Cover not available

Article published In: The Mental Lexicon
Vol. 10:2 (2015) ► pp.247–270

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

Lexical access in L2

Representational deficit or processing constraint?

Published online: 11 September 2015
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ml.10.2.04coo
Previous research on phonological priming in a Lexical Decision Task (LDT) has demonstrated that second language (L2) learners do not show inhibition typical for native (L1) speakers that results from lexical competition, but rather a reversed effect – facilitation (Gor, Cook, & Jackson, 2010). The present study investigates the source of the reversed priming effect and addresses two possible causes: a deficit in lexical representations and a processing constraint. Twenty-three advanced learners of Russian participated in two experiments. The monolingual Russian LDT task with priming addressed the processing constraint by manipulating the interstimulus interval (ISI, 350 ms and 500 ms). The translation task evaluated the robustness of lexical representations at both the phonolexical level (whole-word phonological representation) and the level of form-to-meaning mapping, thereby addressing the lexical deficit. L2 learners did not benefit from an increased ISI, indicating lack of support for the processing constraint. However, the study, found evidence for the representational deficit: when L2 familiarity with the words is controlled and L2 representations are robust, L2 learners demonstrate native-like processing accompanied by inhibition; however, when the words have fragmented (or fuzzy) representations, L2 lexical access is unfaithful and is accompanied by reduced lexical competition leading to facilitation effects.
References (53)
Bates, D., Maechler, M., & Bolker, B. (2012). lme4: Linear mixed-effects models using S4 classes. 
R package version 0.999999-0. [URL]Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Best, C.T. (1995). A direct realist view of cross-language speech perception. In W. Strange (Ed.), Speech perception and linguistic experience (pp. 171–206). Baltimore, MD: York Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Boersma, P. (2001). Praat, a system for doing phonetics by computer. Glot International, 5 (9/10), 341–345.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Broersma, M. (2012). Increased lexical activation and reduced competition in second-language listening. Language and Cognitive Processes, 271, 1205–1224. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Broersma, M., & Cutler, A. (2008). Phantom word activation in L2. System, 36(1), 22–34. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. (2011). Competition dynamics of second-language listening. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64 (1), 74–95. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Charles-Luce, J., & Luce, P.A. (1990). Similarity neighborhoods of words in young children’s lexicons. Journal of Child Language, 17 (1), 205–215. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chrabaszcz, A., & Gor, K. (2014). Context effects in the processing of phonolexical ambiguity in L2. Language Learning, 64 (3), 415–455. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cutler, A., & Otake, T. (2004). Pseudo–homophony in non-native listening. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 115 (5), 2392. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Darcy, I., Dekydtspotter, L., Sprouse, R.A., Glover, J., Kaden, C., McGuire, M., & Scott, J.H.G. (2012). Direct mapping of acoustics to phonology: On the lexical encoding of front rounded vowels in L1 English-L2 French acquisition. Second Language Research, 281, 5–40. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Diependaele, K., Lemhöfer, K., & Brysbaert, M. (2013). The word frequency effect in first-and second-language word recognition: A lexical entrenchment account. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 66 (5), 843–863. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Díaz, B., Mitterer, H., Broersma, M., & Sebastián-Gallés, N. (2012). Individual differences in late bilinguals’ L2 phonological processes: From acoustic-phonetic analysis to lexical access. Learning and Individual Differences, 22 (6), 680–689. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dufour, S., & Peereman, R. (2004). Phonological priming in auditory word recognition: initial overlap facilitation effect varies as a function of target word frequency. Current psychology letters (Online), 14(3). Retrieved from [URL] on December 14, 2009.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Escudero, P., Hayes-Harb, R., & Mitterer, H. (2008). Novel second-language words and asymmetric lexical access. Journal of Phonetics, 361, 345–360. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Flege, J.E. (1995). Second language speech learning: theory, findings, and problems. In W. Strange (Ed.), Speech perception and language experience: Issues in cross-language research (pp. 233–277). Baltimore. MD: York Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Forster, K.I., & Davis, C. (1984). Repetition priming and frequency attenuation in lexical access. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory,and Cognition, 101, 680–698. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Forster, K.I., & Forster, J.C. (2003). DMDX: A Windows display program with millisecond accuracy. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 35 (1), 116–124. