Japanese-English Bilinguals Research Articles

Editorial: Bridging Reading Aloud and Speech Production.

Editorial: Bridging Reading Aloud and Speech Production.

The Emergence of a Phoneme-Sized Unit in L2 Speech Production: Evidence from Japanese-English Bilinguals.

Recent research has revealed that the way phonology is constructed during word production differs across languages. Dutch and English native speakers are suggested to incrementally insert phonemes into a metrical frame, whereas Mandarin Chinese speakers use syllables and Japanese speakers use a unit called the mora (often a CV cluster such as “ka” or “ki”). The present study is concerned with the question how bilinguals construct phonology in their L2 when the phonological unit size differs from the unit in their L1. Japanese–English bilinguals of varying proficiency read aloud English words preceded by masked primes that overlapped in just the onset (e.g., bark-BENCH) or the onset plus vowel corresponding to the mora-sized unit (e.g., bell-BENCH). Low-proficient Japanese–English bilinguals showed CV priming but did not show onset priming, indicating that they use their L1 phonological unit when reading L2 English words. In contrast, high-proficient Japanese–English bilinguals showed significant onset priming. The size of the onset priming effect was correlated with the length of time spent in English-speaking countries, which suggests that extensive exposure to L2 phonology may play a key role in the emergence of a language-specific phonological unit in L2 word production.

Cross-script L2-L1 noncognate translation priming in lexical decision depends on L2 proficiency: Evidence from Japanese–English bilinguals

Previous research with unbalanced, different-script bilinguals has typically produced null L2-L1 noncognate masked translation priming effects in lexical decision tasks (LDT). Two novel models of the bilingual mental lexicon have emerged to account for these null results: the episodic L2 hypothesis and the Sense model. In contrast, the BIA+ model predicts significant priming whenever bilinguals are sufficiently proficient in L2. Using Japanese–English bilinguals, the role of L2 proficiency in L2-L1 noncognate translation priming in an LDT was examined. In Experiments 1 and 2, significant priming effects were observed for highly proficient bilinguals. In contrast, in Experiment 3, less-proficient bilinguals produced a null priming effect. This pattern demonstrates that L2-L1 priming effects do arise in an LDT and those effects are modulated by L2 proficiency, consistent with the BIA+ model's expectations. The pattern can be also explained by the episodic L2 hypothesis, provided that certain modifications are made to its assumptions.

Non-cognate translation priming effects in the same–different task: evidence for the impact of “higher level” information

Norris and colleagues have proposed that priming effects observed in the masked prime same–different task are based solely on pre-lexical orthographic information. This proposal was evaluated by examining translation priming effects from non-cognate translation equivalents using both Spanish–English and Japanese–English bilinguals in the same–different task. Although no priming was observed for Spanish–English bilinguals, who also produced very little translation priming in a lexical decision task, significant priming was observed for Japanese–English bilinguals. These results indicate that, although most of the priming in the same–different task has an orthographic basis, other types of priming effects can emerge. Therefore, while the masked prime same–different task provides a good way of investigating the nature of orthographic coding, it, like the sandwich priming technique, can also be influenced by higher level information.

Is there phonologically based priming in the same−different task? Evidence from Japanese−English bilinguals.

Norris and colleagues (Kinoshita & Norris, 2009; Norris & Kinoshita, 2008; Norris, Kinoshita, & van Casteren, 2010) have suggested that priming effects in the masked prime same-different task are based solely on prelexical orthographic codes. This suggestion was evaluated by examining phonological priming in that task using Japanese-English bilinguals. Targets and reference words were English words with the primes written in Katakana script, a syllabic script that is orthographically quite different from the Roman letter script used in writing English. Phonological priming was observed both when the primes were Japanese cognate translation equivalents of the English target/reference words (Experiment 1) and when the primes were phonologically similar Katakana nonwords (Experiment 2), with the former effects being substantially larger than the noncognate translation priming effects reported by Lupker, Perea, and Nakayama (2015). These results indicate that the same-different task is influenced by phonological information. One implication is that, due to the fact that phonology and orthography are inevitably confounded in Roman letter languages, previously reported priming effects in those languages may have been at least partly due to phonological, rather than orthographic, similarity. The potential extent of this problem, the nature of the matching process in the same-different task, and the implications for using this task as a means of investigating the orthographic code in reading are discussed.

