Semantic competitor priming within and across languages: The interplay of vocabulary knowledge, learning experience and working memory capacity

• LI HONG ^[1] ; BRIAN MACWHINNEY ^[2]
  1. [1] Chongqing University

     Chongqing University

     China

     
  2. [2] Carnegie Mellon University

     Carnegie Mellon University

     City of Pittsburgh, Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: Bilingualism: Language and cognition, ISSN 1366-7289, Vol. 14, Nº 4, 2011, págs. 433-443
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This paper reports three studies of bilingual lexical processing, using the semantic competitor priming (SCP) method of Lee and Williams (2001). Study 1 found a trend of within-language SCP effect for Chinese–English bilinguals with both higher and lower levels of vocabulary knowledge. There was also a cross-language SCP effect, but this was restricted to bilinguals with a lower level of vocabulary knowledge. Study 2 found a cross-language SCP effect for Chinese learners of English in the classroom context. Study 3 found both within- and cross-language SCP effects for bilinguals with study-abroad experience as well as Chinese–English classroom learners who had a higher working memory capacity. Those findings are interpreted in terms of a dynamic view of bilingual language selection.