Word comprehension in a second language: a direct or an indirect route to meaning?
For bilingual persons, comprehension of a word in a second language (L2 word) could be achieved via an indirect route, in which the L2 word is first translated into the first language (L1) before meaning is accessed, or via a direct route, in which an L2 word directly activates its meaning. To test these two accounts, proficient Dutch-English bilinguals were asked to translate and to categorize L2 words of high and low familiarity. These L2 words were accompanied by a Dutch context word that was either phonologically related or unrelated to its Dutch translation equivalent. The results showed a clear phonological facilitation effect in the translation task but no phonological facilitation in the categorization task. This result was taken as evidence for a "direct route" from the L2 word to its meaning.
La Heij
Wido
W
Leiden University, Cognitive Psychology Unit, The Netherlands. laheij@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Akerboom
Simone Petri
SP
D003071:Cognition; D006801:Humans; D019303:Multilingualism; D011930:Reaction Time; D012660:Semantics; D013067:Speech Perception; D014825:Vocabulary