Search Results (105)

Second-language (L2) written processing has often been linked to cognitive disfluency, resembling fluency disruptions caused by perceptual challenges, such as visual degradation. This study used Virtual Reality to investigate whether cognitive disfluency in L2 mirrors perceptual disfluency by simulating adverse weather conditions (sunny vs. rainy) and applying visual masking. Spanish–English bilinguals completed a language decision task, identifying orthotactically unmarked words as either Spanish (L1) or English (L2) while experiencing these perceptual manipulations. Results showed that visual masking significantly increased reaction times, particularly for L1 words, suggesting that masking can diminish the native language advantage. Spanish words under masking elicited slower responses than unmasked ones, whereas L2 word recognition remained comparatively stable. Additionally, rainy weather conditions consistently slowed responses across both languages, indicating a general effect of environmental disfluency. A significant interaction between language and masking emerged, highlighting distinct cognitive effects for different disfluency types. These findings suggest that cognitive disfluency in L2 does not equate to perceptual disfluency; each affects processing differently. The use of Virtual Reality enabled the controlled manipulation of realistic environmental variables, offering valuable insights into how perceptual and linguistic challenges jointly influence bilingual language processing. Full article

Research on language contact outcomes, such as code-switching, continues to face theoretical and methodological challenges, particularly due to the difficulty of comparing findings across studies that use divergent data collection methods. Accordingly, scholars have emphasized the need for publicly available and comparable bilingual corpora. This paper introduces the El Paso Bilingual Corpus, a new Spanish–English bilingual corpus recorded in El Paso (TX) in 2022, designed to be methodologically comparable to the Bangor Miami Corpus. The paper is structured in three main sections. First, we review the existing Spanish–English corpora and examine the theoretical challenges posed by studies using non-comparable methodologies, thereby underscoring the gap addressed by the El Paso Bilingual Corpus. Second, we outline the corpus creation process, discussing participant recruitment, data collection, and transcription, and provide an overview of these data, including participants’ sociolinguistic profiles. Third, to demonstrate the practical value of methodologically aligned corpora, we report a comparative case study on diminutive expressions in the El Paso and Bangor Miami corpora, illustrating how shared collection protocols can elucidate the role of community-specific social factors on bilinguals’ morphosyntactic choices. Full article

Bilingual communication is increasingly prevalent in this globally connected world, where cultural exchanges and international interactions are unavoidable. Existing automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems are often limited to single languages. However, the growing demand for bilingual ASR in human–computer interactions, particularly in medical services, has become indispensable. This article addresses this need by creating an application programming interface (API)-based platform using VOSK, a popular open-source single-language ASR toolkit, to efficiently deploy a self-evaluated bilingual ASR system that seamlessly handles both primary and secondary languages in tasks like Mandarin–English mixed-speech recognition. The mixed error rate (MER) is used as a performance metric, and a workflow is outlined for its calculation using the edit distance algorithm. Results show a remarkable reduction in the Mandarin–English MER, dropping from ∼65% to under 13%, after implementing the self-evaluation framework and mixed-language algorithms. These findings highlight the importance of a well-designed system to manage the complexities of mixed-language speech recognition, offering a promising method for building a bilingual ASR system using existing monolingual models. The framework might be further extended to a trilingual or multilingual ASR system by preparing mixed-language datasets and computer development without involving complex training. Full article

This paper presents a comprehensive synchronic and diachronic analysis of the Sino-Vietnamese negative prefixes bất (Chinese 不 bù), vô (無 wú), and phi (非 fēi), examining their historical development and modern usage in Vietnamese, with a comparative perspective on their Chinese equivalents. By investigating the interaction between these prefixes and Vietnamese sentential negators—such as the native chẳng and the Chinese-derived không—the study explores the evolution of negation in Vietnamese over several centuries. The research draws on a corpus of three bilingual Classical Chinese–Vietnamese translations of Confucius’s Analects from the 17th, 19th, and 21st centuries, two written in traditional Nôm script and one in the modern Quốc ngữ alphabet. This corpus provides valuable insights into linguistic shifts driven by language contact in Vietnam. The findings reveal that in the 17th century, the Sino-Vietnamese prefixes bất, vô, and phi were largely absent, with native chẳng dominating. By the 19th century, chẳng persisted, but không emerged as a sentential negator, and bất appeared, both reflecting Chinese forms and demonstrating innovative uses. In the 21st century, không became the dominant negator, with bất and vô seeing increased usage, reflecting broader trends of linguistic modernization. This study situates these changes within the broader context of 20th-century East Asian literacy expansion, where Japan played a pivotal role in disseminating modernized Chinese-based vocabulary. By examining the selective adaptation and integration of Sino-Vietnamese elements, this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of language contact, syntactic influence, and lexical innovation in the evolving Vietnamese lexicon. Full article

