Translation Priming Research Articles

Masked cognate translation priming with Arabic-English bilinguals: Further support for the morphological account

The aim of this study is to test the two accounts that have been posited as how cognates are represented in the bilingual mind: the mophological account and the phonological account. More specifically, this study exploits the uique feature of pluralization in Arabic (i.e., concatenative vs. non-concatenative process of pluralization) to invetigate how cognates are represented in the bilingual mind of different-script bilinguals (Arabic-English bilinguals) using the masked priming technique. Two types of cognates were used: cognates that are pluralized concatenatively and cognates that pluralized non-concatenatively in Arabic. In concatenative pluralization, the phonology of the singualr form is intact such as هرمون /hormōn/ (hormone in English), which is pluralized as هرمونات/hormōnat/ (hormones in English). On the other hand, in non-concatenative pluralization, the phonology of the singular form is broken when a word is plualized non-concatenatively as in ترم /tirm/ (term in English) and أترام atrām/ (terms in English). The results show a comparable priming effect for both types of pluralizations indicating that cognates in Arabic-English bilinguals may have a shared morphological representation since the magnitude of priming was not affected by the type of pluralization. This similar priming effect for concatenative and non-concatenative pluralization indicates that cognates may share a special kind of morphological representation as suggested by the morphological account. Author: Alhassan Alzahrani 0000-0003-4547-6582 aajzahrani@bu.edu.sa

Masked Translation Priming Effects for Chinese-English-Japanese Triple Cognates in Lexical Decision Tasks.

Previous research has demonstrated cognate translation priming effects in masked priming lexical decision tasks (LDTs) even when a bilingual's two languages have different scripts. Because those effect sizes are normally larger than with noncognates, the effects have been partially attributed to the impact of prime-target phonological similarity. The present research extended that work by examining priming effects when using triple different-script cognates, i.e., /ka1 feɪ1/-coffee-コーヒー/KoRhiR/. Specifically, masked cognate priming effects were examined in six different priming directions (i.e., L1↔L2, L1↔L3, and L2↔L3) for Chinese-English-Japanese trilinguals using LDTs. Significant priming effects were observed only when the primes were from the stronger language. This asymmetric pattern suggests that the phonological similarity of cognate primes only facilitates the processing of different-script triple cognates to the extent that the processing of the prime is robust enough to make phonology available before target processing is finished.

Cognate translation priming with Chinese-Japanese bilinguals: No effect of interlingual phonological similarity.

Previous masked translation priming studies, especially those with different-script bilinguals, have shown that cognates provide more priming than noncognates, a difference attributed to cognates' phonological similarity. In our experiments employing a word naming task, we examined this issue for Chinese-Japanese bilinguals in a slightly different way, using same-script cognates as primes and targets. In Experiment 1, significant cognate priming effects were observed. The sizes of the priming effects were, however, statistically not different for phonologically similar (e.g., /xin4lai4/-/shiNrai/) and dissimilar cognate pairs (e.g., /bao3zheng4/- /hoshoR/), suggesting no impact of phonological similarity. In Experiment 2, using exclusively Chinese stimuli, we demonstrated a significant homophone priming effect using two-character logographic primes and targets, indicating that phonological priming is possible for two-character Chinese targets. However, priming only emerged for pairs that had the same tone pattern (e.g., /shou3wei4/-/shou3wei4/), suggesting that a match in lexical tone is crucial for observing phonologically based priming in that situation. Therefore, Experiment 3 involved phonologically similar Chinese-Japanese cognate pairs in which the similarity of their suprasegmental phonological features (i.e., lexical tone and pitch-accent information) was varied. Priming effects were statistically not different for tone/accent similar pairs (e.g., /guan1xin1/-/kaNsiN/) and dissimilar pairs (e.g., /man3zu2/-/maNzoku/). Our results indicate that phonological facilitation is not involved in producing cognate priming effects for Chinese-Japanese bilinguals. Possible explanations, based on underlying representations of logographic cognates, are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Cross-language morphological transfer in similar-script bilinguals

