Vinas-Guasch, N. , Gathercole, V. M. , Mills, D. & Stadthagen-González, H.
Bangor university
This study examined the linguistic-conceptual organization of semantic categories in monolinguals and bilinguals whose languages differ in how the conceptual space is carved up. The conceptual organization of knowledge in the brain has been examined from various perspectives in previous research, but that work has largely focused on localisationist issues revolving around modality or domain (natural objects vs. artifacts, body parts, faces, animals) or the sensomotor characteristics (manipulable vs non manipulable artifacts, tools).
Here we address the influence of language on conceptual organisation. Researchers working on first and second language acquisition have argued both that language re-arranges the cognitive space in such a way that meanings that were initially unrelated slide closer in the semantic network and form categories (Bowerman, 2002) and that we need to acknowledge a differentiation of linguistic and non-linguistic encoded information (Pavlenko, 1997).
This study examined whether monolinguals (N=18) and bilinguals (N=15) show priming effects in a lexical decision task using words that have a broader meaning in Spanish than in English (e.g., dedo – finger, toe). We classify words and categories into four groups according to the relationship between the members of the category. Bilinguals were all L1 Spanish and high functioning L2 English speakers with vocabularies within monolingual norms for English.
For the bilinguals, but not for the monolinguals, priming or inhibition was observed in two of the category types, but not two others, as predicted. The two types for which effects were observed involve conceptual spaces in which members of the categories lie close to one another. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the relationship between language and cognition.