An ERP Investigation of L2–L1 Translation Priming in Adult Learners

Abstract

A longstanding debate centers around how beginning adult bilinguals process words in their second language (L2). Do they access the meaning of the L2 words directly or do they first activate the native language (L1) translation equivalents in order to access meaning? To address this question, we used ERPs to investigate how newly learned L2 words influence processing of their L1 translation equivalents. We taught participants the meanings of 80 novel L2 (pseudo)words by presenting them with pictures of familiar objects. After 3 days of learning, participants were tested in a backward translation priming paradigm with a short (140 ms) stimulus onset asynchrony. L1 targets preceded by their L2 translations elicited faster responses and smaller amplitude negativities than the same L1 targets preceded by unrelated L2 words. The bulk of the ERP translation priming effect occurred within the N400 window (350–550 ms), suggesting that the new L2 words were automatically activating their semantic representations. A weaker priming effect in the preceding window (200–350 ms) was found at anterior sites, providing some evidence that the forms of the L1 translation equivalents had also been activated. These results have implications for models of L2 processing at the earliest stages of learning.

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

“…Given that the Russian and English stimuli were presented in different scripts, the authors argue that the earlier effects could only have been due to orthographic repetition on within-language trials, hence their absence on across-language trials which only showed semantic effects. A similar time course was reported by Meade, Midgley and Holcomb (2018), such that orthographic effects tended to surface before semantic effects, though some semantic effects were also observed in an early time window (200–350 ms post-stimulus onset, consistent with the N250 component). In sum, the effects of orthographic processing are assumed to be early, short-lived, and easily masked by later semantic processing (Vergara-Martínez et al, 2015).…”

“…With respect to translation priming, the effects have proven similarly mixed, but with a slightly clearer though nonetheless variable outcome: numerous studies have reported bidirectional translation priming effects in various bilingual populations (Meade et al, 2018; Basnight-Brown & Altarriba, 2007; Duñabeitia et al, 2010b; Duñabeitia, Dimitropoulou, Uribe-Etxebarria, Laka & Carreiras, 2010a; Geyer et al, 2011; Schoonbaert, Holcomb, Grainger & Hartsuiker, 2011), but this is not necessarily found across all bilingual populations and the strength of the effects vary. Nonetheless, a recent meta-analysis of 64 masked priming lexical decision experiments conducted by Wen and van Heuven (2017) confirms a consistent, though heterogeneous, L1 to L2 translation priming effect and a variable but nonetheless significant L2 to L1 translation priming effect.…”

Are Translation Equivalents Always Activated When Bilinguals Perform a Task in One of Their Languages? Behavioral and ERP Evidence of the Role of the Task

“…Several findings question this assumption. On the one hand, some studies have suggested that even in bilinguals with low proficiency levels, there is evidence of direct access to the conceptual system from the L2 [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. On the other hand, it seems that proficient bilinguals are also sensitive to manipulations that indicate the activation of L1 translation equivalents [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”

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

“…In translation priming paradigms, the prime is a lexical item from one language, and the target is its translation equivalent in the other language. Robust translation priming is observed from the L1 to the L2 (Altarriba, 1992;Chen & Ng, 1989;Frenck & Pynte, 1987;Jin, 1990;Keatley et al, 1994;Mott et al, 2020;Schwanenflugel & Rey, 1986;Smith et al, 2019), while translation priming effects from the L2 to the L1 are inconsistent (Altarriba, 1992;Grainger & Frenck-Mestre, 1998;Jiang, 1999;Jiang & Forster, 2001;McPhedran & Lupker, 2021;Meade et al, 2018;Nahrkhalaji et al, 2014;Smith et al, 2019;Woutersen et al, 1994).…”