Cognate effects in sentence context depend on word class, L2 proficiency, and task

Abstract

Noun translation equivalents that share orthographic and semantic features, called “cognates”, are generally recognized faster than translation equivalents without such overlap. This cognate effect, which has also been obtained when cognates and noncognates were embedded in a sentence context, emerges from the coactivation of representations in two languages. The present study examined whether cognate facilitation in sentences is subject to effects of word class, reading proficiency in a second language (L2), and task demands. We measured eye movements (Experiment 1) and self-paced reading times (Experiment 2) for Dutch–English bilinguals reading L2 sentences that contained either a noun or a verb cognate. Results showed that cognate effects were smaller for verbs than for nouns. Furthermore, cognate facilitation was reduced for readers with a higher proficiency in L2 as expressed by self-ratings or reading speed in L2. Additionally, the results of the eye-movement study and the self-paced reading study indicated that the likelihood of observing cognate facilitation effects also depends on task demands. The obtained pattern of results helps to identify some of the boundaries of the cognate effect.

Keywords:

• Bilingualism
• Cognates
• Sentence processing
• Verbs
• Proficiency.

The authors would like to thank Jurriën Schuurman for his help with the data collection and Hubert Voogd for technical assistance.