Correlates and Cross-Linguistic Comparisons of Informativeness and Efficiency on Nicholas and Brookshire Discourse Stimuli in Spanish/English Bilingual Adults

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine (a) correlates of informativeness and efficiency in discourse and (b) potential cross-linguistic and stimulus type (picture vs. nonpicture) differences in measures of informativeness and efficiency in Spanish/English bilingual adults in the United States. Eighty-eight Spanish/English young bilingual adults who self-reported being functional in both languages completed the discourse tasks from Nicholas and Brookshire (1993). Responses were analyzed with an adapted version of the scoring system that is based on correct information units (CIUs), the variable corresponding to informative words. Regression analyses showed that among participant-provided data, self-ratings of proficiency accounted for most of the variance in informativeness over time (CIUs/min), although usage was also important in Spanish. When naming accuracy was added as a variable, verb-naming accuracy superseded all variables as accounting for the most variance in CIUs/min across languages. Overall, participants provided more information more efficiently in English as compared to Spanish. The results provide preliminary evidence that Nicholas and Brookshire stimuli and scoring procedures may be appropriate for Spanish/English bilinguals and suggest that self-ratings and usage information collected from participants, as well as naming accuracies, may be predictive of informativeness and efficiency in discourse.