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Conceptual representations in bicultural bilinguals: An ERP approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2021

Xuan Pan ,
Andy Xiong ,
Olessia Jouravlev  and
Debra Jared
Xuan Pan
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
Andy Xiong
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
Olessia Jouravlev
Affiliation:
Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Debra Jared*
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
*
Address for correspondence: Debra Jared, Department of Psychology, Brain and Mind Institute, Western Interdisciplinary Research Building, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, CanadaN6A 3K7. Email: djjared@uwo.ca
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Abstract

We investigated conceptual representations for translation word pairs in bilinguals who learned their languages in different cultural contexts. Mandarin–English bilinguals were presented with a word, and then a picture, and decided if they matched. Both behavioural and ERP data were collected. In one session, words were in English and in another they were the Mandarin translations. Critical pictures matched the prior word and were either biased to Chinese or Canadian culture. There was an interaction of test language and picture type in RT and errors in the behavioural data, and in five components in the ERP data, indicating that the task was easier when the culture depicted in the picture was congruent with the language of the preceding word. These findings provide evidence that the specific perceptual experiences that bilinguals encounter when learning words in each language have an impact on the semantic features that are activated by those words.

Keywords

bilingualsbiculturalconceptual representationstranslation wordsword–picture matching task
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 24 , Issue 5 , November 2021 , pp. 932 - 944
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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