Processing of Synonyms and Homographs in Bilingual and Monolingual Speakers.

Bilinguals have long-lasting experience with cross-language double-mappings (i.e., translation equivalents and interlingual homographs (or false friends)). Considering this, we examined whether bilinguals differ from monolinguals in within-language double-mapping (i.e., synonyms and homographs) processing. Across two experiments, we compared performances from Spanish monolinguals and Spanish-Basque bilinguals on a behavioral picture-word matching task. The words were all presented in Spanish, the native language of all participants. Participants responded to synonyms and homographs (both double-mappings) or single-mappings (controls). The reaction times in both experiments showed clear and significant costs in processing within-language double-mapping stimuli, as well as intrinsic differences in processing homographs versus synonyms. However, these effects did not differ between bilinguals and monolinguals. The present findings thus suggest that the bilinguals' extensive experience with cross-linguistic double-mappings does not transfer onto within-language double-mapping processing.

Phonetic accommodation in non-native directed speech supports L2 word learning and pronunciation.

This study assessed whether Non-native Directed Speech (NNDS) facilitates second language (L2) learning, specifically L2 word learning and production. Spanish participants (N = 50) learned novel English words, presented either in NNDS or Native-Directed Speech (NDS), in two tasks: Recognition and Production. Recognition involved matching novel objects to their labels produced in NNDS or NDS. Production required participants to pronounce these objects' labels. The novel words contained English vowel contrasts, which approximated Spanish vowel categories more (/i-ɪ/) or less (/ʌ-æ/). Participants in the NNDS group exhibited faster recognition of novel words, improved learning, and produced the /i-ɪ/ contrast with greater distinctiveness in comparison to the NDS group. Participants' ability to discriminate the target vowel contrasts was also assessed before and after the tasks, with no improvement detected in the two groups. These findings support the didactic assumption of NNDS, indicating the relevance of the phonetic adaptations in this register for successful L2 acquisition.

Parafoveal processing in bilingual readers: Semantic access within but not across languages.

Prior research has investigated the quality of information a reader can extract from upcoming parafoveal words. However, very few studies have considered parafoveal processing in bilingual readers, who may differ from monolinguals due to slower lexical access and susceptibility to cross-language activation. This eye-tracking experiment, therefore, investigated how bilingual readers process parafoveal semantic information within and across languages. We used the boundary technique to replace a preview word in a sentence with a different target word during the first rightward saccade from the pretarget region. We manipulated both preview language (nonswitch vs. code-switch) and semantic relatedness (synonym/translation vs. unrelated) between previews and targets. Upon fixation, target words always appeared in the same language as the rest of the sentence to create an essentially monolingual language context. Semantic preview benefits emerged for nonswitched synonym previews but not for code-switched translation previews. Furthermore, participants skipped code-switched previews less often than nonswitched previews and no more often than previews that were unfamiliar to them. These data suggest that bilinguals can extract within-language semantic information from the parafovea in both native and nonnative languages, but that cross-language words are not accessible while reading in a monolingual language mode, as per the partial selectivity hypothesis of bilingual language control. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Voice onset time and vowel formant measures in online testing and laboratory-based testing with(out) surgical face masks.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, conducting experiments online is increasingly common, and face masks are often used in everyday life. It remains unclear whether phonetic detail in speech production is captured adequately when speech is recorded in internet-based experiments or in experiments conducted with face masks. We tested 55 Spanish-Basque-English trilinguals in picture naming tasks in three conditions: online, laboratory-based with surgical face masks, and laboratory-based without face masks (control). We measured plosive voice onset time (VOT) in each language, the formants and duration of English vowels /iː/ and /ɪ/, and the Spanish/Basque vowel space. Across conditions, there were differences between English and Spanish/Basque VOT and in formants and duration between English /iː/-/ɪ/; between conditions, small differences emerged. Relative to the control condition, the Spanish/Basque vowel space was larger in online testing and smaller in the face mask condition. We conclude that testing online or with face masks is suitable for investigating phonetic detail in within-participant designs although the precise measurements may differ from those in traditional laboratory-based research.

