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Recognizing Cognates and Interlingual Homographs: Effects of Code Similarity in Language-Specific and Generalized Lexical Decision

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Recognizing Cognates and Interlingual Homographs: Effects of Code Similarity in Language-Specific and Generalized Lexical Decision Memory & Cognition 2004, 32 (4), 533-550 Recognizing cognates and interlingual homographs: Effects of code similarity in language-specific and generalized lexical decision KRISTIN LEMHÖFER and TON DIJKSTRA University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands In four experiments, we investigated how cross-linguistic overlap in semantics, orthography, and phonology affects bilingual word recognition in different variants of the lexical decision task. Dutch– English bilinguals performed a language-specific or a generalized lexical decision task including words that are spelled and/or pronounced the same in English and in Dutch and that matched one-language con- trol words from both languages. In Experiments 1 and 3, “false friends” with different meanings in the two languages (e.g., spot) were presented, whereas in Experiments 2 and 4 cognates with the same meanings across languages (e.g., film) were presented. The language-specific Experiments 1 and 2 replicated and qualified an earlier study (Dijkstra, Grainger, & Van Heuven, 1999). In the generalized Experiment 3, par- ticipants reacted equally quickly on Dutch–English homographs and Dutch control words, indicating that their response was based primarily on the fastest available orthographic code (i.e., Dutch). In Experi- ment 4, cognates were recognized faster than English and Dutch controls, suggesting coactivation of the cognates’ semantics. The nonword results indicate that the bilingual rejection procedure can, to some ex- tent, be language specific. All results are discussed within the BIAϩ (bilingual interactive activation) model for bilingual word recognition. In a foreign country where an unfamiliar language is nition. Through such words, a wealth of studies in the last spoken, words such as hotel, taxi, and café can often still decade have revealed that during the initial stages of word be recognized because they possess the same or a similar identification by bilinguals, word candidates from several spelling and meaning across languages. Such words are languages are often coactivated (see Dijkstra & Van called cognates. However, there may also be misleading Heuven, 2002, for an overview). In accordance with these words in the foreign language that are identical in spelling results, several word recognition models propose that but different in meaning to words from one’s native lan- bilingual word recognition involves an initial language- guage. These items are called false friends or (noncognate) nonselective access process into an integrated lexicon. interlingual homographs. An example is the word spot, According to the BIAϩ (bilingual interactive activation) which means “mockery” in Dutch. Apart from spelling (or- model (Dijkstra & Van Heuven, 2002), the visual presen- thography) and meaning (semantics), a third code thought tation of a word to a bilingual leads to parallel activation to play a major role in word processing is sound (phonol- of orthographic input representations in the native lan- ogy), which can also be shared between words of different guage (L1) and the second language (L2). These repre- languages. For example, the English word cow is pro- sentations then activate associated semantic and phono- nounced very much like the Dutch word kou (“cold”). logical representations, leading to a complex interaction Items with similar pronunciations across languages are (or resonance process) between codes from which the lex- called interlingual homophones. ical candidate corresponding to the input word emerges Interlingual homographs and cognates have been the and is recognized. most important sources of stimulus materials in studies Furthermore, the BIAϩ model makes predictions about attempting to unravel the process of bilingual word recog- a number of important issues that are still unresolved and debated in the literature. First, with respect to representa- tional issues, it is still unclear exactly how cognates and in- This research was part of a PhD project performed by the first author terlingual homographs are represented in the bilingual within the framework of a MaGW International Comparative Research ϩ project entitled “Lexical Competition in Bilinguals: A Cross-Language lexicon. The BIA model proposes that interlingual ho- Comparison,” granted by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Re- mographs have separate representations for each lan- search to the Nijmegen Institute for Cognition and Information (NICI). guage, whereas it remains possible that cognates have We thank Herbert Schriefers, Marc Brysbaert, Debra Jared, Dominiek shared representations (Dijkstra & Van Heuven, 