The effect of word type on lexical and conceptual representations in bilingual memory

Abstract

AbstractThree experiments using a priming paradigm were conducted to examine the characteristics of memory structures in bilingual (Japanese and English) memory. In Experiments 1 and 2, within- and cross-language repetition and semantic priming effects were compared. In Experiment 1, Japanese foreign loan words (in Katakana) and English words were presented as the materials. Repetition priming effects were obtained in both within- and cross-language conditions; however, a semantic priming effect was shown only in the within-language conditions but not in the cross-language conditions. In Experiment 2, Japanese Kanji words and English words were employed as the materials. Neither repetition nor semantic priming effects were shown in the cross-language condition of English-prime/Kanji-target but in the other three conditions both repetition and semantic priming effects were demonstrated. In Experiment 3; a within-language semantic priming effect was examined with Japanese foreign loan words (in Katakana) an...