Noise Modulates Crosslinguistic Effects on Second-Language Auditory Word Recognition.

PURPOSE: This study investigates whether crosslinguistic effects on auditory word recognition are modulated by the quality of the auditory signal (clear and noisy). METHOD: In an online experiment, a group of Spanish-English bilingual listeners performed an auditory lexical decision task, in their second language, English. Words and pseudowords were either presented in the clear or were embedded in white auditory noise. Target words were varied in the degree to which they overlapped in their phonological form with their translation equivalents and were categorized according to their overlap as cognates (form and meaning) or noncognates (meaning only). In order to test for effects of crosslinguistic competition, the phonological neighborhood density of the targets' translations was also manipulated. RESULTS: The results show that crosslinguistic effects are impacted by noise; when the translation had a high neighborhood density, performance was worse for cognates than for noncognates, especially in noise. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that noise increases lexical competition across languages, as it does within a language, and that the crosslinguistic phonological overlap for cognates compared with noncognates can further increase the pool of competitors by co-activating crosslinguistic lexical candidates. The results are discussed within the context of the bilingual word recognition literature and models of language and bilingual lexical processing.

Activating words without language: beta and theta oscillations reflect lexical access and control processes during verbal and non-verbal object recognition tasks.

The intention to name an object modulates neural responses during object recognition tasks. However, the nature of this modulation is still unclear. We established whether a core operation in language, i.e. lexical access, can be observed even when the task does not require language (size-judgment task), and whether response selection in verbal versus non-verbal semantic tasks relies on similar neuronal processes. We measured and compared neuronal oscillatory activities and behavioral responses to the same set of pictures of meaningful objects, while the type of task participants had to perform (picture-naming versus size-judgment) and the type of stimuli to measure lexical access (cognate versus non-cognate) were manipulated. Despite activation of words was facilitated when the task required explicit word-retrieval (picture-naming task), lexical access occurred even without the intention to name the object (non-verbal size-judgment task). Activation of words and response selection were accompanied by beta (25-35 Hz) desynchronization and theta (3-7 Hz) synchronization, respectively. These effects were observed in both picture-naming and size-judgment tasks, suggesting that words became activated via similar mechanisms, irrespective of whether the task involves language explicitly. This finding has important implications to understand the link between core linguistic operations and performance in verbal and non-verbal semantic tasks.

Déjà-lu: When Orthographic Representations are Generated in the Absence of Orthography.

When acquiring novel spoken words, English-speaking children generate preliminary orthographic representations even before seeing the words' spellings (Wegener et al., 2018). Interestingly, these orthographic skeletons are generated even when novel words' spellings are uncertain, at least in transparent languages like Spanish (Jevtovic et al., 2022). Here we investigate whether this process depends on the orthographic rules of the language, and specifically, whether orthographic skeletons for words with uncertain spellings are generated even when the probability of generating an incorrect representation is high. Forty-six French adults first acquired novel words via aural instruction and were then presented with words' spellings in a self-paced reading task. Importantly, novel words were presented in their unique (consistent words) or one of their two possible spellings (preferred and unpreferred inconsistent words). A significant reading advantage observed for aurally acquired words indicates that participants indeed generated orthographic representations before encountering novel words' spellings. However, while no differences in reading times were found for aurally acquired words with unique and those presented in their preferred spellings, unpreferred spellings yielded significantly longer reading times. This shows that orthographic skeletons for words with multiple spellings were generated even in a language in which the risk of generating an incorrect representation is high. This finding raises a possibility that generating orthographic skeletons during spoken word learning may be beneficial. In line with this conclusion is the finding showing that - in interaction with good phonological short-term memory capacity - generating orthographic skeletons is linked to better word recall.

One-to-One or One Too Many? Linking Sound-to-Letter Mappings to Speech Sound Perception and Production in Early Readers.

