Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T08:36:33.315Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Processing of inflected nouns in late bilinguals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 January 2007

MARJA PORTIN ,
MINNA LEHTONEN  and
MATTI LAINE
MARJA PORTIN
Affiliation:
Åbo Akademi University
MINNA LEHTONEN
Affiliation:
Åbo Akademi University
MATTI LAINE
Affiliation:
Åbo Akademi University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study investigated the recognition of Swedish inflected nouns in two participant groups. Both groups were Finnish-speaking late learners of Swedish, but the groups differed in regard to their Swedish language proficiency. In a visual lexical decision task, inflected Swedish nouns from three frequency ranges were contrasted with corresponding monomorphemic nouns. The reaction times and error rates suggested morphological decomposition for low-frequency inflected words. Yet, both medium- and high-frequency inflected words appeared to possess full-form representations. Despite an overall advantage for the more proficient participants, this pattern was present in both groups. The results indicate that even late exposure to a language can yield such input representations for morphologically complex words that are typical of native speakers.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , January 2007 , pp. 135 - 156
Copyright
© 2007 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahlsén E. 1994. Cognitive morphology in Swedish: Studies with normals and aphasics. Nordic Journal of Linguistics, 17, 61– 73.Google Scholar
Alegre M., & Gordon P. 1999. Frequency effects and the representational status of regular inflections. Journal of Memory and Language, 40, 41– 61.Google Scholar
Bertram R. 2000. Morphology in the mind. Word processing in Finnish and Dutch. PhD Dissertation, University of Turku.
Bertram R., Laine M., & Karvinen K. 1999. The interplay of word formation type, affix homonymy, and productivity in lexical processing: Evidence from a morphologically rich language. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 28, 213– 226.Google Scholar
Bertram R., Schreuder R., & Baayen H. 2000. The balance of storage and computation in morphological processing: The role of word formation type, affixal homonymy, and productivity. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 26, 489– 511.Google Scholar
Butterworth B. 1983. Lexical representation. In B. Butterworth (Ed.), Language production 2. London: Academic Press.
Caramazza A., Laudanna A., & Romani C. 1988. Lexical access and inflectional morphology. Cognition, 28, 297– 332.Google Scholar
Clahsen H., Hadler M., & Weyerts H. 2004. Speeded production of inflected words in children and adults. Journal of Child Language, 31, 683– 712.Google Scholar
Durgunoğlu A. Y., & Hancin B. J. 1992. An overview of cross-language transfer in bilingual reading. In R. J. Harris (Ed.), Cognitive processing in bilinguals. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Frauenfelder U., & Schreuder R. 1992. Constraining psycholinguistic models of morphological processing and representation: The role of productivity. In G. Booij, & J. van Marle (Eds.), Yearbook of morphology 1991. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Gardner M. K., Rothkopf E. Z., Lapan R., & Lafferty T. 1987. The word frequency effect in lexical decision: Finding a frequency-based component. Memory and Cognition, 15, 24– 28.Google Scholar
Green D. W. 2003. The neural basis of the lexicon and the grammar in L2 acquisition. In R. van Hout, A. Hulk, F. Kuiken, & R. J. Towell (Eds.), The lexicon–syntax interface in second language acquisition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Grosjean F. 1998. Studying bilinguals: Methodological and conceptual issues. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 1, 131– 149.Google Scholar
Hancin-Bhatt B., & Nagy W. E. 1994. Lexical transfer and second language morphological development. Applied Psycholinguistics, 15, 289– 310.Google Scholar
Hankamer J. 1989. Morphological parsing and the lexicon. In W. D. Marslen-Wilson (Ed.), Lexical representation and process. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Harley B., & Wang W. 1997. The critical period hypothesis: Where are we now? In A. M. B. de Groot, & J. F. Kroll (Eds.), Tutorials in bilingualism. Psycholinguistic perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Hyönä J., Laine M., & Niemi J. 1995. Effects of a word's morphological complexity on readers' eye fixation patterns. In J. M. Findlay, R. W. Kentridge, & R. Walker (Eds.), Eye movement research: Mechanisms, processes and applications. Amsterdam: North-Holland.