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goldinger, S.D., Luce, P.A., & Pisoni, D.B. (1989). Priming lexical neighbors of spoken words: Effects of competition and inhibition. Journal of Memory & Language, 281, 501–518. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goldinger, S.D. (1999). Only the shadower knows: Comment on Hamburger & Slowiaczek (1996). Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 61, 347–351. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goldinger, S.D., Luce, P.A., Pisoni, D.B., & Marcario, J.K. (1992). Form-based priming in spoken word recognition: The roles of competition and bias. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 18 (6), 1211. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gollan, T.H., Montoya, R.I., Cera, C., & Sandoval, T.C. (2008). More use almost always means a smaller frequency effect: Aging, bilingualism, and the weaker links hypothesis. Journal of Memory and Language, 58 (3), 787–814. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gollan, T.H., & Kroll, J.F. (2001). Bilingual lexical access. The handbook of cognitive neuropsychology: What deficits reveal about the human mind, 321–345.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gor, K., Cook, S., & Jackson, S. (2010). Lexical access in highly proficient late L2 learners: Evidence from semantic and phonological auditory priming. Paper presented at the Second Language Research Forum (SLRF), University of Maryland.
Hamburger, M.B., & Slowiaczek, L.M. (1996). Phonological priming reflects lexical competition. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 31, 520–525. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Imai, S., Walley, A.C., & Flege, J.E. (2005). Lexical frequency and neighborhood density effects on the recognition of native and Spanish-accented words by native English and Spanish listeners. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 117 (2), 896–907. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kuznetsova, A., Brockhoff, P.B., & Christensen, R.H.B. (2013). lmerTest: Tests for random and fixed effects for linear mixed effect models (lmer objects of lme4 package). R package version, 2–0.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Laufer, B. (1988). The concept of ‘synforms’(similar lexical forms) in vocabulary acquisition. Language and Education, 2 (2), 113–132. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Luce, P.A., & Pisoni, D.B. (1998). Recognizing spoken words: The neighborhood activation model. Ear & Hearing, 191, 1–36. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Luce, P.A., Goldinger, S.D., Auer, E.T., & Vitevitch, M.S. (2000). Phonetic priming, neighborhood activation, and PARSYN. Perception & Psychophysics, 62 (3), 615–625. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Luce, P.A., Pisoni, D.B., & Goldinger, S.D. (1990). Similarity neighborhoods of spoken words. In G.T.M. Altmann (Ed.), Cognitive models of speech processing: Psycholinguistic and computational perspectives (pp. 122–147). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mani, N. & Plunkett, K. (2008). Phonological specificity of consonants and vowels in early lexical representations. Journal of Memory and Language, 571, 252–272. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Marslen-Wilson, W.D. (1987). Functional parallelism in spoken word-recognition. Cognition, 251, 71–102. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McClelland, J.L., & Elman, J.L. (1986). The TRACE model of speech perception. Cognitive psychology, 18 (1), 1–86. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McQueen, J.M. (2005). Speech perception. In K. Lamberts & R. Goldstone (Eds.), The handbook of cognition (pp. 255–275). London: Sage Publications. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Michael, E., & Gollan, T. (2005). Being and becoming bilingual: Individual differences and consequences for language production. In J. Kroll & A.M.B. De Groot (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism: Psycholinguistic approaches (pp. 389–407). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mills, D., Prat, C., Zangl, R., Stager, C., Neville, H. & Werker, J. (2004). Language experience and the organization of brain activity to phonetically similar words: ERP evidence from 14- and 20-month-olds. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 161, 1452–1464. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Monsell, S., & Hirsh, K.W. (1998). Competitor priming in spoken word recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory & Cognition, 241, 1495–1520. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nation, I.S. (2006). How large a vocabulary is needed for reading and listening?. Canadian Modern Language Review/La revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 63 (1), 59–82. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Norris, D. (1994). Shortlist: A connectionist model of continuous speech recognition. Cognition, 52 (3), 189–234. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pallier, C., Colomé, A., & Sebastián-Gallés, N. (2001). The influence of native-language phonology on lexical access: Exemplar-based versus abstract lexical entries. Psychological Science, 12 (6), 445–449. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pisoni, D.B., & Luce, P.A. (1987). Acoustic-phonetic representations in word recognition. Cognition, 25 (1), 21–52. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
R Development Core Team (2011). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. 