PURPOSE: Effects related to literacy acquisition have been observed at different levels of speech processing. This study investigated the link between orthographic knowledge and children's perception and production of specific speech sounds. METHOD: Sixty Spanish-speaking second graders, differing in their phonological decoding skills, completed a speech perception and a production task. In the perception task, a behavioral adaptation of the oddball paradigm was used. Children had to detect orthographically consistent /t/, which has a unique orthographic representation (〈t〉), and inconsistent /k/, which maps onto three different graphemes (〈c〉, 〈qu〉, and 〈k〉), both appearing infrequently within a repetitive auditory sequence. In the production task, children produced these same sounds in meaningless syllables. RESULTS: Perception results show that all children were faster at detecting consistent than inconsistent sounds regardless of their decoding skills. In the production task, however, the same facilitation for consistent sounds was linked to better decoding skills. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate differences in speech sound processing related to literacy acquisition. Literacy acquisition may therefore affect already-formed speech sound representations. Crucially, the strength of this link in production is modulated by individual decoding skills.

The Acoustic Features and Didactic Function of Foreigner-Directed Speech: A Scoping Review.

PURPOSE: This scoping review considers the acoustic features of a clear speech register directed to nonnative listeners known as foreigner-directed speech (FDS). We identify vowel hyperarticulation and low speech rate as the most representative acoustic features of FDS; other features, including wide pitch range and high intensity, are still under debate. We also discuss factors that may influence the outcomes and characteristics of FDS. We start by examining accommodation theories, outlining the reasons why FDS is likely to serve a didactic function by helping listeners acquire a second language (L2). We examine how this speech register adapts to listeners' identities and linguistic needs, suggesting that FDS also takes listeners' L2 proficiency into account. To confirm the didactic function of FDS, we compare it to other clear speech registers, specifically infant-directed speech and Lombard speech. CONCLUSIONS: Our review reveals that research has not yet established whether FDS succeeds as a didactic tool that supports L2 acquisition. Moreover, a complex set of factors determines specific realizations of FDS, which need further exploration. We conclude by summarizing open questions and indicating directions and recommendations for future research.

An ERP investigation of accented isolated single word processing.

Previous studies show that there are differences in native and non-native speech processing (Lev-Ari, 2018). However, less is known about the differences between processing native and dialectal accents. Is dialectal processing more similar to foreign or native speech? To address this, two theories have been proposed. The Perceptual Distance Hypothesis states that the mechanisms underlying dialectal accent processing are attenuated versions of those of foreign (Clarke & Garrett, 2004). Conversely, the Different Processes Hypothesis argues that the mechanisms of foreign and dialectal accent processing are qualitatively different (Floccia et al., 2009). The present study addresses these hypotheses. Electroencephalographic data was recorded from 25 participants who listened to 40 isolated words in different accents. Event-Related Potential mean amplitudes were extracted: P2 [150-250 ms], PMN [250-400 ms] and N400 [400-600 ms]. Support for the Different Processes Hypothesis was found in different time windows. Results show that early processing mechanisms distinguish only between native and non-native speech, with a reduced P2 amplitude for foreign accent processing, supporting the Different Processes Hypothesis. Furthermore, later processing mechanisms show a similar binary difference in the processing of the accents, with a larger PMN negativity elicited in the foreign accent than the others, further supporting the Different Processes Hypothesis. Results contribute to the understanding of single word processing, in which it is uniquely difficult to extract acoustic characteristics from foreign accent, and in which foreign accented speech is associated with the largest cost, as compared to native and dialectal speech, of phonological matching between representations and acoustic input.

When A Nonnative Accent Lets You Spot All the Errors: Examining the Syntactic Interlanguage Benefit.

