Presentations

Abstract

When a word is similar in orthography and meaning between the two languages of a bilingual, i.e., when it is a cognate, its recognition is generally facilitated compared to matched control words [1]. There have been contrasting views in the literature on how to explain this facilitation effect for completely identical cognates, such as FILM for Dutch and English [2][3]. Do identical cognates have one or two orthographic representations in the bilingual brain? To answer this question, we selected four groups of cognates with either a low or high frequency in the first and/or second language of French-English bilinguals and matched them with English control words. The bilinguals performed an English lexical decision task while their RTs and ERPs were recorded. The behavioral data showed facilitatory effects of cognate status and English L2 frequency. Further analysis of the identical cognates revealed significant main effects of both English and French frequency. Cognate facilitation was larger for cognates with a low English frequency compared to cognates with a high English frequency. The electrophysiological data showed a decreased negativity for cognates compared to control words in the N400 time-window. Those effects were more prominent for low-frequency English cognates than for high-frequency English cognates. Interestingly, for cognates with a low English frequency and a high French frequency, an effect was found in an early time-window (100-150 ms after stimulus onset). These results shed light on the representation of identical cognates in the bilingual brain and question the representational locus of word frequency effects. [1] DIJKSTRA, T., MIWA, K., BRUMMELHUIS, B., SAPPELLI, M., & BAAYEN, H. (2010). How cross-language similarity and task demands affect cognate recognition. Journal of Memory and Language, 62, p. 284-301. [2] VOGA, M., & GRAINGER, J., (2007). Cognate status and cross-script translation priming. Memory & Cognition, 35 (5), p. 938-952. [3] DIJKSTRA, A., & VAN HEUVEN, W.J.B. (2002). The architecture of the bilingual word recognition system: From identification to decision. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 5, p. 175-197.

Abstract

Across the languages of a bilingual, translation equivalents can have the same orthographic form and shared meaning (e.g., TABLE in French and English). How such words, called identical cognates, are processed and represented in the bilingual brain is not well understood. I will present a study of late French-English bilinguals who processed identical cognates and control words in an L2 (English) lexical decision task. Both behavioral and electrophysiological data were collected. Reaction times to identical cognates were shorter than for non-cognate controls and depended on both English and French frequency. Cognates with a low English frequency showed a larger cognate advantage than those with a high English frequency. In addition, N400 amplitude was found to be sensitive to cognate status and both the English and French frequency of the cognate words. Theoretical consequences for the processing and representation of identical cognates are discussed.