Vienna, Austria: R foundation for statistical computing. Retrieved from [URL]Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Radeau, M., Morais, J., & Segui, J. (1995). Phonological priming between monosyllabic spoken words. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 211, 1297–1311. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rüschemeyer, S.A., Nojack, A., & Limbach, M. (2008). A mouse with a roof? Effects of phonological neighbors on processing of words in sentences in a non-native language. Brain and language, 104 (2), 132–144. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Segalowitz, S.J., Segalowitz, N.S., & Wood, A.G. (1998). Assessing the development of automaticity in second language word recognition. Applied Psycholinguistics, 19 (01), 53–67. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Slowiaczek, L.M., & Hamburger, M.B. (1992). Prelexical facilitation and lexical interference in auditory word recognition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 181, 1239–1250. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Spinelli, E., Segui, J., & Radeau, M. (2001). Phonological priming in spoken word recognition with bisyllabic targets. Language & Cognitive Processes, 16 (4), 367–392. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stryker, S.B., & Leaver, B.L. (1997). Content-based instruction in foreign language education: Models and methods. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vitevitch, M.S., Luce, P.A., Pisoni, D.B., & Auer, E.T. (1999). Phonotactics, neighborhood activation, and lexical access for spoken words. Brain and language, 68 (1), 306–311. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Vitevitch, M.S., & Luce, P.A. (1999). Probabilistic phonotactics and neighborhood activation in spoken word recognition. Journal of Memory and Language, 40 (3), 374–408. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Walley, A.C. (1993) The role of vocabulary development in children’s spoken word recognition and segmentation ability. Developmental Review, 131, 256–350. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Weber, A., & Cutler, A. (2004). Lexical competition in non-native spoken-word recognition. Journal of Memory and Language, 50 (1), 1–25. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Westbury, C.F., Hollis, G., & Shaoul, C. (2007). LINGUA: The language-independent neighbourhood generator of the University of Alberta. The Mental Lexicon, 2 (2), 273–286. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (42)

Cited by 42 other publications

Darcy, Isabelle, Miquel Llompart, Rachel Hayes-Harb, Joan C. Mora, Miren Adrian, Svetlana Cook & Mirjam Ernestus
2025. Phonological processing and the L2 mental lexicon. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 47:1 ► pp. 361 ff. DOI logo
Heiszenberger, Elisabeth, Eva Reinisch, Frederik Hartmann, Elizabeth Brown & Elissa Pustka
2025. Perceptually Easy Second-Language Phones Are Not Always Easy: The Role of Orthography and Phonology in Schwa Realization in Second-Language French. Language and Speech 68:2 ► pp. 460 ff. DOI logo
Opitz, Andreas, Denisa Bordag & Alberto Furgoni
2025. Morphosyntactic underspecification affects the processing of verbal forms at different levels of abstraction in L1 and L2 German. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 28:1 ► pp. 185 ff. DOI logo
Tomé Cornejo, Carmela
2025. Exploring the Structure of Semantic Networks in Spanish as a Foreign Language. In Lexicon Exploration in English and Spanish Learners [Educational Linguistics, 67], ► pp. 131 ff. DOI logo
Barrios, Shannon L., Rachel Hayes-Harb & Joanne C. Moffatt
2024. Investigating Adult Learners’ Perceptual and Phonolexical Representations of Novel Phonological Contrasts. Languages 9:12 ► pp. 369 ff. DOI logo
Darcy, Isabelle & John R. Rothgerber
