W ORD R ECOGNITION
4.3 Visual Lexical Decision
4.3.2 Semantic Priming
4.3.2.2 Unmasked Semantic Priming from L1−L2 (Experiment 2A)
Experiment 2A examines cross-language semantic priming from L1−L2, using the same target words as in the translation priming experiments. The primes were semantic related to the targets. As before, half of the stimuli were cognate words, while the other half were non-cognate words.
4.3.2.2.1 Method
Participants.
Forty-nine participants with an average age or 28.8 years (SD = 4.04) voluntarily took part in this and the following semantic priming experiments.They were from Bathoupuri and were from the same population and had a similar L2 history as the participants in the translation priming experiments. The participants were asked to rate (from 1 to 7) their abilities in speaking, reading,
writing and comprehension in both languages. Table 4.13 reveals the mean ratings and language background data reported for the three groups of bilinguals.
Table 4.13 Self-Report Ratings in Bodo and Assamese for All Three Bilingual Groups in Experiment 2A
Bodo (L1) Assamese (L2)
Early (n = 17 )
Late High (n = 14 )
Late low (n = 18 )
Early (n = 17)
Late High (n = 14)
Late Low (n = 18)
Age of acquisition (years) 4.5 3.2 3.5 3 8 8.6
Mean daily usage (%) 49.5 % 47.2 % 50.1 % 36.6 % 31.4 % 16.6 % Self-ratings (7 point scale)
Speaking 6.7
(0.6)
7 (0)
6.2 (1.7)
6 (1.7)
6 (1.2)
4.5 (0.8)
Reading 6
(1.7)
6.8 (0.5)
6.5 (0.5)
5.8 (1.5)
5.3 (1.0)
2.8 (0.9)
Writing 6
(1.7)
6.8 (1.2)
6.2 (1.7)
5.1 (2)
4.5 (1.2)
1.8 (0.9)
Comprehension 5.7
(2.3)
6 (1.2)
5.2 (2.3)
5.2 (2.6)
5.2 (0.5)
2 (1.3)
Analyses of the self-report data revealed that speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension skills were rated as being significantly better in Bodo than in Assamese. The ratings for Bodo on all four measures were similar for the Early High Proficient and the Late High Proficient groups, with no significant differences between high proficient groups and low proficient group. However, the Assamese ratings on all four proficiency measures were higher for the high proficient groups than for the low proficient group. In order to further assess the proficiency levels of the participants, all participants took part in an objective naming test. Table 4.14 provides the mean scores on the objective naming test in both Bodo and Assamese.
Table 4.14 Mean Scores on the Objective Naming Test in Bodo and Assamese for All Three Bilingual Groups in Experiment 2A
Bilingual Group Bodo Assamese
Early High Proficient 50.2 49.6
Late High Proficient 50.3 47.5
Late Low Proficient 51.1 38.1
T-tests performed on the means of the Assamese scores provide statistical support for the proficiency and AoA manipulations. The results show that the Early High Proficient group’s scores and the Late High Proficient group’s scores did not yield a significant difference [t(46) = 1.13, p = .642], indicating that the two groups were similar in L2 proficiency (49.6 vs. 47.5). However, the average L2 (Assamese) score for the Late High Proficient group is noticeably higher than the corresponding average for the Late Low Proficient group (47.5 vs. 38.1) and the scores yielded a significant difference [t(46) = 8.71, p = .000].
Stimuli.
All target stimuli were identical to the translation priming experiments.Eighty Bodo words were selected as semantically related primes, replacing the translation primes of translation priming experiments (see Appendix H). These related primes were selected from a norming study (see Appendix E (ii)) conducted with 10 participants from the same bilingual population who did not take part in this and the subsequent experiments. The unrelated primes and nonwords were the same as those used in the translation priming experiments. Table 4.15 provides an example of a stimulus set.