This study presents WordMap, an integrated text mining application developed to enhance the efficiency and usability of text analysis over a network. As unstructured text data continues to grow across domains, effective tools for segmentation and topic modeling have become increasingly essential for extracting insightful information. However, most existing solutions depend on multiple disconnected tools, and these often compromise workflow efficiency and user experience. Unlike traditional tools, WordMap combines corpus segmentation, topic modeling, and result visualization into a unified workflow for both Chinese and English languages, thereby reducing workflow fragmentation and lowering the user threshold. To assess usability and user acceptance, this research adopts the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). WordMap employs PKUSEG and NLTK for bilingual corpus segmentation, utilizes BERTopic for dynamic topic modeling, and integrates interactive visualization to enable intuitive analysis. The PLS-SEM result shows that the perceived ease of use (PEOU) has a significant impact on both perceived usefulness (PU) and user attitude (ATT), while ATT strongly predicts behavioral intention (BI) (β = 0.674, p < 0.001). The results indicate that integrating core text mining processes into a user-centered design significantly boosts user satisfaction and adoption. By combining key processes and empirically validating user perceptions, the proposed framework facilitates the development of efficient and accessible text mining tools. It offers both theoretical and practical insights for future advancement and deployment in the field of text mining. Full article

Understanding others’ perspectives, or Theory of Mind (ToM), is a critical cognitive skill essential for social competence and effective interpersonal interactions. Although ToM is present in varying degrees across individuals, recent research indicates that linguistic factors, particularly bilingualism, can significantly influence its expression. Building on these findings, the current study examined performance on the perspective-taking trials of the Director Task among bilinguals and monolinguals. The results showed a nonsignificant trend in accurate responses as a function of bilingualism; however, a significant effect was found when examining only perspective-taking trials, with bilinguals outperforming monolinguals, suggesting that larger sample sizes are needed to identify this effect. Interestingly, a significant interaction between fluid intelligence and bilingualism was found, suggesting that bilinguals with higher fluid intelligence performed better on perspective-taking trials compared to bilinguals with lower fluid intelligence. The results emphasize the importance of domain-general abilities for the effect of bilingualism on perspective-taking and suggest that bilingualism’s effect on ToM may be more salient in individuals with higher cognitive abilities. Full article

The concept of gaming is universal and familiar to students worldwide. Gamification involves integrating game elements and mechanics into non-game environments, making it a valuable tool for enhancing user engagement and motivation in Human–Computer Interaction. This approach is particularly valuable for primary school education. Students are exposed to a great deal of information daily. This contains several inaccuracies and misinformation regarding the tourism sector. Our research is being conducted as part of the Computer Science course to help students aged 9 to 12 understand the concept of fake news in the context of tourism. Bilingual students brought valuable perspectives to the classroom, especially during discussions about cultural representation and media bias. Incorporating intercultural communication into learning activities helped these students enhance their language and critical thinking skills while navigating various cultural contexts. We used an application with gamification elements to engage the students and enhance their learning experience. We evaluated user experience and usability using quantitative methods through questionnaires. The results revealed that students found the application easy to use and had a positive experience with it. This study assessed the effectiveness of the educational intervention by comparing pre-test and post-test scores on a Likert scale on four key questions. The intervention was largely successful in enhancing student outcomes. These findings suggest that participants not only maintained stable information literacy behaviors over time but also showed improvements in critical evaluation and skepticism. Full article

In linguistically diverse and multilingual South African communities, it is common to use non-standard language varieties (NSLVs), often called mixed languages, as lingua franca. These NSLVs are primarily spoken in black townships throughout South Africa. Previous studies show that the discursive production of oral narratives impacts the development and use of higher-order language processing, as they require the knowledge, language skills and abilities to produce coherent discourse. The main focus of the existing literature in oral narrative is mostly on standard languages. In this study, we explore how speakers of Sepitori, a non-standard language variety (NSLV), produce an oral narrative compared to Sesotho, a standard language. The current study investigates the oral narrative production of a total number of 20 participants who are adult speakers of Sesotho and Sepitori (ten from each language). The Sesotho speakers were bilingual speakers of English and Sesotho. The Sepitori speakers were multilingual speakers of English, Sesotho, Zulu and other languages spoken in the Mamelodi township. This study used a mixed methodology of quantitative and qualitative analysis. Narratives were annotated for language complexity in the macro- and microstructure elements: the length and type of clause, pragmatic acts, referential lexical choices and code-switched words. Sepitori speakers produced narratives characterised by interactive clauses unrelated to the narrative level and with a greater range of lexical referents, showcasing more individual linguistic variation. Sesotho speakers produced a more sequential oral narrative in line with story schema with fewer interjections to the researcher. In an increasingly linguistically heterogeneous South Africa, more research is required to gain insights into how multilingual individuals develop and refine their narrative skills, emphasising the much-needed focus on NSLV from a psycholinguistic perspective, which may ultimately inform tools of assessment for multilingual children and adults in social, clinical and academic contexts. Full article

