2006/11/22

Hermans, D. (2004). Between-language identity effects in picture-word interference tasks: A challenge for language-nonspecific or language-specific models of lexical access? International Journal of Bilingualism, 8(2), 115–125.

Presentation: Chris
Summary: Renee

The between-language identity facilitation effect reported by Costa, Miozzo, and Caramazza (1999) was investigated in this paper. There were two main findings in the observations of Costa et al. First, they found within- and between-language semantic interference, meaning semantically related interfering stimuli (IS) in L1 or L2 slowed down the initiation of the naming response of L1 naming of a picture. Second, they found within- and between-language identity facilitation, which means pictures accompanied by L1 or L2 names were named faster in L1 than pictures accompanied by unrelated ISs. Costa et al. argued that the between-language identity facilitation effect represents evidence in favor of language-specific models of lexical access. This paper tried to refute the argument by using a picture-word interference experiment with Dutch (L1)/English (L2) bilinguals. Pictures were accompanied by visually presented Dutch ISs. Some of these ISs were Dutch names of the picture, some were Dutch names of other pictures in the experiment, some were phonologically related through translation to the English name of the picture, and the rest were unrelated Dutch and English names of the picture. While Costa et al. found that between-language identity facilitation effects were much smaller than within-language identity facilitation effects, and they assumed that there was no phonological contribution to the between-language identity facilitation effect. The experiment showed the opposite. L1 ISs activated the phonological representation of their L2 translation equivalents when the L1 ISs were the names of other pictures in the experiment, which strongly suggests that there is a phonological contribution to the between-language identity facilitation effect in picture-word interference tasks.