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L1 and L2 picture naming in Mandarin–English bilinguals: A test of Bilingual Dual Coding Theory*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 December 2012

DEBRA JARED ,
REBECCA PEI YUN POH  and
ALLAN PAIVIO
DEBRA JARED*
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario
REBECCA PEI YUN POH
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario
ALLAN PAIVIO
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario
*
Address for correspondence: Debra Jared, Department of Psychology, Social Sciences Centre, University of Western Ontario, London ON, CanadaN6A 5C2djjared@uwo.ca
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Abstract

This study examined the nature of bilinguals’ conceptual representations and the links from these representations to words in L1 and L2. Specifically, we tested an assumption of the Bilingual Dual Coding Theory that conceptual representations include image representations, and that learning two languages in separate contexts can result in differences in referential images for L1 and L2. Mandarin–English participants named aloud culturally-biased images and culturally-unbiased filler images presented on a computer screen in both Mandarin (L1) and English (L2). Culturally-biased images were named significantly faster in the culturally-congruent language than in the incongruent language. These findings indicate that some image representations are more strongly connected to one language than the other, providing support for the Bilingual Dual Coding Theory.

Keywords

bilingualismBilingual Dual Coding Theorypicture namingimagesbicultural bilinguals

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 16 , Special Issue 2: Computational Modeling of Bilingualism , April 2013 , pp. 383 - 396
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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Footnotes

*

This research was funded by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery grant awarded to Debra Jared. It is based on an Honours B.A. thesis conducted by Rebecca Poh under the supervision of Debra Jared. The authors wish to thank Tianwei Zhang and Dae-Won Kim for assistance in testing participants, and three anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.

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