In our continuously globalizing world, cross-cultural and cross-linguistic communications are far from exceptional. A wealth of research has indicated that the processing of nonnative-accented speech can be challenging for native listeners, both at the level of phonology. However, few online studies have examined the underpinnings of accented speech recognition from the perspective of the nonnative listener, even though behavioral studies indicate that accented input may be easier to process for such individuals (i.e., the interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit. The current EEG study first examined the phonological and syntactic analysis of nonnative-accented speech among nonnative listeners. As such, 30 English learners of Spanish listened to syntactically correct and incorrect Spanish sentences produced in native and nonnative-accented Spanish. The violation in the incorrect sentences was caused by errors that are typical (i.e., gender errors; *la color) or atypical (i.e., number errors; *los color) for English learners of Spanish. Results indicated that nonnative listeners elicit a phonological mismatch negativity (PMN) when attending to speech produced by a native Spanish speaker. Furthermore, the nonnative listeners showed a P600 for all grammatical violations, indicating that they repair all errors regardless of their typicality or the accent in which they are produced. Follow-up analyses compared our novel data to the data of native listeners from the methodologically identical precursor study. These analyses showed that native and nonnative listeners exhibit directionally opposite PMN effects; whereas natives exhibited a larger PMN for English-accented Spanish, nonnatives displayed a larger PMN in response to native Spanish utterances (a classic interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit). An additional difference was observed at the syntactic level: Whereas natives repaired only atypical number errors when they were English-accented, nonnative participants exhibited a P600 in response to all English-accented syntactic errors, regardless of their typicality (a syntactic interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit). Altogether, these results suggest that accented speech is not inherently difficult to process; in fact, nonnatives may benefit from the presence of a nonnative accent. Thus, our data provide some of the first electrophysiological evidence supporting the existence of the classic interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit and its novel syntactic counterpart.

Speaker Accent Modulates the Effects of Orthographic and Phonological Similarity on Auditory Processing by Learners of English.

The cognate effect refers to translation equivalents with similar form between languages-i.e., cognates, such as "band" (English) and "banda" (Spanish)-being processed faster than words with dissimilar forms-such as, "cloud" and "nube." Substantive literature supports this claim, but is mostly based on orthographic similarity and tested in the visual modality. In a previous study, we found an inhibitory orthographic similarity effect in the auditory modality-i.e., greater orthographic similarity led to slower response times and reduced accuracy. The aim of the present study is to explain this effect. In doing so, we explore the role of the speaker's accent in auditory word recognition and whether native accents lead to a mismatch between the participants' phonological representation and the stimulus. Participants carried out a lexical decision task and a typing task in which they spelled out the word they heard. Words were produced by two speakers: one with a native English accent (Standard American) and the other with a non-native accent matching that of the participants (native Spanish speaker from Spain). We manipulated orthographic and phonological similarity orthogonally and found that accent did have some effect on both response time and accuracy as well as modulating the effects of similarity. Overall, the non-native accent improved performance, but it did not fully explain why high orthographic similarity items show an inhibitory effect in the auditory modality. Theoretical implications and future directions are discussed.

Gepo with a G, or Jepo with a J? Skilled Readers Generate Orthographic Expectations for Novel Spoken Words Even When Spelling is Uncertain.

English-speaking children and adults generate orthographic skeletons (i.e., preliminary orthographic representations) solely from aural exposure to novel words. The present study examined whether skilled readers generate orthographic skeletons for all novel words they learn or do so only when the words have a unique possible spelling. To that end, 48 Spanish adults first provided their preferred spellings for all novel words that were to appear in the experiment. Critically, consistent words had only one, while inconsistent words had two possible spellings. Two weeks later, they were trained on the pronunciations of the novel words through aural instruction. They then saw the spellings of these newly acquired words, along with a set of untrained words, in a self-paced sentence reading task. Participants read previously acquired consistent and inconsistent words presented in their preferred spellings faster than inconsistent words with unpreferred spellings. Importantly, no differences were observed in reading untrained consistent and inconsistent words (either preferred or unpreferred). This suggests that participants had generated orthographic skeletons for trained words with two possible spellings according to their individual spelling preferences. These findings provide further evidence for the orthographic skeleton account and show that initial orthographic representations are generated even when the spelling of a newly acquired word is uncertain.

Perro or txakur? Bilingual language choice during production is influenced by personal preferences and external primes.