Table 4.15 Examples of a Stimulus Set Used in Experiment 2A
Cognate Non-cognate
Prime Type Word Nonword Word Nonword
Translation ला"−,#
“laddu−pancake”
ला"−# उथुमाय−0,'
“navel−stomach”
उथुमाय−0'
Control सानजा−,#
“east−pancake”
सानजा−# राव−0,'
“language−stomach”
राव−0' Note. *ला" [laru], *,# [pitha]; *सानजा [sanza]; *# [bitha]; *उथुमाय [uthumai]; *0,' [pet]; *राव [rau]; *0' [ghet]
Procedure.
The same procedure as in the unmasked translation priming experiments was used for stimulus presentation and data collection. Participants were tested individually in a quiet room. Each trial began with a fixation ‘+’ for 500 ms, followed by the prime, which stayed on the screen for 100ms, and then thetarget appeared and remained on the screen until the participant performed the lexical decision or for a maximum of 2,000 ms.
4.3.2.2.2 Results
A mixed-effects analysis was run on the reaction time data and error data separately.
The results of the reaction time data did not reveal a main effect of Prime Type [F<
1]. The main effect of Cognate Status was also not significant [F< 1]. However, significant a main effect of Bilingual Group was evident [F(2,46) = 14.096, p = .000]. Another interesting observation was a significant interaction between Prime Type and Bilingual Group [F(2,6577) = 42.237, p = .000]. Only the Late low proficient bilinguals produced significant priming effects of 48 ms and 32 ms in both cognate and non-cognate conditions respectively. Table 4.16 shows the mean reaction times (ms) and percentage of errors as a function of Cognate Status and Prime Type.
Table 4.16 Mean RTs (ms) and Percentage of Errors for Cognate and Non-Cognate Targets Primed by Semantically Related and by Unrelated Control Primes in Experiment 2A
Cognate Status
Overall Cognate Non-cognate
Prime Type RT (Error %) RT (Error %) RT (Error %) Cognate effect
Semantic 805 (14.5) 809 (13.7) 800 (15.4) −9
Control 806 (17.2) 824 (19.5) 788 (15.4) −36
Priming 1 15 −12
Planned comparisons performed on the individual priming effects for the three groups of bilinguals revealed that reaction times of the Early High Proficient bilinguals (740 ms) were the shortest as compared to Late High Proficient (816 ms) and Late Low Proficient bilinguals (870 ms). Moreover, none of the bilinguals showed any facilitation for cognate words. The mean reaction times and percentage
of errors as a function of Prime Type, Cognate Status, and Bilingual Group are presented in Table 4.17.
Table 4.17 Mean RTs (ms) and Percentage of Errors for Cognate and Non-Cognate Targets Primed by Semantically Related and by Unrelated Control Primes for All Three Bilingual Groups in Experiment 2A
Cognate Status/Bilingual Group
Cognate Non-cognate
Early Late high Late low Early Late high Late low Prime Type RT
(Error %)
RT (Error %)
RT (Error %)
RT (Error %)
RT (Error %)
RT (Error %)
Semantic 764
(1.3)
790 (4.7)
854 (22.1)
755 (3.7)
789 (6.5)
846 (23.2)
Control 745
(6.6)
762 (9.2)
902 (28.3)
697 (1.2)
732 (8.1)
878 (24.8)
Priming −19 −28 48 −58 −57 32
Results of the error data did not reveal a main effect of Prime Type [F < 1]. Number of errors was almost similar to targets when they were primed by semantically related primes and by unrelated controls. The error data did not reveal a main effect of Cognate Status [F < 1]. However, the main effect of Bilingual Group approached significance in the error analysis [F(2,46) = 11.037, p = .000]. Fewer errors were observed for the Early High Proficient bilinguals and greater errors were observed for the Late Low Proficient bilinguals. Lastly, post hoc comparisons of the nonword data were conducted. Analyses of the mean reaction times to nonwords showed that the participants took significantly longer to respond to nonwords (965ms) than to words (810 ms).
4.3.2.2.3 Discussion
Experiment 2A adopted a semantic priming paradigm and found that bilinguals produced cross-language priming effects. This finding is consistent with previous within-language and cross-languages semantic priming studies.