Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T11:00:33.199Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Interplay of bigram frequency and orthographic neighborhood statistics in language membership decision*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2015

YULIA OGANIAN*
Affiliation:
Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
MARKUS CONRAD
Affiliation:
Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany Universidad de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
ARASH ARYANI
Affiliation:
Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany
HAUKE R. HEEKEREN
Affiliation:
Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Germany Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
KATHARINA SPALEK
Affiliation:
Institut für deutsche Sprache und Linguistik, Humboldt Universitaet zu Berlin, Germany
*
Address for correspondence: Yulia Oganian, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Department of Education and Psychology, Habelschwerter Allee 45, JK25/215, 14195 Berlin, Germany[email protected]

Abstract

Language-specific orthography (i.e., letters or bigrams that exist in only one language) is known to facilitate language membership recognition. Yet the contribution of continuous sublexical and lexical statistics to language membership decisions during visual word processing is unknown. Here, we used pseudo-words to investigate whether continuous sublexical and lexical statistics bias explicit language decisions (Experiment 1) and language attribution during naming (Experiment 2). We also asked whether continuous statistics would have an effect in the presence of orthographic markers. Language attribution in both experiments was influenced by lexical neighborhood size differences between languages, even in presence of orthographic markers. Sublexical frequencies of occurrence affected reaction times only for unmarked pseudo-words in both experiments, with greater effects in naming. Our results indicate that bilinguals rely on continuous language-specific statistics at sublexical and lexical levels to infer language membership. Implications are discussed with respect to models of bilingual visual word recognition.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

We thank Frederike Albers and Ulrike Schlickeiser for assistance in data collection and analysis of the voice files, Carsten Schliewe for technical assistance, and Assaf Breska for fruitful discussions of the manuscript. This research was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (GRK1589/1, doctoral scholarship to YO).

