Author: Namei, S.
Description: Previous word association studies show that the first language (L1) mental lexicon is organized mainly on a semantic basis, while the organization of the second language (L2) mental lexicon in the early stages of development is phonologically based, indicating a less profound lexical knowledge. This study examines whether or not this is the case by comparing 100 Persian–Swedish bilingual subjects with 100 native speakers of Swedish and Persian. The elicitation instrument was the Kent-Rosanoff association list (1910), and the subjects’ task was to give a single-word response to each stimulus word. The results show that phonologically-based associations occur in both the L1 and the L2 as a function of the degree of word knowledge. Phonologically-based organization is a primary acquisition feature of every individual word, and it is not abandoned even during the advanced stages of language proficiency, whether in the L1 or the L2. It was found that words that are barely known may elicit phonologically-based associations, those that are partially known may have a strong syntactic organization, and well-known words are connected to other words mainly on a semantic basis.
Subject headings: Word association; Mental lexicon; Native speaker
Publication year: 2004
Journal or book title: International Journal of Applied Linguistics
Volume: 14
Issue: 3
Pages: 363-388
Find the full text : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2004.00070.x/abstract
Find more like this one (cited by): https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=7559713552487699029&as_sdt=1000005&sciodt=0,16&hl=en
Type: Journal Article
Serial number: 904