The current study explored cross-language morphological transfer mechanisms using a similar-script morphological translation priming paradigm in highly proficient unbalanced Turkish (first language; L1)–English (second language; L2) bilinguals. Using noncognate English and Turkish stimuli that shared a similar meaning with no form overlap (e.g., ice [Eng.] – buz [Tur.]), in Experiment 1, L2 English stem targets (e.g., ICE) were primed by affixed L1 nonwords (e.g., buzca [iceish]), nonaffixed L1 nonwords (e.g., buznak [iceald]), and unrelated L1 nonwords (e.g., tuşku [keyment]). The results revealed priming effects in both the affixed and nonaffixed nonword conditions relative to the unrelated control, and significantly larger priming in the affixed than the nonaffixed condition. In addition, enhanced cross-language morphological transfer effects were evidenced in bilinguals with an earlier age of L2 acquisition. In Experiment 2, English stem targets (e.g., ICE) were primed by nonaffixed L1 nonwords including translated stems (e.g., buznak [iceald]), semantically related stems (e.g., suzur [waterew]), and unrelated L1 nonwords (e.g., tuşzur [keyew]). The results showed significantly larger priming effects in the translated condition compared with the semantic and unrelated control conditions, with no priming in the semantic condition relative to the unrelated condition, suggesting that cross-language morphological priming effects were specifically due to the lexico-semantic relationship between the embedded word and its translation equivalent.

Cross-linguistic influence in the simultaneous bilingual child's lexicon: An eye-tracking and primed picture selection study

AbstractIn a between-language lexical priming study, we examined to what extent the two languages in a simultaneous bilingual child's lexicon interact, while taking individual differences in language exposure into account. Primary-school-aged Dutch–Greek bilinguals performed a primed picture selection task combined with eye-tracking. They matched pictures to auditorily presented Dutch target words preceded by Greek prime words. Their reaction times and eye movements were recorded. We tested for effects of between-language phonological priming, translation priming, and phonological priming through translation. Priming effects emerged in reaction times and eye movements in all three conditions, at different stages of processing, and unaffected by language exposure. These results extend previous findings for bilingual toddlers and bilingual adults. Processing similarities between these populations indicate that, across different stages of development, bilinguals have an integrated lexicon that is accessed in a language-nonselective way and is susceptible to interactions within and between different types of lexical representation.

An Evidence Accumulation Account of Masked Translation Priming in Two Bilingual Populations.

This manuscript addresses the phenomenon of masked priming and the cognitive process of switching from Spanish to English while reading in sequential bilingual texts compared to heritage speakers. A lexical decision task was employed in the present study with masked translation priming, which serves as a valuable tool for elucidating the orthographic and lexical processes involved in the initial stages of reading. This study builds upon previous research conducted on monolingual masked priming, which consistently demonstrates shifts in the response time (RT) distributions when comparing related and unrelated primes. Within the framework of a diffusion model, we implemented two theoretical positions. First, we posited that translation priming operates at the orthographic level, resulting in enhanced efficiency during the encoding process. Second, we explored the possibility that translation priming operates at the semantic level, influencing the accumulation of evidence during the lexical decision task. The findings of the present study indicate that translation priming elicits outcomes similar to those observed in monolingual priming paradigms. Specifically, we observed that translation priming facilitation is manifested as shifts in the RT distributions. These findings are interpreted to suggest that the benefits derived from the encoding process are not specific to the accessed lexicon following a brief stimulus presentation.

Priming asymmetry persists in German-English-French trilinguals: the sense model modified for the trilingual mental lexicon

ABSTRACT The present study examined within – and cross-language priming patterns among German-English-French trilinguals in order to explore the lexico-semantic representation of L3 in relation to L1 and L2. The trilinguals participated in three lexical decision tasks within the masked translation priming paradigm. The results showed significant within-language repetition priming effects in all three languages, significant translation priming effects for L2-L1, L1-L3, and L2-L3, but no significant priming for L1-L2, L3-L1 or L3-L2. Our findings demonstrate that translation priming asymmetry persists in trilinguals and that the weakest L3 is integrated into both L1 and L2 conceptually (i.e. three languages have a commonly shared conceptual representation). In addition, our results showed a language dominance shift over lexical development between L1 and L2. We argue for a modified Sense Model as the best fit to explain the cognitive architecture of the trilingual lexicon.

Are translation equivalents really equivalent? Evidence from concreteness effects in translation priming

