ERIC Number: EJ774263
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Sep
Pages: 19
Abstractor: Author
Reference Count: 0
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
Shared Syntactic Representations in Bilinguals: Evidence for the Role of Word-Order Repetition
Bernolet, Sarah; Hartsuiker, Robert J.; Pickering, Martin J.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v33 n5 p931-949 Sep 2007
Studies on syntactic priming strongly suggest that bilinguals can store a single integrated representation of constructions that are similar in both languages (e.g., Spanish and English passives; R. J. Hartsuiker, M. J. Pickering, & E. Veltkamp, 2004). However, they may store 2 separate representations of constructions that involve different word orders (e.g., German and English passives; H. Loebell & K. Bock, 2003). In 5 experiments, the authors investigated within- and between-languages priming of Dutch, English, and German relative clauses. The authors found priming within Dutch (Experiment 1) and within English as a 2nd language (Experiments 2 and 4). An important finding is that priming occurred from Dutch to German (Experiment 5), which both have verb-final relative clauses; but it did not occur between Dutch and English (Experiments 3 and 4), which differ in relative-clause word order. The results suggest that word-order repetition is needed for the construction of integrated syntactic representations.
Descriptors: German, Verbs, Word Order, Language Processing, Indo European Languages, English, English (Second Language), Bilingual Students, Syntax
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: N/A

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