Shaving Bridges and Tuning Kitaraa: The Effect of Language Switching on Semantic Processing
نویسندگان
چکیده
Language switching has been repeatedly found to be costly. Yet, there are reasons to believe that switches in language might benefit language comprehension in some groups of people, such as less proficient language learners. This study therefore investigated the interplay between language switching and semantic processing in groups with varying language proficiency. EEG was recorded while L2 learners of English with intermediate and high proficiency levels read semantically congruent or incongruent sentences in L2. Translations of congruent and incongruent target words were additionally presented in L1 to create intrasentential language switches. A control group of English native speakers was tested in order to compare responses to non-switched stimuli with those of L2 learners. An omnibus ANOVA including all groups revealed larger N400 responses for non-switched incongruent stimuli compared to congruent stimuli. Additionally, despite switches to L1 at target word position, semantic N400 responses were still elicited in both L2 learner groups. Further switching effects were reflected by an N400-like effect and a late positivity complex, pointing to possible parsing efforts after language switches. Our results therefore show that although language switches are associated with increased mental effort, switches may not necessarily be costly on the semantic level. This finding contributes to the ongoing discussion on language inhibition processes, and shows that, in these intermediate and high proficient L2 learners, semantic processes look similar to those of native speakers of English.
منابع مشابه
Semantic Priming Effect on Relative Clause Attachment Ambiguity Resolution in L2
This study examined whether processing ambiguous sentences containing relative clauses (RCs) following a complex determiner phrase (DP) by Persian-speaking learners of L2 English with different proficiency and working memory capacities (WMCs) is affected by semantic priming. The semantic relationship studied was one between the subject/verb of the main clause and one of the DPs in the complex D...
متن کاملFirst Language Activation during Second Language Lexical Processing in a Sentential Context
Lexicalization-patterns, the way words are mapped onto concepts, differ from one language to another. This study investigated the influence of first language (L1) lexicalization patterns on the processing of second language (L2) words in sentential contexts by both less proficient and more proficient Persian learners of English. The focus was on cases where two different senses of a polys...
متن کاملبررسی روانی واجی و روانی معنایی در سالمندان سالم فارسیزبان
Objectives: Cognitive deficits and language disorders such as difficulty in recalling certain words are common among the elderly people. Verbal fluency as an index of word finding is one of the first cognitive functions that decline due to aging.-Considering the lack of norms of verbal fluency in normal elderly Persian-speakers, the purpose of this research was to determine verbal fluency perfo...
متن کاملSemantic Processing Ability in Persian-Speaking Alzheimer’s Patients
Objectives: This paper aims to explore whether the Persian-speaking patients of different stages, ranging from mild to moderate, have a deficit in semantic processing by comparing the performance of Alzheimer’s patients with that of the healthy individuals. Methods: The subjects of both the groups of Alzheimer’s patients and healthy control were matched for age, the state of monoli...
متن کامل