Applied Psycholinguistics - Current Issue

Volume 29 Issue 01

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Applied Psycholinguistics, Volume 29 Issue 01

Applied Psycholinguistics publishes original research papers on the psychological processes involved in language. It examines language development , language use and language disorders in adults and children with a particular emphasis on cross-language studies. The journal gathers together the best work from a variety of disciplines including linguistics, psychology, reading, education, language learning, speech and hearing, and neurology. In addition to research reports, theoretical reviews will be considered for publication as will keynote articles and commentaries.

Editorial

Editorial
Martha Crago,
Applied Psycholinguistics, Volume 29 Issue 01 , pp 1-1

Abstract

Language and thought in bilinguals: The case of grammatical number and nonverbal classification preferences

Research Articles
PANOS ATHANASOPOULOS, CHISE KASAI,
Applied Psycholinguistics, Volume 29 Issue 01 , pp 105-123

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTRecent research shows that speakers of languages with obligatory plural marking (English) preferentially categorize objects based on common shape, whereas speakers of nonplural-marking classifier languages (Yucatec and Japanese) preferentially categorize objects based on common material. The current study extends that investigation to the domain of bilingualism. Japanese and English monolinguals, and Japanese English bilinguals were asked to match novel objects based on either common shape or color. Results showed that English monolinguals selected shape significantly more than Japanese monolinguals, whereas the bilinguals shifted their cognitive preferences as a function of their second language proficiency. The implications of these findings for conceptual representation and cognitive processing in bilinguals are discussed.

Bilingual language representation and cognitive processes in translation

Research Articles
ANNA HATZIDAKI, EMMANUEL M. POTHOS,
Applied Psycholinguistics, Volume 29 Issue 01 , pp 125-150

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTA text-translation task and a recognition task investigated the hypothesis that semantic memory principally mediates translation from a bilingual's native first language (L1) to her second language (L2), whereas lexical memory mediates translation from L2 to L1. This has been held for word translation by the revised hierarchical model (RHM) of Kroll and Stewart. The results from Greek, English, and French fluent bilinguals showed semantic errors in L1 L1 direction in the translation task as RHM would predict, but not semantic effects in L1 L2 direction in the word recognition task. These findings suggest a flexible use of conceptual and lexical connections that fluent bilinguals engage, depending upon the cognitive processes required by the task at hand.

Mental imagery of concrete proverbs: A developmental study of children, adolescents, and adults

Research Articles
JILL K. DUTHIE, MARILYN A. NIPPOLD, JESSE L. BILLOW, TRACY C. MANSFIELD,
Applied Psycholinguistics, Volume 29 Issue 01 , pp 151-173

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTThe development of mental imagery in relation to the comprehension of concrete proverbs (e.g., one rotten apple spoils the barrel) was examined in children, adolescents, and adults who were ages 11 to 29 years old (n = 210). The findings indicated that age-related changes occurred in mental imagery and in proverb comprehension during the years between late childhood and early adulthood, and that the two domains were associated in children and adults but not in adolescents. Children and adults were more likely to describe relevant mental imagery (age 11: ) when they also comprehended the proverb on a multiple-choice task. It was also found that participants' mental images became more metaphorical in relation to increasing age (age 21: ). The findings are consistent with dual coding theory, the view that nonverbal information (relevant visual imagery) in addition to verbal information (related words and phrases) supports language comprehension in the case of concrete meanings. The results also support the view that mental imagery reflects figurative understanding and the individual's tacit awareness of underlying metaphorical concepts.

The use of psychological state words by late talkers at ages 3, 4, and 5 years

Research Articles
ELIZA CARLSON LEE, LESLIE RESCORLA,
Applied Psycholinguistics, Volume 29 Issue 01 , pp 21-39

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTThe use of four types of psychological state words (physiological, emotional, desire, and cognitive) during mother 31 months and 15 age-matched comparison children with typical development. The children's mean length of utterance, total words uttered, lexical diversity, and use of propositional complements were assessed. The late talkers used significantly more physiological state words at ages 3 and 4, but the two groups did not differ in their use of physiological state terms at age 5. The late talkers used significantly fewer cognitive words than the comparison children at each age. The mothers of the late talkers made significantly fewer references to cognitive states than the mothers of the comparison children at each age. The delay in the emergence of cognitive state words in the preschool years may affect other aspects of late talkers cognitive and social development.

Bilingual children with language impairment: A comparison with monolinguals and second language learners

Research Articles
VERA F. GUTIÉRREZ-CLELLEN, GABRIELA SIMON-CEREIJIDO, CHRISTINE WAGNER,
Applied Psycholinguistics, Volume 29 Issue 01 , pp 3-19

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study is twofold: (a) to examine whether English finite morphology has the potential to differentiate children with and without language impairment (LI) from Spanish-speaking backgrounds and different levels of English proficiency in comparison to Hispanic English speakers and (b) to investigate the extent to which children who are bilingual exhibit differences in their grammatical performance because of cross-linguistic influence from their first language. Seventy-one children between the ages of 4 years, 5 months and 6 years, 5 months were distributed into the following five groups: English as a first language (EL1) speakers with typical language development (TLD), EL1 speakers with LI, Spanish English bilinguals with LI, and English as a second language (EL2) learners with TLD were compared on regular verb finiteness and nominative subject use using spontaneous narrative samples. The EL1 children with LI had significantly lower verb accuracy rates than the EL1 controls with TLD. Verb finiteness marking was also a significant discriminator for the bilinguals with LI. There was no evidence of cross-linguistic influence, however. The analysis indicated no significant differences between EL1 and bilingual children on subject or verb use. The EL2 group only presented difficulties with finite verb use. The typological differences between English and Spanish for overt subject use did not seem to affect the performance of either typical or atypical bilingual learners. The findings underscore the need for addressing language dominance in future bilingual studies.

Lexical acquisition over time in minority first language children learning English as a second language

Research Articles
HEATHER GOLBERG, JOHANNE PARADIS, MARTHA CRAGO,
Applied Psycholinguistics, Volume 29 Issue 01 , pp 41-65

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTThe English second language development of 19 children (mean age at outset = 5 years, 4 months) from various first language backgrounds was examined every 6 months for 2 years, using spontaneous language sampling, parental questionnaires, and a standardized receptive vocabulary test. Results showed that the children's mean mental age equivalency and standard scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test Third Edition nearly met native-speaker expectations after an average of 34 months of exposure to English, a faster rate of development than has been reported in some other research. Children displayed the phenomenon of general all-purpose verbs through overextension of the semantically flexible verb do, an indicator of having to stretch their lexical resources for the communicative context. Regarding sources of individual differences, older age of second language onset and higher levels of mother's education were associated with faster growth in children's English lexical development, and nonverbal intelligence showed some limited influence on vocabulary outcomes; however, English use in the home had no consistent effects on vocabulary development.

Answering hard questions: Wh -movement across dialects and disorder

Research Articles
JILL DE VILLIERS, THOMAS ROEPER, LINDA BLAND-STEWART, BARBARA PEARSON,
Applied Psycholinguistics, Volume 29 Issue 01 , pp 67-103

Abstract
[Google Scholar]ABSTRACTA large-scale study of complex wh-questions with 1,000 subjects aged 4 9 years is reported. The subjects' dialects were Mainstream American English or African American English, and approximately one-third were language impaired. The study examined when children permit long distance wh-movement, and when they respect a variety of syntactic barriers to movement. Thirteen different structures were compared, and the results suggest that typically developing children and disordered children at all the ages studied are capable of long-distance movement and obedience to abstract barriers. In no case was dialect a significant factor in the children's linguistic performance on these tasks.