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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Interaction between Phonological and Semantic Processes in Visual Word Recognition using Electrophysiology
Published on: June 29, 2021
The SNARC effect in the processing of second-language number words: further evidence for strong lexico-semantic
Jolien De Brauwer1, Wouter Duyck, Marc Brysbaert
1Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. jolien.debrauwer@ugent.be
Abstract:
We present new evidence that word translation involves semantic mediation. It has been shown that participants react faster to small numbers with their left hand and to large numbers with their right hand. This SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect is due to the fact that in Western cultures the semantic number line is oriented from left (small) to right (large). We obtained a SNARC effect when participants had to indicate the parity of second-language (L2) number words, but not when they had to indicate whether L2 number words contained a particular sound. Crucially, the SNARC effect was also obtained in a translation verification task, indicating that this task involved the activation of number magnitude.
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