2024. Phonological Processing and Lexical Encoding in Bilingual Speech. In The Cambridge Handbook of Bilingual Phonetics and Phonology, ► pp. 426 ff. DOI logo
Yue, Jinxing, Roelien Bastiaanse, David Howard & Kai Alter
2024. Representational level matters for tone-word recognition: Evidence from form priming. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 77:5 ► pp. 1125 ff. DOI logo
Zheng, Qi & Kira Gor
2024. The Influence of Native Phonology, Allophony, and Phonotactics on Nonnative Lexical Encoding: A Vocabulary Training Study. Language Learning 74:1 ► pp. 146 ff. DOI logo
Hwang, Haerim
2023. Do position and lexical knowledge matter in children’s second language speech perception?. Lingua 289 ► pp. 103527 ff. DOI logo
Rodríguez-Arce, Jorge, Esteban Vázquez-Cano, Juan Pablo Cobá Juárez-Pegueros & Salvador González-García
2023. Comparison of Learning Content Representations to Improve L2 Vocabulary Acquisition Using m-learning. Sage Open 13:4 DOI logo
Baxter, Peta, Harold Bekkering, Ton Dijkstra, Mienke Droop, Marianne van den Hurk & Frank Leoné
2022. Contrasting orthographically similar words facilitates adult second language vocabulary learning. Learning and Instruction 80 ► pp. 101582 ff. DOI logo
Bordag, Denisa, Kira Gor & Andreas Opitz
2022. Ontogenesis Model of the L2 Lexical Representation. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 25:2 ► pp. 185 ff. DOI logo
Bordag, Denisa & Andreas Opitz
2022. Employing General Linguistic Knowledge in Incidental Acquisition of Grammatical Properties of New L1 and L2 Lexical Representations: Toward Reducing Fuzziness in the Initial Ontogenetic Stage. Frontiers in Psychology 12 DOI logo
Bouffier, Marion, Martine Poncelet & Steve Majerus
2022. The linguistic constraints of precision of verbal working memory. Memory & Cognition 50:7 ► pp. 1464 ff. DOI logo
Darcy, Isabelle
2022. From fuzzy to fine-grained representations in the developing lexicon. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 25:2 ► pp. 206 ff. DOI logo
Wanner-Kawahara, Jessie, Masahiro Yoshihara, Stephen J. Lupker, Rinus G. Verdonschot & Mariko Nakayama
2022. Morphological Priming Effects in L2 English Verbs for Japanese-English Bilinguals. Frontiers in Psychology 13 DOI logo
Zhao, Xiaowei & Ping Li
2022. Fuzzy or Clear? A Computational Approach Towards Dynamic L2 Lexical-Semantic Representation. Frontiers in Communication 6 DOI logo
Barrios, Shannon & Rachel Hayes-Harb
2021. L2 Processing of Words Containing English /æ/-/ɛ/ and /l/-/ɹ/ Contrasts, and the Uses and Limits of the Auditory Lexical Decision Task for Understanding the Locus of Difficulty. Frontiers in Communication 6 DOI logo
Baxter, Peta, Mienke Droop, Marianne van den Hurk, Harold Bekkering, Ton Dijkstra & Frank Leoné
2021. Contrasting Similar Words Facilitates Second Language Vocabulary Learning in Children by Sharpening Lexical Representations. Frontiers in Psychology 12 DOI logo
Daidone, Danielle & Isabelle Darcy
2021. Vocabulary Size Is a Key Factor in Predicting Second Language Lexical Encoding Accuracy. Frontiers in Psychology 12 DOI logo
Dong, Zhiyin Renee
2021. Tone and vocabulary learning for classroom-based L2 Mandarin learners. Chinese as a Second Language (漢語教學研究—美國中文教師學會學報). The journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, USA 56:3 ► pp. 179 ff. DOI logo
Faroqi-Shah, Yasmeen, Yanni Kevas & Ran Li
2021. Lexical category differences in bilingual picture naming: Implications for models of lexical representation. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 24:5 ► pp. 849 ff. DOI logo
Gor, Kira, Svetlana Cook, Denisa Bordag, Anna Chrabaszcz & Andreas Opitz
2021. Fuzzy Lexical Representations in Adult Second Language Speakers. Frontiers in Psychology 12 DOI logo
Han, Jeong-Im, Joo-Yeon Kim & Tae-Hwan Choi
2021. The Role of Orthography in Lexical Processing of the Phonological Variants in Second Language. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 50:2 ► pp. 437 ff. DOI logo
Kapnoula, Efthymia C.
