Abstract
A growing body of research on bilingual word recognition suggests that lexical access is language non-selective in nature. This claim aligns with the Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) approach to (multilingual) language acquisition, according to which complex systems involve a large number of elements that interact. In language learners, these interactions lead to the creation and dissolution of patterns as the tasks and environments around them change. In this study, we extend the scope from previous research on word recognition to include the role immersion plays on the transfer of grapho(-phonic)-phonological patterns among (Brazilian Portuguese–French–English) trilinguals. Two groups of participants—one group living in their L1 environment and the other in an L2 setting—were presented with a primed lexical decision task. Besides revealing a high impact of L2 immersion on the processing of grapho(-phonic)-phonological related primes, our results provide further support for the notion of language non-selective access to the lexicon, which seems to generalize to trilingual word recognition. Implications for the DST view of multiple language acquisition are briefly discussed.
Highlights
Priming can be described as the activation, by means of a stimulus, of a given representation or association in memory just before an ensuing action or task is carried out
In the present paper, we argue that the study of lexical access should be undertaken from a dynamic approach, as will be explained, all the more so when dealing with multilinguals
The contrast is larger for Group 2, which is the group living in Canada, than for Group 1, which is the group living in Brazil, both differences turned out to be significant (Z = −6.391, p < 0.001 in the case of Group 2, and Z = −2.961, p < 0.005 in the case of Group 1)
Summary
Priming can be described as the activation, by means of a stimulus, (of parts) of a given representation or association in memory just before an ensuing action or task is carried out. Different types of stimuli (primes), such as words, images, or sounds, can be employed in any given priming task in order to trigger an effect on the participants’ processing of the same or a related stimulus (target). The logic behind such a task is that the target will be more readily accessible (and participants will respond faster) if it shares some characteristics with the prime (Busnello 2007; Dijkstra et al 2000; Tokowicz 2000). Primes can lead to a slowing in performance, that is, to “negative
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