Editorial: The production of speech sounds across languages

Editorial: The production of speech sounds across languages

Cross-script phonological priming with Japanese Kanji primes and English targets

Two experiments investigated whether Japanese–English bilinguals have integrated phonological stores for their two languages using a masked phonological priming task with Japanese Kanji (logographic) primes and English targets. In both experiments, lexical decisions for English target words were facilitated by phonologically similar Kanji primes. Furthermore, the size of the phonological priming effect was uninfluenced by the participants' English proficiency or target word frequency, which suggests that the priming effect arose from feedback from sublexical phonological representations to lexical orthographic representations. Because of the orthographic and phonological differences between Japanese and English, these findings provide particularly strong support for the Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA+) model's assumption that representations are integrated across languages.

The masked cognate translation priming effect for different-script bilinguals is modulated by the phonological similarity of cognate words: Further support for the phonological account

The effect of phonological similarity on L1–L2 cognate translation priming was examined with Japanese–English bilinguals. According to the phonological account, the cognate priming effect for different-script bilinguals consists of additive effects of phonological and conceptual facilitation. If true, then the size of the cognate priming effect would be directly influenced by the phonological similarity of cognate translation equivalents. The present experiment tested and confirmed this prediction: the cognate priming effect was significantly larger for cognate prime-target pairs with high-phonological similarity than pairs with low-phonological similarity. Implications for the nature of lexical processing in same-versus different-script bilinguals are discussed.

The locus of Katakana–English masked phonological priming effects

Japanese–English bilinguals completed a masked phonological priming study with Japanese Katakana primes and English targets. Event related potential (ERP) data were collected in addition to lexical decision responses. A cross-script phonological priming effect was observed in both measures, and the effect did not interact with frequency. In the ERP data, the phonological priming effect was evident before the frequency effect. These data, along with analyses of response latency distributions, provide evidence that the cross-script phonological priming effects were the consequence of the activation of sublexical phonological representations in a store shared by both Japanese and English. This activation fed back to sublexical and lexical orthographic representations, influencing lexical decision latencies. The implications for the Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA+) model of word recognition are discussed.

Masked translation priming with Japanese–English bilinguals: Interactions between cognate status, target frequency and L2 proficiency

Masked translation priming effects were examined for Japanese–English bilinguals using both cognate and noncognate translation equivalents. In Experiment 1, L1 primes and L2 targets were used to examine translation priming effects as a function of target frequency and bilinguals' L2 proficiency. Translation priming effects for cognates were significantly larger than for noncognates, replicating the cognate priming advantage previously reported with different-script bilinguals. In addition, translation priming effects were significantly larger for low- than for high-frequency targets and for less- than for more-proficient bilinguals, whereas the size of the cognate priming advantage was unaffected by either target frequency or L2 proficiency. In Experiment 2, cognate translation priming effects were tested in the L2–L1 direction. There was a significant cognate translation priming effect regardless of L2 proficiency. These results are consistent with the phonological account of the cognate priming advantage, which proposes that cognate translation priming effects are due to the additive effects of phonological and conceptual factors.

Cross-script phonological priming for Japanese-English bilinguals: Evidence for integrated phonological representations

Previous masked phonological priming studies with bilinguals whose languages are written in the same script (e.g., Dutch-French bilinguals) strongly suggest that phonological representations for the two languages are integrated, based on the fact that phonological activation created by reading a word in one language facilitates word identification in the other language. The present research examined whether the same is true for different-script bilinguals (Japanese-English bilinguals). In this study, participants made lexical decisions to English targets (e.g., GUIDE) that were primed by three types of masked Japanese primes: cognate translation equivalents (e.g., , /gaido/, guide), phonologically similar but conceptually unrelated words (e.g., , /saido/, side), and phonologically and conceptually unrelated words (e.g., , /koRru/, call). There were significant priming effects for cognate translation primes (94 ms) and phonologically similar primes (30 ms). Whereas the cognate translation priming effect was modulated by target frequency and L2 proficiency, the phonological priming effect was not. Our results suggest that phonological representations for different languages are integrated even if the languages in question use different scripts. The role of phonological activation in bilingual word recognition is discussed.