2021. On the Locus of L2 Lexical Fuzziness: Insights From L1 Spoken Word Recognition and Novel Word Learning. Frontiers in Psychology 12 DOI logo
Llompart, Miquel
2021. Lexical and Phonetic Influences on the Phonolexical Encoding of Difficult Second-Language Contrasts: Insights From Nonword Rejection. Frontiers in Psychology 12 DOI logo
Llompart, Miquel
2021. Phonetic categorization ability and vocabulary size contribute to the encoding of difficult second-language phonological contrasts into the lexicon. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 24:3 ► pp. 481 ff. DOI logo
Llompart, Miquel
2024. Lexically-guided perceptual recalibration from acoustically unambiguous input in second language learners. Journal of Phonetics 107 ► pp. 101366 ff. DOI logo
Pelzl, Eric, Ellen F. Lau, Taomei Guo & Robert M. DeKeyser
2021. Advanced Second Language Learners of Mandarin Show Persistent Deficits for Lexical Tone Encoding in Picture-to-Word Form Matching. Frontiers in Communication 6 DOI logo
Gor, Kira & Svetlana V Cook
2020. A mare in a pub? Nonnative facilitation in phonological priming. Second Language Research 36:1 ► pp. 123 ff. DOI logo
Berger, Cynthia, Scott Crossley & Stephen Skalicky
2019. USING LEXICAL FEATURES TO INVESTIGATE SECOND LANGUAGE LEXICAL DECISION PERFORMANCE. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41:5 ► pp. 911 ff. DOI logo
LLOMPART, MIQUEL & EVA REINISCH
2019. Robustness of phonolexical representations relates to phonetic flexibility for difficult second language sound contrasts. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 22:5 ► pp. 1085 ff. DOI logo
Llompart, Miquel & Eva Reinisch
2021. Lexical representations can rapidly be updated in the early stages of second-language word learning. Journal of Phonetics 88 ► pp. 101080 ff. DOI logo
Pelzl, Eric, Ellen F. Lau, Taomei Guo & Robert DeKeyser
2019. ADVANCED SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS’ PERCEPTION OF LEXICAL TONE CONTRASTS. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41:1 ► pp. 59 ff. DOI logo
Pelzl, Eric, Ellen F. Lau, Taomei Guo & Robert DeKeyser
2021. EVEN IN THE BEST-CASE SCENARIO L2 LEARNERS HAVE PERSISTENT DIFFICULTY PERCEIVING AND UTILIZING TONES IN MANDARIN. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 43:2 ► pp. 268 ff. DOI logo
Struys, Esli, Jill Surmont, Piet Van de Craen, Olga Kepinska & Maurits Van den Noort
2019. Bilingual language control across modalities. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism 9:4-5 ► pp. 542 ff. DOI logo
Struys, Esli, Jill Surmont, Piet Van de Craen, Olga Kepinska & Maurits Van den Noort
2021. Bilingual language control across modalities. In Psycholinguistic Approaches to Production and Comprehension in Bilingual Adults and Children [Benjamins Current Topics, 117], ► pp. 39 ff. DOI logo
GOR, KIRA
2018. Phonological priming and the role of phonology in nonnative word recognition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 21:3 ► pp. 437 ff. DOI logo
VEIVO, OUTI, VINCENT PORRETTA, JUKKA HYÖNÄ & JUHANI JÄRVIKIVI
2018. Spoken second language words activate native language orthographic information in late second language learners. Applied Psycholinguistics 39:5 ► pp. 1011 ff. DOI logo
CHRABASZCZ, ANNA & KIRA GOR
2017. Quantifying contextual effects in second language processing of phonolexically ambiguous and unambiguous words. Applied Psycholinguistics 38:4 ► pp. 909 ff. DOI logo
Freynik, Suzanne, Kira Gor & Polly O’Rourke
2017. L2 processing of Arabic derivational morphology. The Mental Lexicon 12:1 ► pp. 21 ff. DOI logo
Cook, Svetlana V., Nick B. Pandža, Alia K. Lancaster & Kira Gor
2016. Fuzzy Nonnative Phonolexical Representations Lead to Fuzzy Form-to-Meaning Mappings. Frontiers in Psychology 7 DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 27 november 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue