Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Bilinguals Show Weaker Lexical Access During Spoken Sentence Comprehension

  • Published:
Journal of Psycholinguistic Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

When bilinguals process written language, they show delays in accessing lexical items relative to monolinguals. The present study investigated whether this effect extended to spoken language comprehension, examining the processing of sentences with either low or high semantic constraint in both first and second languages. English-German bilinguals, German-English bilinguals and English monolinguals listened for target words in spoken English sentences while their eye-movements were recorded. Bilinguals’ eye-movements reflected weaker lexical access relative to monolinguals; furthermore, the effect of semantic constraint differed across first versus second language processing. Specifically, English-native bilinguals showed fewer overall looks to target items, regardless of sentence constraint; German-native bilinguals activated target items more slowly and maintained target activation over a longer period of time in the low-constraint condition compared with monolinguals. No eye movements to cross-linguistic competitors were observed, suggesting that these lexical access disadvantages were present during bilingual spoken sentence comprehension even in the absence of overt interlingual competition.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. PPVT data were not available for 3 of the 15 English monolinguals; thus, the ANOVA included 15 English-German bilinguals, 15 German-English bilinguals, and 12 English monolinguals.

  2. Target words were evenly split between cognates (pills, German Pilz) and non-cognates (pickle, German Essiggurke). Additionally, cognate and non-cognate items were paired based on initial phonological overlap (i.e., cognate pills and non-cognate pin) to ensure that differences across cognate/non-cognate conditions were not due to differences in familiarity with specific phonemes. No effect of cognate status on any of our measures of interest was observed (all \(p\hbox {s}>0.05)\), potentially due to the overall lack of significant cross-language activation (see below) and consistent with previous findings by Gollan et al. (2011). Therefore, the cognate and non-cognate conditions were collapsed in the final analyses.

  3. A significant three-way Group x Condition x Constraint interaction was found at the quadratic term (Est. \(=\) 0.162, SE \(=\) 0.075, \(p<\) 0.05). Analyses within condition showed a significant Group x Condition interaction was limited to the Low Constraint condition (Est. \(= -\)0.121, SE \(=\) 0.054, \(p<\) 0.05).

References

  • Anderson, J. R. (1974). Retrieval of propositional information from long-term memory. Cognitive Psychology, 6, 451–474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blumenfeld, H., & Marian, V. (2007). Constraints on parallel activation in bilingual spoken language processing: Examining proficiency and lexical status using eye-tracking. Language and Cognitive Processes, 22(5), 633–660. doi:10.1080/01690960601000746.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blumenfeld, H., & Marian, V. (2011). Bilingualism influences inhibitory control in auditory comprehension. Cognition, 118(2), 245–257.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bradlow, A. R., & Alexander, J. A. (2007). Semantic and phonetic enhancements for speech-in-noise recognition by native and non-native listeners. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 121(4), 2339–2349.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brysbaert, M., Buchmeier, M., Conrad, M., Jacobs, A. M., Bölte, J., & Böhl, A. (2011). The word frequency effect: A review of recent developments and implications for the choice of frequency estimates in German. Experimental Psychology, 58, 412–424.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brysbaert, M., & New, B. (2009). Moving beyond Kucera and Francis: A critical evaluation of current word frequency norms and the introduction of a new and improved word frequency measure for American English. Behavior Research Methods, 41(4), 977–990. doi:10.3758/BRM.41.4.977.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers, C. G., & Cooke, H. (2009). Lexical competition during second-language listening: Sentence context, but not proficiency, constrains interference from the native lexicon. Cognition, 35(4), 1029–1040. doi:10.1037/a0015901.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho, T., McQueen, J. M., & Cox, E. A. (2007). Prosodically driven phonetic detail in speech processing: The case of domain-initial strengthening in English. Journal of Phonetics, 35(2), 210–243. doi:10.1016/j.wocn.2006.03.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, D. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1997). Peabody picture vocabulary test (3rd ed.). Circle Pine, MN: American Guidance Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duyck, W., Van Assche, E., Drieghe, D., & Hartsuiker, R. J. (2007). Visual word recognition by bilinguals in a sentence context: Evidence for nonselective lexical access. Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition, 33(4), 663–679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duyck, W., Vanderelst, D., Desmet, T., & Hartsuiker, R. J. (2008). The frequency effect in second-language visual word recognition. Psychonomic Bulletin Review, 15(4), 850–855. doi:10.3758/PBR.15.4.850.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Flege, J. (1995). Second-language speech learning: Theory, findings, and problems. In W. Strange (Ed.), Speech perception and linguistic experience: Issues in cross-language research. Timonium, MD: York Press.

