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Phonological word form networks of the mental lexicon are of psycholinguistic relevance, offering insights into the efficiency of lexical access. While much research has concentrated on first languages, there is growing evidence suggesting that phonological networks of second languages are equally significant for lexical processes. Bilingual language processing is proposed to involve the integration of first and second languages, with lexical activation spreading between similar word forms in both languages. Multiplex networks provide a framework to combine different phonological networks, allowing for the analysis of the integrated lexical system's behaviour during lexical processing. In the context of the present study, which focusses on German learners of English as a second language, a multiplex network analysis was constructed to model the interactive complexity of the bilingual mental lexicon. The study tested cross-linguistic effects in a word recognition task using English stimuli. Results revealed that during lexical processing in their second language English, German speakers also activate phonological neighbours from German. In addition, the bilinguals are attuned to the interconnectedness (i.e., clustering) of the German and English neighbours with one another in the phonological neighbourhood of the English target words. These findings can contribute to the ongoing debate on the degree of integration in the bilingual mental lexicon and shed light on the role that phonological networks can play in modelling bilingual lexical processing.
Public Significance Statement
language users. The present study investigated the question of how much influence a first language exerts on lexical processing of a second language. Results showed that German words that are phonologically similar to English words delay word recognition in German learners of English. These findings indicate that different (but closely related) languages are cognitively stored and processed together in bilingual
Keywords: multiplex network, German, English, phonological network, word recognition
Supplemental materials: https://doi.org/10.1037/cep0000351.supp
Résumé
Les réseaux de formes de mots phonologiques du lexique mental présentent un intérêt psycholinguistique, car ils permettent de comprendre l'efficacité de l'accès au lexique. Bien que de nombreuses recherches se soient concentrées sur les premières langues, de plus en plus d'éléments suggèrent que les réseaux phonologiques des secondes langues sont tout aussi importants pour les processus lexicaux. Il est proposé que le traitement linguistique bilingue implique l'intégration de la première et de la deuxième langue, l'activation...