psycholinguistics what is psycholinguistics ? psycholinguistics is the study of the cognitive...

Psycholinguistics

What is psycholinguistics? Psycholinguistics is the study of the cognitive processes that support the acquisition and

use of language .

The scope of psycholinguistics:

1 -Historically = First language (L1)

1-What is the nature of the input that is critical for language to develop?

2-To what extent is this developmental process biologically constrained?

3 -How are words recognized when listening to speech or reading text?

The questions that have been the focus of investigation :

4 -How do we understand sentences and texts?

5 -By what means are lexical and syntactic ambiguities resolved?

6 -How are abstract thoughts mapped onto utterances prior to speaking ?

2 -Recently = Bilinguals(Individuals who are acquiring or actively

using more than one language)Specific questions with respect to

bilinguals are: 1 -Is L2 acquisition different from L1

acquisition? 2 -To what extent does the L1 play a role

in using the L2?

3 -Are there roles governing code- switching (the use of more than one

language in an utterance )?4 -How do speakers of more than one

language keep the two languages apart?

5 -How are languages acquired at some point in time lost or maintained over

time ?

Review of psycholinguistic research on L2 acquisition and competent bilingual performance

Assumptions: -L2 learners and proficient bilinguals

rely on similar cognitive mechanisms. -Those mechanisms are generally

universal across languages . -The same cognitive resources are

universally available to all learners ..

Cognitive Models: Language Production in Bilinguals

Modelling language production of the competent bilingual

Levelt’s “Speaking” model (1989 , 1999) - Aim

- Procedure

1 -Conceptualizer - 2 -Formulator

3 -Articulator

Lexical items

Lemma

Lexeme

* What happens in the production of these

items ??- The distinction bet. three levels:

conceptusl, lemma and lexeme is crucial- to the model used.

Poulisse )1997( factors

*To turn a monolingual model into a bilingual model:

-L2 knowledge is typically incomplete- -L2 speech is more hesitant and

contains more errors and slips - -L2 speech often carries traces of the

L1

Keeping Languages Apart

1 -Earlier proposals suggested that there were ‘switches .’

2- Paradis has proposed the ‘sub-set hypothesis:

words from a given lang. form a

sub-set of the total inventory. Each sub-set can be activated independently.

How bilingual speakers keep their languages apart??

Language choice: How language choice is

implemented?

1-semantic specification.

2-syntactic information..3-A pointer to a particular lexeme

• Thus there are a number of steps in the process of lexical access where choices have to be made

**Lemma consists of three parts

Experimental Studies of Language Production in L1 and L2

Comprehension studies:

A word ,sentence or text can be presented and we can examine the way in which processing reflects its structure and

meaning.

Production studies:Investigate the planning of utterances in real time.

1 -Picture-naming task.- Description- Results

2- Picture-word interference

- Description

- Results

Illustrative Research on Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism

The Non-selective Nature of Lexical Access -Lexical decision task

- Description

Gerard & Scarborough(1989) study

Subsequent research has supported the claim that lexical access is language non- selective in comprehension

DEVELOPING LEXICAL PROFICIENCY IN A SECOND LANGUAGE

How does the nature of activated lexical information change with increasing

proficiency in L2??

The focus= the availability of the L1 translation equivalent

during L2 processing.

.

Study by :Feldman (1984)

-comparison between picture naming and single word translation.

AimConclusion: bilinguals conceptually mediate L2 without L1 influence depending on the level of L2 proficiency.* In earlier stages of L2 development there was indeed lexical mediation whereby L1 translation equivalents were activated to facilitate access to concepts

Forgetting and RelearningA growing field of research now deals with the opposite of language acquisition: language attrition and language loss.

Through non-use of a language ,the level of activation of knowledge

decreases and eventually lost.

other studies suggest that conceptual processing is directly available for L2 for both proficient bilinguals and learners.

‘ Savings’ Model

The assumptionThe procedureThe results showed significant savings effects for the old words.

Relearning the old words was easier than learning completely new words

Implications

Information

Accessibility of linguistics element

must have been acquired and stored

Information

must be accessible in time

*Some researchers are now actually training early learners of L2 to access linguistic elements as quickly as possible- the use of computers- - language testingOur linguistic knowledge is unstable- through extensive contact in a variety of context, it will gradually develop a full close to native set of links

**No support for the hypothesis that bilingualism & learning an additional language at any age will have negative consequences

Bilingual is based much more on attitude and beliefs than on facts

*Positive effects of bilingualism at early age have little effect

• Growing internationalization in many parts of the world will show the need for

multilingualism on all levels.

Done by :4th year/Gr. B

Ohood Al-Qurashi

Heba Al- AnsariGohfran Samkary

Mona Bagazi

Norah Al-EmariMrooj Al-Jezani

Nidaa Seirafi Makkia Yusuf

Sundus Al-Nabahani

Rahma Mulla Aisha Al Khuza’I

‘Alyaa Al Garni