Behavioural and electrophysiological investigations of Chinese translation activation during English word recognition in Chinese-English bilingualsTools Wen, Yun (2017) Behavioural and electrophysiological investigations of Chinese translation activation during English word recognition in Chinese-English bilinguals. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.
AbstractBilinguals have the unique ability to translate words between their languages. Although translation is a seemingly deliberate and conscious process, recent research has shown that first language (L1) translation equivalents can be automatically and quickly activated during second language (L2) word reading. Automatic translation activation strongly supports the idea of non-selective lexical access. This thesis investigates L1 (Chinese) translation activation during L2 (English) word reading in Chinese-English bilinguals, mainly through using the hidden translation repetition paradigm. In a series of behavioural and electrophysiological experiments using carefully selected stimuli, English words were subliminally or visibly presented to Chinese-English bilinguals in an attempt to seek the source of automatic translation activation (phonology: segment and/or tone, and/or orthography) and to explore to what extent translation activation is automatic. In contrast to previous studies, the behavioural investigations revealed that automatic translation only occurs for target words, which were visible to bilinguals, but not for the invisible masked primes. In addition, in the electrophysiological study, the event-related brain potentials and event-related brain oscillations provided evidence for the dominant role of Chinese segmental (consonants and vowels) activation during English word reading. Possible interpretations for these new findings are provided. Theoretical and methodological implications of the present thesis are also discussed.
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