Cognate effects in sentence context depend on word class, L2 proficiency, and task

Area of Science:

• Psycholinguistics
• Bilingualism
• Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

• Cognates, translation equivalents sharing orthographic and semantic features, are recognized faster than non-cognates.
• This cognate effect arises from the coactivation of representations in two languages.
• Previous research indicates cognate facilitation occurs even within sentence contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors influencing the cognate effect in second language (L2) reading.
• To examine the impact of word class (noun vs. verb), L2 reading proficiency, and task demands on cognate facilitation.
• To identify the boundaries and conditions under which the cognate effect operates.

Main Methods:

• Eye-movement tracking (Experiment 1) and self-paced reading (Experiment 2) were employed.
• Dutch-English bilinguals read L2 sentences containing noun or verb cognates.
• Participant L2 proficiency was assessed via self-ratings and reading speed.

Main Results:

• Cognate facilitation was significantly smaller for verbs compared to nouns.
• Higher L2 reading proficiency correlated with reduced cognate facilitation.
• Task demands influenced the observability of cognate facilitation effects.

Conclusions:

• The cognate effect is modulated by word class, with nouns showing stronger facilitation than verbs.
• Cognate facilitation is less pronounced in more proficient L2 readers.
• Task demands play a crucial role in the manifestation of the cognate effect, highlighting its context-dependent nature.