References

Andrews, S. (1997). The effect of orthographic similarity on lexical retrieval: Resolving neighborhood conflicts. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 4 (4), 439461.Google Scholar
Baayen, R. H., Davidson, D. J., & Bates, D. M. (2008). Mixed-effects modeling with crossed random effects for subjects and items. Journal of Memory and Language, 59 (4), 390412. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2007.12.005 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bailey, T. M., & Hahn, U. (2001). Determinants of wordlikeness: Phonotactics or lexical neighborhoods? Journal of Memory and Language, 44 (4), 568591. doi:10.1006/jmla.2000.2756 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balota, D. A., Yap, M. J., Cortese, M. J., Hutchison, K. A., Kessler, B., Loftis, B., Neely, J.H., Nelson, D.L., Simpson, G.B., & Treiman, R. (2007). The English Lexicon Project. Behavior Research Methods, 39 (3), 445–59. doi:10.3758/BF03193014 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barr, D. J. (2013). Random effects structure for testing interactions in linear mixed-effects models. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 328. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00328 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bates, D. M., Maechler, M., Bolker, B., & Walker, S. (2014). lme4: Linear mixed-effects models using Eigen and S4. R package version 1.1-7. Retrieved from http://cran.r-project.org/package=lme4 Google Scholar
Brainard, D. H. (1997). The Psychophysics Toolbox. Spatial Vision, 10 (4), 433436. doi:10.1163/156856897X00357 Google Scholar
Brysbaert, M., Buchmeier, M., Conrad, M., Jacobs, A. M., Bölte, J., & Böhl, A. (2011). The word frequency effect. Experimental Psychology, 58 (5), 412–24. doi:10.1027/1618-3169/a000123 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carreiras, M., Alvarez, C., & de Vega, M. (1993). Syllable frequency and visual word recognition in Spanish. Journal of Memory and Language, 32 (6), 766780. doi:10.1006/jmla.1993.1038 Google Scholar
Carreiras, M., & Perea, M. (2004). Naming pseudowords in Spanish: effects of syllable frequency. Brain and Language, 90 (1–3), 393400. doi:10.1016/j.bandl.2003.12.003 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carreiras, M., Perea, M., & Grainger, J. (1997). Effects of orthographic neighborhood in visual word recognition: cross-task comparisons. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 23 (4), 857–71. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.23.4.857 Google ScholarPubMed
Casaponsa, A., Carreiras, M., & Duñabeitia, J. A. (2014). Discriminating languages in bilingual contexts: the impact of orthographic markedness. Frontiers in Psychology, 5 (May), 424. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00424 Google Scholar
Coltheart, M., Rastle, K., Perry, C., Langdon, R., & Ziegler, J. C. (2001). DRC: a dual route cascaded model of visual word recognition and reading aloud. Psychological Review, 108 (1), 204–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conrad, M., Alvarez, C., Afonso, O., & Jacobs, A. M. (2014). Sublexical modulation of simultaneous language activation in bilingual visual word recognition: The role of syllabic units. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, in press. doi:10.1017/S1366728914000443 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conrad, M., Carreiras, M., Tamm, S., & Jacobs, A. M. (2009). Syllables and bigrams: orthographic redundancy and syllabic units affect visual word recognition at different processing levels. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 35 (2), 461–79. doi:10.1037/a0013480 Google Scholar
Conrad, M., Grainger, J., & Jacobs, A. M. (2007). Phonology as the source of syllable frequency effects in visual word recognition: evidence from French. Memory & Cognition, 35 (5), 974–83. doi:10.3758/BF03193470 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conrad, M., & Jacobs, A. M. (2004). Replicating syllable frequency effects in Spanish in German: One more challenge to computational models of visual word recognition. Language and Cognitive Processes, 19 (3), 369390. doi:10.1080/01690960344000224 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conrad, M., Stenneken, P., & Jacobs, A. M. (2006). Associated or dissociated effects of syllable frequency in lexical decision and naming. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 13 (2), 339345. doi:10.3758/BF03193854 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Costa, A., La Heij, W., & Navarrete, E. (2006). The dynamics of bilingual lexical access. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 9 (2), 137151. doi:10.1017/S1366728906002495 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Groot, A. M. B., Borgwaldt, S., Bos, M., & van den Eijnden, E. (2002). Lexical decision and word naming in bilinguals: Language effects and task effects. Journal of Memory and Language, 47 (1), 91124. doi:10.1006/jmla.2001.2840 Google Scholar
De Groot, A. M. B., Delmaar, P., & Lupker, S. J. (2000). The processing of interlexical homographs in translation recognition and lexical decision: Support for non-selective access to bilingual memory. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 53 (2), 397428. doi:10.1080/713755891 Google Scholar
Deutsch, A., Frost, R., Pollatsek, A., & Rayner, K. (2000). Early morphological effects in word recognition in Hebrew: Evidence from parafoveal preview benefit. Language and Cognitive Processes, 15 (4/5), 487506. doi:10.1080/01690960050119670 Google Scholar
Dijkstra, T., Hilberink-Schulpen, B., & van Heuven, W. J. B. (2010). Repetition and masked form priming within and between languages using word and nonword neighbors. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13 (03), 341357. doi:10.1017/S1366728909990575 Google Scholar
Dijkstra, T., & van Heuven, W. J. B. (2002). The architecture of the bilingual word recognition system: From identification to decision. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 5 (03), 175197. doi:10.1017/S1366728902003012 Google Scholar
Frost, R., Kugler, T., Deutsch, A., & Forster, K. I. (2005). Orthographic structure versus morphological structure: principles of lexical organization in a given language. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 31 (6), 12931326. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.31.6.1293 Google Scholar