Bilinguals living in a bilingual society continuously need to choose one of their languages to communicate a message. Sometimes, the circumstances (e.g., the presence of a monolingual) dictate language choice. When surrounded by other bilinguals, however, the bilinguals themselves can often decide which language to use. While much previous research has assessed language production when language selection is predetermined, we assessed how bilinguals choose the naming language themselves. We focused on the role of personal language preferences and examined to what extent personal preferences might be affected by external, suggestive language primes. Spanish-Basque bilinguals were asked to name pictures in their language of choice. Pictures were either presented on their own or were preceded by a linguistic or non-linguistic prime. In a separate session, participants were asked which language they preferred for each picture. Language choice during voluntary picture naming was related to personal language preferences. A bilingual was more likely to name a picture in the language they preferred for that specific picture. Furthermore, bilinguals were more likely to choose the language matching the preceding linguistic or non-linguistic prime. Effects of primes and preferences were additive and the influence of language preference on choice was equally strong in the primed and no-prime tasks. In addition to modulating language choice, following preferences and primes was also associated with faster responses. Together, these findings show that initial stages of language production and language choice are not just modulated by external primes but also by a bilingual's individual preferences.

Task-Relevant Representations and Cognitive Control Demands Modulate Functional Connectivity from Ventral Occipito-Temporal Cortex During Object Recognition Tasks.

The left ventral occipito-temporal cortex (vOTC) supports extraction and processing of visual features. However, it has remained unclear whether left vOTC-based functional connectivity (FC) differs according to task-relevant representations (e.g., lexical, visual) and control demands imposed by the task, even when similar visual-semantic processing is required for object identification. Here, neural responses to the same set of pictures of meaningful objects were measured, while the type of task that participants had to perform (picture naming versus size-judgment task), and the level of cognitive control required by the picture naming task (high versus low interference contexts) were manipulated. Explicit retrieval of lexical representations in the picture naming task facilitated activation of lexical/phonological representations, modulating FC between left vOTC and dorsal anterior-cingulate-cortex/pre-supplementary-motor-area. This effect was not observed in the size-judgment task, which did not require explicit word-retrieval of object names. Furthermore, retrieving the very same lexical/phonological representation in the high versus low interference contexts during picture naming increased FC between left vOTC and left caudate. These findings support the proposal that vOTC functional specialization emerges from interactions with task-relevant brain regions.

Inhibitory and facilitatory effects of phonological and orthographic similarity on L2 word recognition across modalities in bilinguals.

Language perception studies on bilinguals often show that words that share form and meaning across languages (cognates) are easier to process than words that share only meaning. This facilitatory phenomenon is known as the cognate effect. Most previous studies have shown this effect visually, whereas the auditory modality as well as the interplay between type of similarity and modality remain largely unexplored. In this study, highly proficient late Spanish-English bilinguals carried out a lexical decision task in their second language, both visually and auditorily. Words had high or low phonological and orthographic similarity, fully crossed. We also included orthographically identical words (perfect cognates). Our results suggest that similarity in the same modality (i.e., orthographic similarity in the visual modality and phonological similarity in the auditory modality) leads to improved signal detection, whereas similarity across modalities hinders it. We provide support for the idea that perfect cognates are a special category within cognates. Results suggest a need for a conceptual and practical separation between types of similarity in cognate studies. The theoretical implication is that the representations of items are active in both modalities of the non-target language during language processing, which needs to be incorporated to our current processing models.

The effects of contextual diversity on incidental vocabulary learning in the native and a foreign language.

Vocabulary learning occurs throughout the lifespan, often implicitly. For foreign language learners, this is particularly challenging as they must acquire a large number of new words with little exposure. In the present study, we explore the effects of contextual diversity-namely, the number of texts a word appears in-on native and foreign language word learning. Participants read several texts that had novel pseudowords replacing high-frequency words. The total number of encounters with the novel words was held constant, but they appeared in 1, 2, 4, or 8 texts. In addition, some participants read the texts in Spanish (their native language) and others in English (their foreign language). We found that increasing contextual diversity improved recall and recognition of the word, as well as the ability to match the word with its meaning while keeping comprehension unimpaired. Using a foreign language only affected performance in the matching task, where participants had to quickly identify the meaning of the word. Results are discussed in the greater context of the word learning and foreign language literature as well as their importance as a teaching tool.

