Abstract
A selected set of professional concepts was subjected to analysis through two separate multidimensional scaling techniques, the INDSCAL and TORSCA models, to evaluate the intergroup perceptual differences of four experimental groups, made up of unilingual French, unilingual English and bilingual students. The linguistic relativism thesis provided the research hypotheses on the relationship between language access and usage and concept perception. The multidimensional scaling techniques were applied to the matrix of subjects' similarity judgments on pairs of concepts, thus enabling the identification of three dimensions. The dimensions were labelled as conjunctive, relational and disjunctive, and were assumed to be related to the criteria employed by the subjects in their similarity rankings. An analysis of variance of the individual saliences on each dimension provided evidence of linguistic relativism for both the relational and disjunctive dimensions. These findings support the contention that unilingual speakers of separate languages differ from each other and from bilingual speakers in their perception of professional concepts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Balkan, L.Les effects du bilinguisme Francais-Anglais sur les aptitudes intellectuelles. Bruxelles: Aimav, 1970.
Belkaoui, A. Linguistic relativity in accounting.Accounting, Organizations and Society, 1978,3(2), 97–104.
Belkaoui, A. The impact of socioeconomic accounting statements on the investment decision: An empirical study.Accounting, Organizations and Society, 5(3), 263–283.
Belkaoui, A.Accounting theory. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich, 1981(a).
Belkaoui, A.Theorie comptable. Quebec City: Presses de l'Universite du Quebec, 1981(b).
Brown, R. W., & Lenneberg, E. H. A study in language and cognition.Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1954, 454–462.
Carol, J. B. & Casagrande, J. B. The functions of language classification in behavior. In E. E. Maccoby, T. M. Newcomb, & E. L. Hartley (Eds.),Readings in social psychology (3rd. ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1958.
Caroll, J. D., & Chang, J. J. Analysis of individual differences in multidimensional scaling viaN-way generalization of “Eckart-Young” Decomposition.Psychometrika, 1970,35, 238–319.
Casserly, M. C., & Edwards, A. P.Detrimental effects of grade one bilingualism programs: An exploratory study. Paper Presented to the Annual Conference of the Canadian Psychological Association, 1973.
Erwin-Tripp, S. Sociolinguistics. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.),Advances in experimental social psychology. New York: Academic Press, 1969, pp. 91–165.
Fishman, J. A. A systematization of the Whorfian Hypothesis.Behavioral Science, 1960, 323–335.
Hoijer, H. Cultural implications of the Navaho linguistic categories.Language, 1951, 111–120.
Hunt, D. E., & Hovland, C. I. Order of consideration of different types of concepts.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1960, 220–225.
Kittell, J. E. Intelligence test performance of children from bilingual environments.Elementary School Journal, 1963,64.
Lambert, W. E. & Tucker, G. R. The benefits of bilingualism.Psychology Today, September 1973.
Landry, R. G. A comparison of second language learners and monolinguals on diverging thinking tasks at the elementary school level.Modern Language Jorunal, 1974, 58.
Lantz, D. L. Language and cognition revisited.Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1953, 454–462.
Lenneberg, E. H. Cognitions in ethnolinguistics.Language, 1973, 463–471.
Liedke, W. W. & Nelson, L. D. Concept formation and bilingualism.Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 1968,4.
McDavid, J. W. & Harari, H.Psychology and social bhavior. New York: Harper and Row, 1974.
Peal, E. & Lambert, W. The relationship of bilingualism to intelligence.Psychological Monographs, 1962,76.
Sapir, E.Culture, language and personality: Selected essays. D. G. Mandelbaum (Ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press, 1956.
Schmidt, W. H. O.Child development: The human, cultural and educational context. New York: Harper and Row, 1973.
Whorf, B. L.Language, thought and reality: Selected writings. J. B. Caroll (ed.), Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Press, 1956.
Young, F. W. TORSCA-9: An IBM 360/75 FORTRAN IV program for nojmetric multidimensional scaling.Journal of Marketing Research, 1968, 319–320.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Monti-Belkaoui, J., Belkaoui, A. Bilingualism and the perception of professional concepts. J Psycholinguist Res 12, 111–127 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01067407
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01067407