TRANSLATION PROCESSES IN BILINGUALS: ROLE OF INTER-LINGUAL DISTANCE AND SECOND LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

Two experiments exploring the structure of bilingual memory as a function of second language proficiency and distance between the two languages are reported. Experiment 1, manipulating categorization of word lists, explored bi-directional translation in Japanese-English, two distantly related languages, while Experiment 2 did the same using Japanese- Korean as more closely related languages. The findings, indicating that asymmetry of translation occurs only in more proficient Japanese-English bilinguals (Expt. 1), while occurring at both levels of proficiency Japanese-Korean bilinguals (Expt. 2), provide support for the asymmetric model of links between lexical and conceptual systems of bilingual memory (Kroll & Stewart, 1994). They demonstrate that the functional architecture of the model alters with changes in second language proficiency. The findings also indicate that the relationship between the two languages of a bilingual plays an important role in the nature and lexical organization of the mental lexicon.

Transposed letter priming with horizontal and vertical text in Japanese and English readers.

It is well established that in masked priming, a target word (e.g., JUDGE) is primed more effectively by a transposed letter (TL) prime (e.g., jugde) than by an orthographic control prime (e.g., junpe). This is inconsistent with the slot coding schemes used in many models of visual word recognition. Several alternative coding schemes have been proposed in which special bigram detectors for frequently occurring nonadjacent letter combinations are developed as a product of perceptual learning. In order to examine this perceptual learning hypothesis, we asked whether bigram detectors are defined in terms of visuospatial coordinates. Japanese-English bilinguals who were equally familiar with horizontal and vertical text in Japanese demonstrated strong TL priming in both orientations when reading Japanese words, but, when reading English words, the evidence for vertical TL priming was not as strong. However, native English speakers showed a clear TL priming effect with vertically presented English words despite minimal exposure to vertical text, which is not consistent with a perceptual learning account. It is proposed instead that the initial letter array is transformed into an abstract ordinal code (first to last) regardless of orientation and that the speed with which this transformation is carried out depends on the familiarity of the script.

Representation of colour concepts in bilingual cognition: The case of Japanese blues

Previous studies demonstrate that lexical coding of colour influences categorical perception of colour, such that participants are more likely to rate two colours to be more similar if they belong to the same linguistic category (Roberson et al., 2000, 2005). Recent work shows changes in Greek–English bilinguals' perception of within and cross-category stimulus pairs as a function of the availability of the relevant colour terms in semantic memory, and the amount of time spent in the L2-speaking country (Athanasopoulos, 2009). The present paper extends Athanasopoulos' (2009) investigation by looking at cognitive processing of colour in Japanese–English bilinguals. Like Greek, Japanese contrasts with English in that it has an additional monolexemic term for ‘light blue’(mizuiro). The aim of the paper is to examine to what degree linguistic and extralinguistic variables modulate Japanese–English bilinguals' sensitivity to the blue/light blue distinction. Results showed that those bilinguals who used English more frequently distinguished blue and light blue stimulus pairs less well than those who used Japanese more frequently. These results suggest that bilingual cognition may be dynamic and flexible, as the degree to which it resembles that of either monolingual norm is, in this case, fundamentally a matter of frequency of language use.

Is a FAN Always FUN? Phonological and Orthographic Effects in Bilingual Visual Word Recognition

A visual semantic categorization task in English was performed by native English speakers (Experiment 1) and late bilinguals whose first language was Japanese (Experiment 2) or Spanish (Experiment 3). In the critical conditions, the target word was a homophone of a correct category exemplar (e.g., A BODY OF WATER--SEE; cf. SEA) or a word that differed from the correct exemplar by a phonological contrast absent in the bilinguals' first language (e.g., USED FOR COOLING DOWN--FUN; cf. FAN). Homophones elicited more false positive errors and slower processing than spelling controls in all groups. The Japanese-English bilinguals, but not the Spanish-English bilinguals, also displayed 'near-homophone' effects (i.e., homophone-like effects from minimal pairs on nonnative contrasts). We conclude that second-language visual word recognition is influenced by first-language phonology, although the effect is conditioned by the first-language orthographic system. Near-homophone effects can occur when the orthographic systems of the late bilingual's two languages are different in type (e.g., alphabetic vs. non-alphabetic), but may be blocked if the languages use the same writing script (e.g., Roman alphabet).