This study investigates the cross-linguistic priming effect in the syntactic written output of late bilingual Levantine Arabic speakers who learn English as a second language. In particular, we examined priming sentence type (simple vs. complex sentences) and priming language condition (Levantine Arabic vs. English). Forty-nine bilinguals (Mean age = 33.3, SD = 8.5), who learned Levantine Arabic as their L1 and English as their L2, were primed with a short paragraph presented on the computer screen in either English or Levantine Arabic and asked to produce a written response in the counterpart language. Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant cross-linguistic priming effect, suggesting that the syntactic structure of the prime in the participants’ first language (Levantine Arabic) predicts the participants’ written output in the second language (English), and the reverse is also true. However, there was no significant effect of priming sentence type (simple vs. complex) on the likelihood of producing primed res ponses, indicating that both priming conditions yielded similar levels of priming. In contrast, there was a significant effect of the priming language condition, with participants significantly more likely to produce syntactically primed responses when the priming language was Arabic compared to English. In addition, there was a significant interaction between the priming language condition and priming sentence type: Arabic priming led to more simple sentence production in English, whereas English priming did not significantly affect sentence complexity in Arabic. These findings align with the shared syntax account but highlight the need to consider factors such as language dominance in bilingual syntactic processing. Full article

This article explores the features of speech practices of young people in Kazakhstan in the conditions of interaction between Kazakh, Russian, and English, taking into account the influence of the digital environment and modern socio-cultural factors. The relevance of this study is determined by the rapid transformation of the language situation in Kazakhstan, where traditional bilingualism is evolving under the influence of globalisation and digital factors, contributing to the formation of new models of language interaction in the youth environment. The aim of this research is to study the mechanisms of language functioning in different communicative contexts, including digital communication. As a methodological basis, the methods of sociolinguistic and discourse analysis were applied, including the collection and interpretation of young people’s written texts, as well as interviewing respondents to identify their language preferences and communication strategies. The empirical analysis allowed us to identify new models of young people’s linguistic behaviour in various communicative environments, including online space. The leading factors influencing the choice of language code were identified, and the characteristic mechanisms of integrating elements of Kazakh, Russian, and English into a single speech act were recorded. Special attention is paid to the specifics of language interaction in digital environments, where hybrid forms of communication are observed due to technological and globalisation processes. This study considers the speech of young people not only as a linguistic phenomenon, but also as an instrument of intercultural communication, reflecting trends in the development of polylingualism. The findings of this study can be used to improve language policy and to develop educational programmes that take into account modern trends in youth communication. Full article

Successful interaction between family and preschool is crucial in the early stages of bilingual development. Traditionally, a Finnish–Russian preschool brings together children from Finnish-speaking, Russian-speaking, and bilingual families. Educators communicate with children and parents in different languages, using specific translanguaging strategies to develop both languages. The study explores how educators interact with parents and how children interact with each other without a common language. Reflective interviews with teachers explore various aspects of their professional activities, emphasizing the expert use of different languages to expand children’s language skills and foster appreciation. Teachers’ attitudes can shift upon reflection, underscoring the need for partnerships with parents. Additionally, the study analyzes educators’ opinions about play without a common language among children with diverse languages. The longitudinal case study within a bilingual Finnish–Russian preschool thematically groups answers from 18 interviews, focusing on the dynamic relationship between teachers and parents, crucial for creating a supportive learning environment for children’s holistic development. The results show that educators, when reflecting on their role in bilingual education, emphasize a wide range of positive examples of interactions with parents, from constructive professional relationships to long-lasting friendships. They believe that while they cannot replace family interactions, they can develop the child’s abilities within their group of peers. Specifically, play without a common language allows children to communicate with peers in different languages. Full article

