Cross language priming extends to formulaic units: evidence from eye-tracking suggests that this idea “has legs”
Idiom priming effects (faster processing compared to novel phrases) are generally robust in native speakers but not non-native speakers. This leads to the question of how idioms and other multiword units are represented and accessed in a first (L1) and second language (L2). We address this by invest...
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| Format: | Article |
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Cambridge University Press
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28743/ |
| _version_ | 1848793634749546496 |
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| author | Carrol, Gareth Conklin, Kathy |
| author_facet | Carrol, Gareth Conklin, Kathy |
| author_sort | Carrol, Gareth |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Idiom priming effects (faster processing compared to novel phrases) are generally robust in native speakers but not non-native speakers. This leads to the question of how idioms and other multiword units are represented and accessed in a first (L1) and second language (L2). We address this by investigating the processing of translated Chinese idioms to determine whether known L1 combinations show idiom priming effects in non-native speakers when encountered in the L2. In two eye-tracking experiments we compared reading times for idioms vs. control phrases (Experiment 1) and for figurative vs. literal uses of idioms (Experiment 2). Native speakers of Chinese showed recognition of the L1 form in the L2, but figurative meanings were read more slowly than literal meanings, suggesting that the non-compositional nature of idioms makes them problematic in a non-native language. We discuss the results as they relate to crosslinguistic priming at the multiword level. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:03:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-28743 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:03:25Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-287432020-05-04T19:58:20Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28743/ Cross language priming extends to formulaic units: evidence from eye-tracking suggests that this idea “has legs” Carrol, Gareth Conklin, Kathy Idiom priming effects (faster processing compared to novel phrases) are generally robust in native speakers but not non-native speakers. This leads to the question of how idioms and other multiword units are represented and accessed in a first (L1) and second language (L2). We address this by investigating the processing of translated Chinese idioms to determine whether known L1 combinations show idiom priming effects in non-native speakers when encountered in the L2. In two eye-tracking experiments we compared reading times for idioms vs. control phrases (Experiment 1) and for figurative vs. literal uses of idioms (Experiment 2). Native speakers of Chinese showed recognition of the L1 form in the L2, but figurative meanings were read more slowly than literal meanings, suggesting that the non-compositional nature of idioms makes them problematic in a non-native language. We discuss the results as they relate to crosslinguistic priming at the multiword level. Cambridge University Press 2017-03 Article PeerReviewed Carrol, Gareth and Conklin, Kathy (2017) Cross language priming extends to formulaic units: evidence from eye-tracking suggests that this idea “has legs”. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 20 (2). pp. 299-317. ISSN 1366-7289 bilingualism dual route processing formulaic language idioms crosslinguistic influence http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9664537&fileId=S1366728915000103 doi:10.1017/S1366728915000103 doi:10.1017/S1366728915000103 |
| spellingShingle | bilingualism dual route processing formulaic language idioms crosslinguistic influence Carrol, Gareth Conklin, Kathy Cross language priming extends to formulaic units: evidence from eye-tracking suggests that this idea “has legs” |
| title | Cross language priming extends to formulaic units: evidence from eye-tracking suggests that this idea “has legs” |
| title_full | Cross language priming extends to formulaic units: evidence from eye-tracking suggests that this idea “has legs” |
| title_fullStr | Cross language priming extends to formulaic units: evidence from eye-tracking suggests that this idea “has legs” |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cross language priming extends to formulaic units: evidence from eye-tracking suggests that this idea “has legs” |
| title_short | Cross language priming extends to formulaic units: evidence from eye-tracking suggests that this idea “has legs” |
| title_sort | cross language priming extends to formulaic units: evidence from eye-tracking suggests that this idea “has legs” |
| topic | bilingualism dual route processing formulaic language idioms crosslinguistic influence |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28743/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28743/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/28743/ |