Eye-tracking studies of bilingual word processing, context, and executive function

双语文字处理、语境和执行功能的眼动追踪研究

• 批准号: 261769-2008
• 负责人: Titone, Debra
• 金额: $ 1.49万
• 依托单位: McGill University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2012-01-01 至 2013-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=497148
• 关键词: Eye; tracking; studies; bilingual; word

Bilingualism and multilingualism are substantially more prevalent globally than monolingualism, yet the vast majority of psycholinguistic research is based upon studies of monolingual people. One major challenge that bilinguals face is that they must acquire and represent all material required for at least two languages while flexibly determining when and how to use that knowledge. Early work indicated that bilinguals selectively access words from a language currently in use. However, compelling evidence now shows that bilinguals also access words in other known languages that look or sound similar to what is encountered. Although non-selective access, as it is termed, is widely accepted, its extent and scope remain unclear. For example, how does non-selective access in the face of cross-language ambiguity compare to within-language lexical ambiguity, how is it influenced by sentence or task context, how does it relate to individual differences in proficiency or other cognitive capacities, and does it also apply to spoken language? Answers to these questions are at the heart of current bilingual language processing models, such as BIA+ and BIMOLA. I propose to investigate questions regarding bilingual lexical processing using a highly sensitive measure of comprehension - eye movement recordings. Eye movement recording studies have important advantages over traditional psycholinguistic tasks, specifically, language processing is more natural and a range of measures can be examined that provide information about the early and later stages of comprehension simultaneously. I will address three interdependent questions in this work. First, how do bilingual adults comprehend words in semantic and non-semantic contexts while reading sentences? Second, how do bilingual adults comprehend words in context during spoken language, using the Visual World Paradigm? Finally, do individual differences in executive function correlate with critical comprehension measures obtained in these experiments? This research will advance our understanding of bilingual language processing and the cognitive capacities that modulate comprehension, thus leading to more globally realistic models of human language function.

双语和多语在全球范围内比单语更为普遍，但绝大多数心理语言学研究都是基于对单语人群的研究。双语者面临的一个主要挑战是，他们必须掌握和表现至少两种语言所需的所有材料，同时灵活地决定何时以及如何使用这些知识。早期的研究表明，双语者有选择地从当前使用的语言中获取单词。然而，令人信服的证据表明，双语者也会接触到其他已知语言中的单词，这些单词看起来或听起来与所遇到的相似。虽然所谓的非选择性准入已被广泛接受，但其程度和范围仍不清楚。例如，面对跨语言歧义的非选择性通达与语言内词汇歧义相比如何，它如何受到句子或任务上下文的影响，它如何与熟练程度或其他认知能力的个体差异相关，以及它是否也适用于口语？这些问题的答案是当前双语语言处理模型的核心，例如BIA+和BIMOLA。我建议使用一种高度敏感的理解测量方法--眼动记录来研究双语词汇加工的问题。与传统的心理语言学任务相比，眼动记录研究具有重要的优势，具体而言，语言处理更自然，并且可以检查一系列措施，同时提供有关早期和后期理解阶段的信息。在本书中，我将讨论三个相互依存的问题。首先，双语成年人在阅读句子时如何理解语义和非语义语境中的单词？第二，双语成年人如何在口语中理解语境中的单词，使用视觉世界范式？最后，执行功能的个体差异与这些实验中获得的关键理解措施相关吗？这项研究将促进我们对双语语言处理和调节理解的认知能力的理解，从而导致人类语言功能的更全面的现实模型。