shared etymological origin) versus non-cognates (words with unrelated origins) is an important focus in bilingual lexical processing. Studies show that bilinguals process cognates and non-cognates differently, which provides insight into how the mental lexicon is organized and accessed.

    1. Cognates: Shared Origins, Shared Facilitation

    • Definition: Cognates are words that share a common etymological origin and typically have similar forms and meanings across languages.

      • Example:

        • English-French: gratitude → gratitudine.

        • English-Spanish: zebra → cebra.

    • Why are cognates special?

      • Cognates are processed faster than non-cognates because they share phonological, orthographic, and semantic representations across languages.

      • The overlapping forms (spelling and pronunciation) and meanings allow for cross-linguistic activation in the bilingual lexicon, reducing cognitive effort during retrieval.

    2. Non-Cognates: High Frequency Can Overcome the Gap

    • Definition: Non-cognates are words with unrelated origins, often with little or no overlap in form despite shared meaning.

      • Example:

        • English-Spanish: bridge → puente.

    • Key Findings for Non-Cognates:

      • High-frequency non-cognates (e.g., bridge → puente) show faster response times due to their frequent use, even without the advantage of shared form.

      • This suggests that bilinguals build stronger conceptual links for frequently encountered translation pairs, compensating for the lack of form similarity.

  21. Sentence Position and Activation Levels

    • Position in a Sentence:

      • Words in the final position of a sentence tend to have stronger priming effects, as they are more likely to remain in the working memory for processing.

      • Example: In reading for translation, the final word in a sentence (e.g., bridge or puente) may be activated more robustly than words earlier in the sentence.