Aims and Objectives: Translation equivalents intuitively seem to overlap in meaning. Moreover, the models of the bilingual lexicon often represent the meaning shared between two translations as a holistic node in the semantic network. However, research on semantic representation and processing questions this holistic approach. For instance, abstract words are assumed to be more language-dependent, while concrete words’ meanings are seen as more consistent cross-linguistically. The non-cognate translation priming paradigm offers an ideal methodological setting to study semantic overlap (proxied by concreteness) between translations. Priming effects between non-cognate translation equivalents are assumed to emerge due to spreading activation at the semantic level. Hence, a larger semantic overlap between translation prime-target pairs should lead to larger priming effects. Nevertheless, the evidence from previous translation priming studies investigating concreteness displays a blurry picture, potentially reflecting a shared limitation: their relatively small sample sizes. We overcame this problem by analysing the largest translation priming dataset to date. Methodology: Two hundred Spanish–English highly proficient bilinguals were tested in a bidirectional translation priming experiment employing 314 non-cognate translation equivalents differing in concreteness. Data and analysis: We analysed response times and error rates employing conservative (generalized) linear mixed-effects models. Findings: The results showed that concrete translation pairs elicited larger priming effects than abstract ones, evidencing differences in semantic representation between concrete and abstract words. Importantly, the influence of concreteness appeared only in the forward translation direction, suggesting language experience-related differences in meaning representation. Originality: The present study analysed the largest dataset in the translation priming literature to date, employing a conservative statistical approach to shed light on the effects of concreteness on translation priming. Implications: Our study spotlights the complexity and non-holistic nature of the bilingual semantic representation of concrete and abstract words. The present findings call for more research to help the current models of the bilingual lexicon implement more nuanced semantic representations.

Cross-script L1–L2 and L2–L1 masked translation priming and phonological priming: Evidence from unbalanced Korean–English bilinguals

Aims: Despite a history of research in translation-equivalent priming (either cognate or noncognate and phonological priming with cross-script languages), research with Korean–English bilinguals is very scarce. In this study, we report two masked-priming lexical decision tasks in both directions with Korean–English unbalanced bilinguals, investigating whether cross-language activation occurs depending on different types of cognate, noncognate, and homophone prime–target pairs, the degree of phonological similarity between prime and target, and how L2 proficiency influences each type of priming. Methodology: Two experiments were conducted using a masked translation priming paradigm with unbalanced Korean–English bilinguals: Experiment 1 in the L2–L1 direction and Experiment 2 in the L1–L2 direction. Each experiment used a total of 96 prime–target pairs of cognates, noncognates, and homophones, and 60 subjects for each experiment were asked to judge whether the items were real words or not in a lexical decision task. Data and analysis: Linear mixed-effects models were used to investigate the effects of priming in each condition, the effect of phonological similarity on cognate translation priming, and L2 proficiency. Findings/conclusions: Our results showed that both cognate translation priming and noncognate translation priming arose in the L1–L2 direction, but the phonological priming was not found. In the L2–L1 direction, on the contrary, cognate translation priming and phonological priming effects were observed, but not the noncognate translation priming. Also, the degree of phonological similarity influenced the magnitude of cognate translation priming effects in both directions with a different pattern, supporting for the phonological overlap account between different-script languages. The current study is compatible with the language nonselective activation view and suggests the shared phonological representations even between different-script languages. The results are discussed within several current bilingual lexical processing models.

Electrophysiological correlates of masked orthographic and phonological priming in Chinese–English bilinguals

Extensive behavioral and electrophysiological evidence has demonstrated that native translations are automatically activated when bilinguals read non-native words. The present study investigated the impact of cross-language orthography and phonology on Chinese–English bilingual lexicons with a masked priming paradigm. The masked primes and targets were either translation equivalents (TE), orthographically related through translation (OR), phonologically related through translation (PR), or unrelated control (UC). Participants retained the targets in memory and decided whether the delayed catch words matched the targets. ERP data showed significant masked translation priming effects, as reflected by decreased ERP amplitudes in the TE condition in the 300–600 ms time window from frontal to parietal electrode clusters. Importantly, compared with the UC condition, the PR rather than OR condition elicited less negative ERP waveforms in the 300–500 ms time window with a frontal distribution. Taken together, these temporal and spatial dynamics suggested an automatic cross-language co-activation at the phonological and semantic levels for different-script bilinguals.

The elusive impact of L2 immersion on translation priming

AbstractA growing consensus sees the bilingual lexicon as an integrated, nonselective system. However, the way bilingual experience shapes the architecture and functioning of the lexicon is not well understood. This study investigates bilingual lexical-semantic representation and processing employing written translation priming. We focus on the role of active exposure to and use of the second language (L2)—primarily operationalized as immersion. We tested 200 highly proficient Spanish–English bilinguals in two groups differing in their societal language (immersed vs. nonimmersed) and amount of L2 use. L2 proficiency was controlled across participants, allowing us to disentangle its effects from those of L2 use. Overall, however, the immersion’s impact on our data was minimal. This suggests a ceiling effect for the influence of active L2 use on bilingual lexical functioning when L2 development is maximal. The present data provide relevant insights into the nature of the bilingual lexicon, informing developmental models.

Language dominance and order of acquisition affect auditory translation priming in heritage speakers.

