ERIC Number: EJ1466963
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1048-9223
EISSN: EISSN-1532-7817
Available Date: 0000-00-00
English Derived Word Recognition by Chinese-English Bilinguals: Testing the Nature and Time Course of the Component Processes
Language Acquisition: A Journal of Developmental Linguistics, v32 n2 p115-129 2025
Research utilizing morphological priming has found that L2 speakers show facilitation from derived L2 primes, which could suggest morphological processing during derived L2 word recognition. However, the process of L2 derived word recognition is still poorly understood, with some arguing that the observed priming effects may not be morphological in nature. The present study is a partial replication of Rastle et al. and its extension to L2 English processing. Its purpose is to contribute to our understanding of the nature and time course of L2 derived word recognition. Following Rastle et al., I employed visual priming methodology to explore the activation of morphological, pseudomorphological, orthographic, and semantic processes during a later, central-lexical stage of L2 English derived word recognition by Mandarin Chinese-English bilinguals. The results replicated Rastle et al.'s findings with L1 English speakers. The L2 speakers exhibited morphological effects distinguishable from effects of form overlap, suggesting that surface form overlap cannot explain L2 facilitation from derived primes. These same L2 speakers further showed pseudomorphological facilitation distinguishable from surface form effects, indicative of the operation of a purely morpho-orthographic process at the later stage of L2 English word recognition and further suggesting L2 sensitivity to morphemic structure that cannot be explained by semantic effects. Results further showed a similar graded pattern of activation of morphological, pseudomorphological, and form mechanisms in L2 and L1 speakers of English that appears to be temporally shifted between the two speaker populations. Implications for L2 word recognition theory are discussed.
Descriptors: English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Word Recognition, Native Language, Morphology (Languages), Priming, Language Processing, Semantics, Mandarin Chinese, Bilingualism, Linguistic Theory, North American English, College Students, College Faculty, Foreign Students, Foreign Nationals, Language Proficiency, English, State Universities, Language Tests, Reaction Time, Computational Linguistics, Error Analysis (Language)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Michigan State University