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Does bilingualism change native-language reading? Cognate effects in a sentence context.
Eva Van Assche1, Wouter Duyck, Robert J Hartsuiker
1Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. eva.vanassche@ugent.be
Psychological Science
|June 25, 2009
Summary
Bilingualism enhances cognitive function. Knowing a second language speeds up reading in your native tongue by activating cross-lingual connections, even for automated skills.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Psycholinguistics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Bilingualism significantly impacts cognitive processes and language handling.
- Understanding cross-lingual interactions is key to cognitive research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how second language acquisition influences native language reading.
- To examine cross-lingual activation during reading using the cognate-facilitation effect.
Main Methods:
- Participants read sentences containing cognates (e.g., Dutch-English 'schip') and control words.
- Eye movements were monitored to measure reading times.
- The cognate-facilitation effect was used as an indicator of cross-lingual activation.
Main Results:
- Cognates were read significantly faster than control words.
- This facilitation indicates that knowledge of a second language influences native language processing.
- Eye-tracking data revealed differences in reading speed attributed to cross-lingual priming.
Conclusions:
- Even highly automated skills like native language reading are modified by bilingualism.
- Second language knowledge creates measurable cross-lingual effects during native language processing.
- This study provides evidence for the interconnectedness of language systems in the bilingual brain.
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