TY - JOUR

T1 - Three languages, one ECHO

T2 - Cognate effects in trilingual word recognition

AU - Lemhoefer, Kristin

AU - Dijkstra, Ton

AU - Michel, Marije

PY - 2004

Y1 - 2004

N2 - Research on bilingual word recognition suggests that lexical access is non-selective with respect to language, i.e., that word representations of both languages become active during recognition. One piece of evidence is that bilinguals recognise cognates (words that are identical or similar in form and meaning in two languages) faster than non-cognates. The present study used cognates to investigate whether the non-selective access hypothesis holds also for trilinguals and three languages. Dutch-English-German trilinguals carried out a lexical decision task in their third language (German). The word materials included purely German control words, “double” cognates that overlapped in Dutch and German, but not in English, and “triple” cognates with the same form and meaning in Dutch, German, and English. Faster RTs were found for Dutch-German cognates than for control words, but additionally, “triple” cognates were processed even faster than “double” cognates. The “triple” cognate effect was not influenced by whether the participants had previously read an English text. A control experiment with German monolinguals confirmed that the effect was not an artifact of uncontrolled stimulus characteristics. Thus, independent of context, both the native language and another foreign non-target language influenced target language comprehension in trilinguals. This supports a view of language non-selective access implying all languages known to an individual may affect word activation and recognition.

AB - Research on bilingual word recognition suggests that lexical access is non-selective with respect to language, i.e., that word representations of both languages become active during recognition. One piece of evidence is that bilinguals recognise cognates (words that are identical or similar in form and meaning in two languages) faster than non-cognates. The present study used cognates to investigate whether the non-selective access hypothesis holds also for trilinguals and three languages. Dutch-English-German trilinguals carried out a lexical decision task in their third language (German). The word materials included purely German control words, “double” cognates that overlapped in Dutch and German, but not in English, and “triple” cognates with the same form and meaning in Dutch, German, and English. Faster RTs were found for Dutch-German cognates than for control words, but additionally, “triple” cognates were processed even faster than “double” cognates. The “triple” cognate effect was not influenced by whether the participants had previously read an English text. A control experiment with German monolinguals confirmed that the effect was not an artifact of uncontrolled stimulus characteristics. Thus, independent of context, both the native language and another foreign non-target language influenced target language comprehension in trilinguals. This supports a view of language non-selective access implying all languages known to an individual may affect word activation and recognition.

U2 - 10.1080/01690960444000007

DO - 10.1080/01690960444000007

M3 - Journal article

VL - 19

SP - 585

EP - 611

JO - Language and Cognitive Processes

JF - Language and Cognitive Processes

SN - 0169-0965

IS - 5

ER -