This study explores translanguaging as a flexible and adaptive strategy for heritage language transmission within multilingual families residing in Cyprus, Estonia, and Sweden. Using a qualitative approach, the research examines family language policies, parental beliefs, and the linguistic practices of bilingual and multilingual families, where one parent speaks Russian. The findings reveal how translanguaging supports bilingual development by fostering linguistic adaptability, bridging heritage and societal languages, and accommodating diverse sociolinguistic contexts. Parents in each country implement unique strategies, influenced by local linguistic landscapes, educational systems, and resource availability. In Cyprus, some families strictly adhered to structured methods like the One Parent–One Language strategy, while others adopted a more integrative multilingual approach, seamlessly translanguaging between Russian, Greek, and English in their daily interactions. Estonian and Swedish families display pragmatic adaptations, emphasizing translanguaging’s role in promoting the emotional well-being and linguistic identity of family members. However, certain challenges persist, including societal language dominance, literacy and educational resource scarcity, and the potential overuse of translanguaging in formal communication. By comparing these contexts, the study underscores the need for flexible yet deliberate family language policies, institutional support, and community resources to sustain bilingualism in bilingual and multilingual families. This research contributes to understanding translanguaging’s implications for intergenerational language transmission in minority and immigrant settings, offering insights for educators, linguists, and policymakers on fostering linguistic diversity and equity in globalized societies. Full article

The literature on bilingual language development often reports cases of cross-linguistic interaction of the two languages being acquired. In this paper, we investigate possible cross-linguistic interaction outputs in the development of branching onsets in the bilingual acquisition of French and Portuguese. Thirty French–Portuguese bilingual children, aged between 3;6 and 6;1, participated in our study. Their elicited productions were collected using two picture naming tasks containing 29 clusters in French and 57 clusters in Portuguese. Almost all the children acquire branching onsets earlier in French than in Portuguese, independently of the quality of cluster type (Consonant + Rhotic (Cr) clusters vs. Consonant + Lateral (Cl) clusters). Epenthesis is more present in Portuguese than in French. Shared structures in both languages are not acquired at the same time. These results show that bilingual children follow separate patterns of development, close to the ones reported for monolinguals, during the acquisition of their two languages. Moreover, the bilingual children show higher rates of development of clusters in Portuguese than the ones reported for monolinguals, suggesting an accelerated acquisition of clusters in Portuguese due to a positive influence of French. Full article

Children born preterm are at an elevated risk of language delays compared to children born full-term. However, there is a dearth of research investigating language outcomes in premature children exposed to more than one language. There is also limited empirical evidence linking the quantity and quality of parent input and language outcomes in premature children and the strength of these relationships in bilingual contexts remains unknown. Therefore, the current study examined language skills, parent input, conversational turns, and their associations at 16 months to 36 months in monolingual and bilingual children born preterm. Nine English-speaking monolingual parent–child dyads, and nine Spanish–English bilingual parent–child dyads participated in parent–child interactions that occurred over time in play-based contexts. Results revealed that preterm monolingual and bilingual children exhibited similar language abilities at all time points assessed. While both monolingual and bilingual dyads engaged in a comparable number of conversational turns at 16 m, monolingual mothers produced more words than bilingual mothers during play. Significant associations were observed between children’s vocabulary skills and their ability to combine words within and across most time points. Notably, relationships between parental input, conversational turns, and language skills were limited to a significant association between conversational turns at 16 m and vocabulary skills at 24 m. Together, findings indicate that bilingual children born preterm acquire language on the same timeline as monolingual children born preterm. While it is crucial that the current work be replicated in larger samples of children born preterm, the current work is the first to compare relationships between children’s language outcomes and the quantity and quality of parental input in monolingual and bilingual contexts. Full article

Background/Objectives: Although the embodiment of action-related language is well-established in the mother tongue (L1), less is known about the embodiment of a second language (L2) acquired later in life through formal instruction. We used the high temporal resolution of ERPs and topographic ERP analyses to compare embodiment in L1 and L2 and to investigate whether L1 and L2 are embodied with different strengths at different stages of linguistic processing. Methods: Subjects were presented with action-related and non-action-related verbs in a silent reading task. Subjects were late French–German and German–French bilinguals, respectively, and we could therefore collapse across languages to avoid common confounding between language (French and German) and order of acquisition (L1, L2). Results: We could show distinct effects of embodiment and language. Embodiment affected only the sensory and lexical stages of processing with increased strength and power of the N1 component for motor vs. non-motor verbs, and language affected the lexical and semantic stages of processing with stronger P2/N400 components for L2 than for L1. Non-motor verbs elicited a stronger P1 component in L2. Conclusions: Our results suggest that processing words in L2 requires more effortful processing. Importantly, L1 and L2 are not embodied differently, and embodiment affects early and similar stages of processing in L1 and L2, possibly integrating other process of action–language interaction Full article