Late second language (L2) learners show translation priming from the first language (L1) to the second language (L1-L2), while L2-L1 effects are inconsistent. Late L2 learners also acquire the L2 after the L1 and are typically less dominant in the L2. As such, the relative contribution of language dominance and order of acquisition is confounded in these results. Here, Cantonese heritage and native speakers are tested in an auditory translation priming paradigm. As heritage speakers first learn Cantonese (L1) but later become dominant in English (L2), this profile allows for the potential dissociation of dominance and order of acquisition in translation priming. If order of acquisition is the primary factor, stronger priming is expected in the L1-L2 (Cantonese-English) direction; however, if dominance plays a stronger role, priming is expected in the L2-L1 (English-Cantonese) direction. Native speakers showed stronger L1-L2 priming, consistent with previous findings, while heritage speakers showed priming in both directions, and marginally larger L2-L1 priming. Treating language dominance as a continuous variable revealed that L1-L2 priming correlated with increased Cantonese dominance, while L2-L1 priming marginally correlated with increased English dominance. Collectively, these results suggest that both language dominance and order of acquisition help explain translation priming findings and bilingual lexical processing, generally. Overall, they invite a rethinking of the role of both variables in bilingual lexical access for speakers with different language dominance profiles.

Masked Translation Priming With Concreteness of Cross-Script Cognates in Visual Word Recognition by Chinese Learners of English: An ERP Study.

Translation equivalents for cognates in different script systems share the same meaning and phonological similarity but are different orthographically. Event-related potentials were recorded during the visual recognition of cross-script cognates and non-cognates together with concreteness factors while Chinese learners of English performed a lexical decision task with the masked translation priming paradigm in Experiment 1 (forward translation: L1–L2) and Experiment 2 (backward translation: L2–L1). N400 effect was found to be closely related to priming effects of cross-script cognate status and concreteness in Experiment 1; and in Experiment 2, N150 and N400 effects were related to priming effects of cross-script cognate status and concreteness, and greater priming effects of cross-script cognate status in cognates than in non-cognates for abstract words were found in the time window of 100–200 ms. Meanwhile, the asymmetry of translation directions was observed in smaller priming effects in forward translation than in backward translation in the time window of 100–200 ms for abstract cognates, and in larger priming effects in forward translation than in backward translation in the time window of 350–550 ms for each type of words. We discussed the roles of phonological activation and concreteness effects in view of the function of N150 and N400 components as well as the relevant models, mainly the Distributed Feature Model and Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA+) model.

Language dominance affects auditory translation priming in heritage speakers

Late L2 learners show translation priming from the first language to the second (L1–L2), while L2–L1 effects are inconsistent (Altarriba & Basnight-Brown, 2007). Typically, late L2 learners are both less dominant in the L2 and have a later L2 age of acquisition, making the relative contribution of language dominance and age of acquisition in L2–L1 priming unclear. We test Cantonese heritage and native speakers in an auditory translation priming paradigm. As heritage speakers first learn Cantonese (L1) but later become more proficient in English (L2), this profile potentially allows for the dissociation of dominance and age of acquisition in translation priming. If age of acquisition is the primary factor, more priming is expected to occur in the L1–L2 (Cantonese-English) direction; however, if dominance plays a stronger role, priming is expected to occur in the L2–L1 (English-Cantonese) direction. Preliminary results indicate that native speakers show L1–L2 but not L2–L1 priming, consistent with previous findings, while heritage speakers show priming in both directions, but stronger L2–L1 priming. The inter-condition difference is greater for native speakers. In short, age of acquisition plays a role in bilingual language processing (Silverburg & Samuel, 2004) and potentially drives auditory translation priming effects more strongly than language dominance.

Bilingual lexical representation

Abstract This paper has two aims: (1) to examine evidence for noncognate translation priming from cross-language masked priming studies of printed words. (2) to introduce an automatic procedure for creating masked speech priming experiments. For (1) we conducted two meta-analyses that aggregated evidence from masked translation priming studies in the L1 to L2 and L2 to L1 prime-target directions. These showed that there was evidence of significant priming for both directions, and that priming was larger for the L1-L2 direction. The analyses revealed considerable heterogeneity in outcomes, particularly for priming in the L1 to L2 direction. For (2) we outlined some of the practical difficulties that are involved in implementing a masked speech priming experiment and offered a largely automated solution (that we will make available).1 We then briefly considered whether the work with written primes and targets may translate to the spoken medium.