Gollan, T. H., & Goldrick, M. (2012). Does bilingualism twist your tongue? Cognition, 125 (3), 491–7. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2012.08.002 Google Scholar
Grainger, J., & Dijkstra, T. (1992). On the representation and use of language information in bilinguals. In Harris, R. J. (Ed.), Cognitive Processing in Bilinguals (Vol. 83, pp. 207220).Google Scholar
Grainger, J., & Jacobs, A. M. (1996). Orthographic processing in visual word recognition: a multiple read-out model. Psychological Review, 103 (3), 518565.Google Scholar
Jaeger, T. F. (2008). Categorical data analysis: Away from ANOVAs (transformation or not) and towards Logit Mixed Models. Journal of Memory and Language, 59 (4), 434446. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2007.11.007 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jared, D. (2001). Do Bilinguals Activate Phonological Representations in One or Both of Their Languages When Naming Words? Journal of Memory and Language, 44 (1), 231. doi:10.1006/jmla.2000.2747 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jared, D., & Kroll, J. F. (2001). Do bilinguals activate phonological representations in one or both of their languages when naming words? Journal of Memory and Language, 44 (1), 231. doi:10.1006/jmla.2000.2747 Google Scholar
Kaushanskaya, M., & Marian, V. (2007). Bilingual language processing and interference in bilinguals: Evidence from eye tracking and picture naming. Language Learning, 51 (1), 119163. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9922.2007.00401.x CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keuleers, E. (2013). vwr: Useful functions for visual word recognition research. R package version 0.3.0. Retrieved from http://cran.r-project.org/package=vwr Google Scholar
Kleiner, M., Brainard, D. H., Pelli, D., Ingling, A., Murray, R., & Broussard, C. (2007). What's new in Psychtoolbox-3. Perception, 36 (14), 11.Google Scholar
Lemhöfer, K., & Broersma, M. (2011). Introducing LexTALE: A quick and valid Lexical Test for Advanced Learners of English. Behavior Research Methods, 44 (2), 325343. doi:10.3758/s13428-011-0146-0 Google Scholar
Lemhöfer, K., & Dijkstra, T. (2004). Recognizing cognates and interlingual homographs: effects of code similarity in language-specific and generalized lexical decision. Memory & Cognition, 32 (4), 533–50. doi:10.3758/BF03195845 Google Scholar
Lemhöfer, K., Dijkstra, T., Schriefers, H. J., Baayen, R. H., Grainger, J., & Zwitserlood, P. (2008). Native language influences on word recognition in a second language: a megastudy. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 34 (1), 1231. doi:10.1037/0278-7393.34.1.12 Google Scholar
Li, P., Sepanski, S., & Zhao, X. (2006). Language history questionnaire: A web-based interface for bilingual research. Behavior Research Methods, 38 (2), 202–10. doi:10.3758/BF03192770 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Libben, M., & Titone, D. (2009). Bilingual lexical access in context: evidence from eye movements during reading. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 35 (2), 381390. doi:10.1037/a0014875 Google Scholar
Marian, V., Bartolotti, J., Chabal, S., & Shook, A. (2012). CLEARPOND: cross-linguistic easy-access resource for phonological and orthographic neighborhood densities. PloS One, 7 (8), e43230. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0043230 Google Scholar
Midgley, K. J., Holcomb, P. J., van Heuven, W. J. B., & Grainger, J. (2008). An electrophysiological investigation of cross-language effects of orthographic neighborhood. Brain Research, 1246, 123–35. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2008.09.078 Google Scholar
Moll, K., & Landerl, K. (2010). SLRT-II–Verfahren zur Differentialdiagnose von Störungen der Teilkomponenten des Lesens und Schreibens. Bern: Hans Huber.Google Scholar
Protopapas, A. (2007). CheckVocal: a program to facilitate checking the accuracy and response time of vocal responses from DMDX. Behavior Research Methods, 39 (4), 859–62. doi:10.3758/BF03192979 Google Scholar
Schulpen, B., Dijkstra, T., Schriefers, H. J., & Hasper, M. (2003). Recognition of interlingual homophones in bilingual auditory word recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 29 (6), 1155–78. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.29.6.1155 Google Scholar
Schwartz, A. I., & Kroll, J. F. (2006). Bilingual lexical activation in sentence context. Journal of Memory and Language, 55 (2), 197212. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2006.03.004 Google Scholar
Shook, A., & Marian, V. (2013). The Bilingual language interaction network for comprehension of speech. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 16 (2), 304324. doi:10.1017/S1366728912000466 Google Scholar
Thomas, M. S. C., & Allport, A. (2000). Language Switching Costs in Bilingual Visual Word Recognition. Journal of Memory and Language, 43 (1), 4466. doi:10.1006/jmla.1999.2700 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torgesen, J. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (1999). TOWRE–2 Test of Word Reading Efffciency.Google Scholar
Vaid, J., & Frenck-Mestre, C. (2002). Do orthographic cues aid language recognition? A laterality study with French-English bilinguals. Brain and Language, 82 (1), 4753. doi:10.1016/S0093-934X(02)00008-1 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Kesteren, R., Dijkstra, T., & de Smedt, K. (2012). Markedness effects in Norwegian – English bilinguals: Task-dependent use of language- specific letters and bigrams. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 65 (11), 2129–54. doi:10.1080/17470218.2012.679946 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Westbury, C., & Buchanan, L. (2002). The Probability of the Least Likely Non-Length-Controlled Bigram Affects Lexical Decision Reaction Times. Brain and Language, 81 (1–3), 6678. doi:10.1006/brln.2001.2507 Google Scholar
Yarkoni, T., Balota, D. A., & Yap, M. J. (2008). Moving beyond Coltheart's N: a new measure of orthographic similarity. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15 (5), 971–9. doi:10.3758/PBR.15.5.971 CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Oganian supplementary material

Supplementary material

Download Oganian supplementary material(Audio)
Audio 614.1 KB