Lexical Decision and Word Naming in Bilinguals: Language Effects and Task Effects

Abstract

We studied effects of 18 variables on Dutch and English lexical decision, standard word naming, and delayed word naming performed by Dutch-English bilinguals. The stimuli were 440 Dutch nouns and their English translations. In lexical decision in both languages the frequency variables were the most important predictors and the semantic variables also played a role. In addition, English lexical decision was affected by length. In contrast, onset structure was the most important predictor in Dutch naming, and it was also relatively important in English naming. In Dutch and English standard naming, word length and the intensity of the onset were also important variables and the word's neighborhood also played a role. The meaning variables affected performance in English naming but not in Dutch naming. These results are discussed in terms of differences in (1) task requirements, (2) orthographic depth, and (3) our participants' language proficiency in Dutch and English.