Priming and persistence in bilinguals: What codeswitching tells us about lexical priming in sentential contexts*

AbstractMost studies on lexical priming have examined single words presented in isolation, despite language users rarely encountering words in such cases. The present study builds upon this by examining both within-language identity priming and across-language translation priming in sentential contexts. Highly proficient Spanish–English bilinguals read sentence-question pairs, where the sentence contained the prime and the question contained the target. At earlier stages of processing, we find evidence only of within-language identity priming; at later stages of processing, however, across-language translation priming surfaces, and becomes as strong as within-language identity priming. Increasing the time between the prime sentence and target question results in strengthened priming at the latest stages of processing. These results replicate previous findings at the single-word level but do so within sentential contexts, which has implications both for accounts of priming via automatic spreading activation as well as for accounts of persistence attested in spontaneous speech corpora.

L2-L1 noncognate masked translation priming as a task-specific phenomenon

AbstractThe masked translation priming effect was examined in Chinese–English bilinguals using lexical decision and semantic categorization tasks in an effort to understand why the two tasks seem to produce different patterns of results. A machine-learning approach was used to assess the participant-based factors that contribute to the sizes of translation priming effects in these tasks. As expected, the participant-based factors that predicted translation priming effects did vary across tasks. Priming effects in lexical decision were associated with higher self-rated listening, reading, and writing abilities in English. Priming effects in semantic categorization were associated with more frequent use of English in daily life, spoken English proficiency, and self-rated listening proficiency in English. These results are discussed within the framework of Multilink, the logic of which is then expanded in an attempt to account for these task differences.

Semantic priming and reading skills among Spanish-speaking dual language learners

ABSTRACT Substantial research among bilingual adults indicates that exposure to words primes other semantically related words within and across languages, as well as the direct translation equivalents [e.g. Chen and Ng 1989. “Semantic Facilitation and Translation Priming Effects in Chinese-English Bilinguals.” Memory & Cognition 17: 454–462]. However, there is less research on semantic and translation priming among bilingual children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate semantic priming effects as an indicator of underlying lexical quality among Spanish-speaking dual language learners (DLLs) in the U.S., including examination of whether semantic and translation priming effects were related to children’s reading-related skills. Ninety-five Spanish-speaking DLLs in second and fourth grade completed an eye-tracking semantic priming task along with measures of English and Spanish reading-related skills. Results indicated that there were consistent translation priming effects, with observed translation priming stronger from English to Spanish than from Spanish to English. Additionally, there were consistent within-English semantic priming effects. Results suggested that semantic priming effects were stronger for children with higher levels of English vocabulary and reading comprehension than they were for children with lower levels of English vocabulary and reading comprehension. Findings are discussed in the context of theoretical models of bilingual language processing, as well as the lexical quality hypothesis [e.g. Perfetti 2007. “Reading Ability: Lexical Quality to Comprehension.” Scientific Studies of Reading 11: 357–383].

Cross-modal translation priming and iconicity effects in deaf signers and hearing learners of American Sign Language.

This study used ERPs to a) assess the neural correlates of cross-linguistic, cross-modal translation priming in hearing beginning learners of American Sign Language (ASL) and deaf highly proficient signers and b) examine whether sign iconicity modulates these priming effects. Hearing learners exhibited translation priming for ASL signs preceded by English words (greater negativity for unrelated than translation primes) later in the ERP waveform than deaf signers and exhibited earlier and greater priming for iconic than non-iconic signs. Iconicity did not modulate translation priming effects either behaviorally or in the ERPs for deaf signers (except in a 800-1000 ms time window). Because deaf signers showed early translation priming effects (beginning at 400ms-600ms), we suggest that iconicity did not facilitate lexical access, but deaf signers may have recognized sign iconicity later in processing. Overall, the results indicate that iconicity speeds lexical access for L2 sign language learners, but not for proficient signers.

Can masked synonym priming replicate masked translation priming?

This study examines whether synonyms are represented similarly to translation equivalents in the bilingual mind. In particular, this study investigated whether there is masked synonym priming such that it will simulate masked translation priming in the L1-L2 direction. Given that masked translation priming studies consistently show priming in the L1-L2 direction, it was predicted that synonyms should show a masked priming effect if the prime was higher in frequency than the target. Contrary to what Bilingual Interactive Activation models would predict, there was no priming for synonyms in the high-to-low frequency (HF-LF) condition or in the low-to-high frequency (LF-HF) condition in Experiment 1. Experiment 2 only tested the HF-LF condition to ensure that previous exposure to LF words within the experiment did not affect the results. Again, no HF-LF synonym priming was observed. The effect sizes of these synonym priming effects were comparable with that of L2-L1 translation priming, all of which were weak. This is not surprising given that semantic interpretation of a given word usually occurs post-lexically and requires partial awareness. What is surprising is that there is robust evidence showing strong L1-L2 masked translation priming effect, which bilingual lexical processing models should attempt to explain, thereby uncovering the relations between L1 words and their L2 translations.