Bartolotti James, Marian Viorica
Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
Int J Multiling. 2019;16(4):377-397. doi: 10.1080/14790718.2017.1423073. Epub 2018 Jan 10.
Bilinguals' two languages are both active in parallel, and controlling co-activation is one of bilinguals' principle challenges. Trilingualism multiplies this challenge. To investigate how third language (L3) learners manage interference between languages, Spanish-English bilinguals were taught an artificial language that conflicted with English and Spanish letter-sound mappings. Interference from existing languages was higher for L3 words that were similar to L1 or L2 words, but this interference decreased over time. After mastering the L3, learners continued to experience competition from their other languages. Notably, spoken L3 words activated orthography in all three languages, causing participants to experience cross-linguistic orthographic competition in the absence of phonological overlap. Results indicate that L3 learners are able to control between-language interference from the L1 and L2. We conclude that while the transition from two languages to three presents additional challenges, bilinguals are able to successfully manage competition between languages in this new context.
双语者的两种语言同时并行活跃，控制共同激活是双语者面临的主要挑战之一。三语现象使这一挑战成倍增加。为了研究第三语言（L3）学习者如何管理语言之间的干扰，我们对西班牙-英语双语者教授了一种与英语和西班牙语字母-发音映射相冲突的人工语言。对于与第一语言（L1）或第二语言（L2）单词相似的L3单词，来自现有语言的干扰更大，但这种干扰会随着时间的推移而减少。在掌握L3之后，学习者仍然会受到其他语言的竞争影响。值得注意的是，口语化的L3单词激活了所有三种语言的正字法，导致参与者在没有语音重叠的情况下经历跨语言正字法竞争。结果表明，L3学习者能够控制来自L1和L2的语言间干扰。我们得出结论，虽然从两种语言过渡到三种语言会带来额外的挑战，但双语者能够在这种新环境中成功管理语言之间的竞争。