  • Flege, J., Bohn, O. S., & Jang, S. (1997). Effects of experience on non-native speakers’ production and perception of English vowels. Journal of Phonetics, 25, 437–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gollan, T. H., Montoya, R. I., Cera, C., & Sandoval, T. C. (2008). More use almost always a means a smaller frequency effect: Aging, bilingualism, and the weaker links hypothesis. Journal of Memory and Language, 58(3), 787–814. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2007.07.001.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gollan, T. H., Slattery, T. J., Goldenberg, D., Van Assche, E., Duyck, W., & Rayner, K. (2011). Frequency drives lexical access in reading but not in speaking: The frequency-lag hypothesis. Journal of Experimental Psychology General, 140(2), 186–209.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia Lecumberri, M. L., Cooke, M., & Cutler, A. (2010). Non-native speech perception in adverse conditions. Speech Communication, 52(11–12), 864–886.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huettig, F., & McQueen, J. M. (2007). The tug of war between phonological, semantic and shape information in language-mediated visual search. Journal of Memory and Language, 57(4), 460–482. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2007.02.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ivanova, I., & Costa, A. (2008). Does bilingualism hamper lexical access in speech production? Acta Psychologica, 127(2), 277–88. doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2007.06.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ju, M., & Luce, P. A. (2004). Falling on sensitive ears: Constraints on bilingual lexical activation. Psychological Science, 15(5), 314–318.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kohnert, K. J., Hernandez, A. E., & Bates, E. (1998). Bilingual performance on the boston naming test: Preliminary norms in Spanish and English. Brain and Language, 65(3), 422–440.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lagrou, E., Hartsuiker, R. J., & Duyck, W. (2011). Knowledge of a second language influences auditory word recognition in the native language. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 37(4), 952–965.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lagrou, E., Hartsuiker, R. J., & Duyck, W. (2013a). The influence of sentence context and accented speech on lexical access in second-language auditory word recognition. Bilingualism: Language & Cognition, 16(3), 508–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lagrou, E., Hartsuiker, R. J., & Duyck, W. (2013b). Interlingual competition in a spoken sentence context: Evidence from the visual world paradigm. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 20, 963–972.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Libben, M. R., & Titone, D. A. (2009). Bilingual lexical access in context: Evidence from eye movements during reading. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 35(2), 381–390. doi:10.1037/a0014875.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magnuson, J. S., Dixon, J. A., Tanenhaus, M. K., & Aslin, R. N. (2007). The dynamics of lexical competition during spoken word recognition. Cognitive Science, 31(1), 133–156. doi:10.1080/03640210709336987.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Marian, V., Blumenfeld, H. K., & Kaushanskaya, M. (2007). The language experience and proficiency questionnaire (LEAP-Q). Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, 50(4), 940–967.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marian, V., & Spivey, M. (2003a). Competing activation in bilingual language processing: Within- and between-language competition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 6(2), 97–115. doi:10.1017/S1366728903001068.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marian, V., & Spivey, M. (2003b). Bilingual and monolingual processing of competing lexical items. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24(02), 173–193. doi:10.1017/S0142716403000092.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, C. D., Costa, A., Dering, B., Hoshino, N., Wu, Y. J., & Thierry, G. (2011). Effects of speed of word processing on semantic access. Brain and Language, 120(1), 61–65. doi:10.1016/j.bandl.2011.10.003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mirman, D., Dixon, J. A., & Magnuson, J. S. (2008). Statistical and computational models of the visual world paradigm: Growth curves and individual differences. Journal of Memory and Language, 59(4), 475–494. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2007.11.006.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Navarra, J., Sebastián-Gallés, N., & Soto-Faraco, S. (2005). The perception of second language sounds in early bilinguals. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 31(5), 912–918.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pavlenko, A. (2000). L2 influence on L1 in late bilingualism. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 11(2), 175–205.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, A. I., & Kroll, J. F. (2006). Bilingual lexical activation in sentence context. Journal of Memory and Language, 55(2), 197–212. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2006.03.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Titone, D., Libben, M., Mercier, J., Whitford, V., & Pivneva, I. (2011). Bilingual lexical access during L1 sentence reading: The effects of L2 knowledge, semantic constraint, and L1–L2 intermixing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 37(6), 1412–31. doi:10.1037/a0024492.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Hell, J. G., & De Groot, A. M. B. (2008). Sentence context modulates visual word recognition and translation in bilinguals. Acta Psychologica, 128(3), 431–451.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, A., & Cutler, A. (2004). Lexical competition in non-native spoken-word recognition. Journal of Memory and Language, 50(1), 1–25. doi:10.1016/S0749-596X(03)00105-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA

    Anthony Shook & Viorica Marian

  2. Department of Linguistics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Matthew Goldrick & Caroline Engstler

Authors
  1. Anthony Shook
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Matthew Goldrick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Caroline Engstler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Viorica Marian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anthony Shook.

Additional information

This research was supported in part by NIH Grant RO1 HD059858 to Viorica Marian and a Northwestern University Cognitive Science Advanced Fellowship to Caroline Engstler. The authors would like to thank Daniel Mirman for analysis advice, Henrike Blumenfeld for providing part of the stimuli used in this study, Jeremy Callner for help with stimulus design and data analysis, Zahra Ali and Emily Hudepohl for data coding, and the members of the Bilingualism and Psycholinguistics Research Group and the Northwestern University Sound Lab for helpful suggestions at various stages of this research.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shook, A., Goldrick, M., Engstler, C. et al. Bilinguals Show Weaker Lexical Access During Spoken Sentence Comprehension. J Psycholinguist Res 44, 789–802 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-014-9322-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-014-9322-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation