L1 Word Order Priming in L2 to L1 Translations

Abstract

This study investigated possible factors influencing L2 to L1 translation by Korean learners of English, employing a translation task. The translation task used in this study was adapted from a structural priming paradigm, where participants read Korean (L1) prime sentences and translated English (L2) target sentences into Korean using dative constructions. The experiment was designed to examine what sort of priming occurs in L2 to L1 translations. Results showed that L2 speakers tended to use canonical L1 word order in L2 to L1 translations, suggesting the canonicity of L1 word order played a critical role in translation and that the frequency of exposure to a certain structure in L2 affected the way L2 speakers translate into L1. Also, importantly, when L1 Korean speakers translated L2 English to Korean, L1 word order priming was found to be significant. This study provides novel insights into L2?L1translations by considering factors affecting translations such as word order, frequency of structures in L1 and L2, and previous utterances through an adapted structural priming paradigm.