Functional connectivity reveals dissociable ventrolateral prefrontal mechanisms for the control of multilingual word retrieval.

This functional magnetic resonance imaging study established that different portions of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) support reactive and proactive language control processes during multilingual word retrieval. The study also examined whether proactive language control consists in the suppression of the nontarget lexicon. Healthy multilingual volunteers participated in a task that required them to name pictures alternately in their dominant and less-dominant languages. Two crucial variables were manipulated: the cue-target interval (CTI) to either engage (long CTI) or prevent (short CTI) proactive control processes, and the cognate status of the to-be-named pictures (noncognates vs. cognates) to capture selective pre-activation of the target language. The results of the functional connectivity analysis showed a clear segregation between functional networks related to mid-vlPFC and anterior vlPFC during multilingual language production. Furthermore, the results revealed that multilinguals engage in proactive control to prepare the target language. This proactive modulation, enacted by anterior vlPFC, is achieved by boosting the activation of lexical representations in the target language. Finally, control processes supported by both mid-vlPFC and the left inferior parietal lobe, were similarly engaged by reactive and proactive control, possibly exerted on phonological representations to reduce cross-language interference.

I'm Doing Better on My Own: Social Inhibition in Vocabulary Learning in Adults.

Vocabulary learning is better achieved by children facing a teacher than when presented to the same teacher through video (so-called "video deficit" effect), which has significant implications for toddlers' education. Since millions of adults also learn new vocabulary when acquiring a second language (L2), it is important to explore whether adults suffer from "video deficit" effects, as children do. In the present study, we report two experiments in which Spanish native late learners of English were involved in a vocabulary learning task. In Experiment 1, participants had to learn English (L2) labels associated to real objects. In Experiment 2, participants had to learn English (L2) and Spanish (L1) labels associated to novel objects. In both experiments, vocabulary learning was divided into three conditions: In the NoFace condition, participants were presented with the objects and their auditory labels, through video. In the Video condition, a teacher was showing the objects and uttering their names, through video. The Live condition was equivalent, except that the teacher was facing the participants in the room. Each condition was followed by a recall test. Better learning in Video compared to NoFace condition revealed that adults benefit from the teacher's display with direct gaze, confirming the fundamental role of face display with direct gaze in social communication in adults. Interestingly, adults learned better through Video than in the Live condition. Those results were obtained in L2 vocabulary learning in both Experiments 1 and 2, and also generalized to native language in Experiment 2. We argue that adults suffer from social inhibition, meaning that they perform worse when in the presence of another person during task performance. In sum, we show that video-mediated teaching might not be detrimental for adults learning new vocabulary lists, as it is the case for young children. These results might have important implications for pedagogical programs targeting adults' second language vocabulary learning, since proper acquisition of vocabulary list can be achieved through video including a teacher's display.

When is irony influenced by communicative constraints? ERP evidence supporting interactive models.

Distinct theoretical proposals have described how communicative constraints (contextual biases, speaker identity) impact verbal irony processing. Modular models assume that social and contextual factors have an effect at a late stage of processing. Interactive models claim that contextual biases are considered early on. The constraint-satisfaction model further assumes that speaker's and context's characteristics can compete at early stages of analysis. The present ERP study teased apart these models by testing the impact of context and speaker features (i.e., speaker accent) on irony analysis. Spanish native speakers were presented with Spanish utterances that were ironic or literal. Each sentence was preceded by a negative or a positive context. Each story was uttered in a native or a foreign accent. Results showed that contextual biases and speaker accent interacted as early as 150 ms during irony processing. Greater N400-like effects were reported for ironic than literal sentences only with positive contexts and native accent, possibly suggesting semantic difficulties when non-prototypical irony was produced by natives. A P600 effect of irony was also reported indicating inferential processing costs. The results support the constraint-satisfaction model and suggest that multiple sources of information are weighted and can interact from the earliest stages of irony analysis.