2002). Sandra, and Heike Martensen for valuable discussions during various stages of this research. Correspondence concerning this article should be This proposal is based on hints in the data from earlier stud- addressed to K. Lemhöfer, NICI, University of Nijmegen, P. O. Box 9104, ies (e.g., Dijkstra, Grainger, & Van Heuven, 1999; Dijk- 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands (e-mail: [email protected]). stra, Van Jaarsveld, & Ten Brinke, 1998), but no solid evi- 533 Copyright 2004 Psychonomic Society, Inc. 534 LEMHÖFER AND DIJKSTRA dence supporting this claim is available. The first aim of cision tasks will provide insight into the effect of varia- the present study is to test the BIAϩ approach to interlin- tions in task demands on bilingual lexical processing. gual homograph and cognate representations. Third, with respect to nonword processing, it is un- Second, with respect to word processing issues, it is known to what extent the similarity of nonwords to words still unclear to what extent the language (non)selectivity from one language or the other affects nonword rejec- of result patterns is task dependent. To test the general- tion times and error rates. How nonwords resembling ity of the language-nonselective access hypothesis and words in one or the other language are rejected can, in the dependence of lexical retrieval on task demands, we turn, inform theories on the structure of the bilingual need cross-task comparisons using identical stimulus lexicon. However, no currently available bilingual model materials. According to the BIAϩ model, the activation of makes any predictions about the nonword rejection pro- various lexical representations is constantly monitored by cedure in lexical decision. The third aim of the present a task/decision system that subserves task execution and study is to collect evidence on nonword rejection in bilin- decision making (see Green, 1998). The task/decision guals and specify the BIAϩ model with respect to this system systematically uses the activation pattern in the mechanism. word identification system to optimize responding. The Below, when the experiments of the present study are BIAϩ model predicts that different tasks will lead to sys- described, the predictions of the BIAϩ model with re- tematically different response patterns, because respond- spect to representational issues, task demands, and non- ing can occur at different moments in time and can be word processing will be considered in more detail. How- based on different information sources. ever, we will first present an overview of studies examining This point can be clarified by the following example. In the role of orthographic, phonological, and semantic over- an English language-specific lexical decision task, partic- lap in the processing of interlingual homographs and ho- ipants must respond “yes” to English words and “no” to mophones in word recognition tasks such as lexical de- nonwords and words from languages other than English cision and perceptual identification. The predictions of (if any). In contrast, in a Dutch–English generalized lexi- BIAϩ are based on these studies. Next, we will focus on cal decision task, bilinguals respond “yes” to words from the present study by reviewing the earlier study by Dijk- either of their two languages and “no” to items that are stra et al. (1999) and our intended variations in task de- nonwords in both of them. According to BIAϩ, the result mands. Finally, we will consider our nonword manipu- patterns for interlingual homographs and cognates will lations and indicate in detail how we manipulated their differ for the two tasks. For Dutch bilinguals performing resemblance to words from the two target languages. the English language-specific lexical decision task, the L2 (English) target reading of an interlingual homograph The Orthographic Representation of Cognates will become active relatively late. This allows the L1 and Interlingual Homographs (Dutch) reading to affect target processing. In the gener- Studies involving stimulus words with the same spelling alized lexical decision task, however, bilinguals can re- in two languages can be distinguished according to whether spond to the first reading of the homograph they identify. the items were (homographic) cognates (also having se- Because this will often be their L1 reading, the cross- mantic overlap across languages) or interlingual homo- linguistic effect (measured relative to Dutch controls) graphs (having different meanings across languages). should be considerably smaller. The second aim of the Many studies have shown that homographic cognates present study is to test this view on task demands for such as film in English and Dutch are processed faster these two variants of the lexical decision task. than one-language control words during lexical decision We will first replicate and extend an earlier study in- in L2 (Caramazza & Brones, 1979; Cristoffanini,
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