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Multilink: a computational model for bilingual word recognition and word translation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2018

TON DIJKSTRA ,
ALEXANDER WAHL ,
FRANKA BUYTENHUIJS ,
NINO VAN HALEM ,
ZINA AL-JIBOURI ,
MARCEL DE KORTE  and
STEVEN REKKÉ
TON DIJKSTRA*
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen
ALEXANDER WAHL
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen
FRANKA BUYTENHUIJS
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen
NINO VAN HALEM
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen
ZINA AL-JIBOURI
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen
MARCEL DE KORTE
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen
STEVEN REKKÉ
Affiliation:
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen
*
Address for correspondence: Ton Dijkstra, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Donders Centre for Cognition, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR Nijmegen, The Netherlandst.dijkstra@donders.ru.nl
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Abstract

The computational BIA+ model (Dijkstra & Van Heuven, 2002) has provided a useful account for bilingual word recognition, while the verbal (pre-quantitative) RHM (Kroll & Stewart, 1994) has often served as a reference framework for bilingual word production and translation. According to Brysbaert and Duyck (2010), a strong need is felt for a unified implemented account of bilingual word comprehension, lexical-semantic processing, and word production. With this goal in mind, we built a localist-connectionist model, called Multilink, which integrates basic assumptions of both BIA+ and RHM. It simulates the recognition and production of cognates (form-similar translation equivalents) and non-cognates of different lengths and frequencies in tasks like monolingual and bilingual lexical decision, word naming, and word translation production. It also considers effects of lexical similarity, cognate status, relative L2-proficiency, and translation direction. Model-to-model comparisons show that Multilink provides higher correlations with empirical data than both IA and BIA+ models.

Keywords

computational modelword translationcognateconnectionistlexical decision
Type
Keynote Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 657 - 679
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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Footnotes

* The authors thank Sybrine Bultena, Louis ten Bosch, Randi Goertz, and Eric Lormans for their comments on an earlier version of this paper.

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