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The influence of sentence context and accented speech on lexical access in second-language auditory word recognition*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 September 2012

EVELYNE LAGROU ,
ROBERT J. HARTSUIKER  and
WOUTER DUYCK
EVELYNE LAGROU*
Affiliation:
Ghent University
ROBERT J. HARTSUIKER
Affiliation:
Ghent University
WOUTER DUYCK
Affiliation:
Ghent University
*
Address for correspondence: Evelyne Lagrou, Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium[email protected]
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Abstract

Until now, research on bilingual auditory word recognition has been scarce, and although most studies agree that lexical access is language-nonselective, there is less consensus with respect to the influence of potentially constraining factors. The present study investigated the influence of three possible constraints. We tested whether language nonselectivity is restricted by (a) a sentence context in a second language (L2), (b) the semantic constraint of the sentence, and (c) the native language of the speaker. Dutch–English bilinguals completed an English auditory lexical decision task on the last word of low- and high-constraining sentences. Sentences were pronounced by a native Dutch speaker with English as the L2, or by a native English speaker with Dutch as the L2. Interlingual homophones (e.g., lief “sweet” – leaf /liːf/) were always recognized more slowly than control words. The semantic constraint of the sentence and the native accent of the speaker modulated, but did not eliminate interlingual homophone effects. These results are discussed within language-nonselective models of lexical access in bilingual auditory word recognition.

Keywords

bilingualismsentence contextaccented speechauditory word recognition
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , July 2013 , pp. 508 - 517
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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Footnotes

*

This research was made possible by the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO) of which Evelyne Lagrou is a research fellow.

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