Johnson J., & Newport E. L. 1989. Critical period effects in second language learning: The influences of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language. Cognitive Psychology, 21, 60– 99.Google Scholar
Karlsson F. 1983. Suomen kielen äänne-ja muotorakenne [The phonological and morphological structure of Finnish]. Juva: Werner Söderström.
Kilborn K. 1994. Learning a language late: Second language acquisition in adults. In M. A. Gernsbacher (Ed.), Handbook of psycholinguistics. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Laine M., Niemi J., Koivuselkä-Sallinen P., Ahlsén E., & Hyönä J. 1994. A neurolinguistic analysis of morphological deficits in a Finnish–Swedish bilingual aphasic. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 8, 177– 200.Google Scholar
Laine M., Vainio S., & Hyönä J. 1999. Lexical access routes to nouns in a morphologically rich language. Journal of Memory and Language, 40, 109– 135.Google Scholar
Laine M., & Virtanen P. 1999. WordMill Lexical Search Program. Turku, Finland: University of Turku, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience.
Lehtonen M., & Laine M. 2003. How word frequency affects morphological processing in monolinguals and bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 6, 213– 225.Google Scholar
Lehtonen M., Niska H., Wande E., Niemi J., & Laine M. 2006. Recognition of inflected words in a morphologically limited language: Frequency effects in monolinguals and bilinguals. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 35, 121– 146.Google Scholar
Lowie W. 2000. Cross-linguistic influence on morphology in the bilingual mental lexicon. Studia Linguistica, 54, 175– 185.Google Scholar
MacWhinney B. 1992. Transfer and competition in second language learning. In R. J. Harris (Ed.), Cognitive processing in bilinguals. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
MacWhinney B. 2005. A unified model of language acquisition. In J. F. Kroll, & A. M. B. de Groot (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mayo L., Florentine M., & Buus S. 1997. Age of second-language acquisition and perception of speech in noise. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 40, 686– 693.Google Scholar
Niemi J., Laine M., & Tuominen J. 1994. Cognitive morphology in Finnish: Foundations of a new model. Language and Cognitive Processes, 3, 423– 446.Google Scholar
Pinker S. 1999. Word nerds. In S. Pinker (Ed.), Words and rules: The ingredients of language. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
Portin M., & Laine M. 2001. Processing cost associated with inflectional morphology in bilingual speakers. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 4, 55– 62.Google Scholar
Raab D. H. 1962. Statistical facilitation of simple reaction time. Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, 24, 574– 590.Google Scholar
Ransdell S. E., & Fischler I. 1987. Memory in a monolingual mode: When are bilinguals at a disadvantage? Journal of Memory and Language, 26, 392– 405.Google Scholar
Rayner K. 1998. Eye movements in reading and information processing: 20 years of research. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 372– 422.Google Scholar
Schreuder R., & Baayen R. H. 1995. Modelling morphological processing. In L. B. Feldman (Ed.), Morphological aspects of language processing. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Taft M. 1994. Interactive–activation as a framework for understanding morphological processing. Language and Cognitive Processes, 9, 271– 294.Google Scholar
Taft M. 1979. Recognition of affixed words and the word frequency effect. Memory and Cognition, 7, 263– 272.Google Scholar
Taft M., & Forster K. 1975. Lexical storage and retrieval of prefixed words. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 14, 638– 647.Google Scholar
Tyler A., & Nagy W. 1989. The acquisition of English derivational morphology. Journal of Memory and Language, 28, 649– 667.Google Scholar
Yeni-Komshian G. H., Flege J. E., & Liu S. 2000. Pronunciation proficiency in the first and second languages of Korean–English bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 3, 131– 149.Google Scholar