An ERP investigation of masked cross-script translation priming

The time course of cross-script translation priming and repetition priming was examined in two different scripts using a combination of the masked priming paradigm with the recording of event-related potentials (ERPs). Japanese–English bilinguals performed a semantic categorization task in their second language (L2) English and in their first language (L1) Japanese. Targets were preceded by a visually presented related (translation equivalent/repeated) or unrelated prime. The results showed that the amplitudes of the N250 and N400 ERP components were significantly modulated for L2–L2 repetition priming, L1–L2 translation priming, and L1–L1 repetition priming, but not for L2–L1 translation priming. There was also evidence for priming effects in an earlier 100–200 ms time window for L1–L1 repetition priming and L1–L2 translation priming. We argue that a change in script across primes and targets provides optimal conditions for prime word processing, hence generating very fast-acting translation priming effects when primes are in L1.

Processing of consonant clusters by Japanese native speakers: Influence of English learning backgrounds

Previous research has revealed that Japanese native speakers are highly likely to both perceive and produce epenthetic vowels between consonants. The goal of the present study is to investigate the influence of English learning backgrounds in the perception and production of consonant clusters by Japanese native speakers. In Experiment 1, a forced-choice AXB task to identify VC(u)CV is assigned to 17 highly fluent Japanese-English bilinguals and 22 Japanese monolinguals. Results show that monolinguals made significantly more errors than bilinguals. In Experiment 2, the influence of English proficiency on the production of consonant clusters, and the effect of consonant voicing on vowel epenthesis are investigated. The epenthetic vowels are acoustically analyzed and categorized into three degrees: full, partial and no epenthesis. The voicing combinations of the consonant clusters are C[+voice]-C[+voice], C[−voice]-C[+voice], and C[−voice]-C[−voice]. Results show that monolinguals inserted more epenthetic vowels than bilinguals, and that the influence of consonant voicing was stronger in monolinguals than bilinguals. Furthermore, monolinguals’ epenthetic vowels between C[−voice]-C[+voice] and C[−voice]-C[−voice] tended to become devoiced than bilinguals. This result suggests a stronger L1 influence on monolinguals. The results of the two experiments thus suggest that the English proficiency influences the perception and production of consonant clusters.

Language and thought in bilinguals: The case of grammatical number and nonverbal classification preferences

ABSTRACTRecent research shows that speakers of languages with obligatory plural marking (English) preferentially categorize objects based on common shape, whereas speakers of nonplural-marking classifier languages (Yucatec and Japanese) preferentially categorize objects based on common material. The current study extends that investigation to the domain of bilingualism. Japanese and English monolinguals, and Japanese–English bilinguals were asked to match novel objects based on either common shape or color. Results showed that English monolinguals selected shape significantly more than Japanese monolinguals, whereas the bilinguals shifted their cognitive preferences as a function of their second language proficiency. The implications of these findings for conceptual representation and cognitive processing in bilinguals are discussed.

Interaction between grammatical categories and cognition in bilinguals: The role of proficiency, cultural immersion, and language of instruction

Previous studies have demonstrated that there is a tight link between grammatical concepts and cognitive preferences in monolingual speakers (Lucy 1992, Lucy & Gaskins 2003, Imai & Gentner 1997, Imai & Mazuka 2003). Recent research has also shown that bilinguals with languages that differ in their concepts may shift their cognitive preferences as a function of their proficiency (Athanasopoulos, 2006) or cultural immersion (Cook, Bassetti, Kasai, Sasaki, & Takahashi, 2006). The current short paper assesses the relative impact of each of these variables, and furthermore asks whether bilinguals alternate between two distinct cognitive representations of language-specific concepts depending on the language used in the experiment. Results from an object classification task showed that Japanese–English bilinguals shifted their behaviour towards the second language (L2) pattern primarily as a function of their L2 proficiency, while cultural immersion and language of instruction played a minimal role. These findings suggest that acquisition of novel grammatical categories leads to cognitive restructuring in the bilingual mind and have implications for the relationship between language and cognitive processing.

Cognate effects in picture naming: Does cross-language activation survive a change of script?

Bilinguals are faster to name a picture in one language when the picture’s name is a cognate in the other language. We asked whether cognate facilitation in picture naming would be obtained for bilinguals whose two languages differ in script. Spanish–English and Japanese–English bilinguals named cognate and noncognate pictures in English, their second language (L2). Cognate facilitation was observed for both groups. The results suggest that there is cross-language activation of phonology even for different-script bilinguals.