Cognate Beginnings to Bilingual Lexical Acquisition
Author Information
Author(s): Gonzalo Garcia‐Castro, Daniela S. Avila‐Varela, Ignacio Castillejo, Nuria Sebastian‐Galles
Primary Institution: Center for Brain and Cognition Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Hypothesis
The acquisition of words from the lower-exposure language would benefit more strongly from their cognate status than the acquisition of words from the higher-exposure language.
Conclusion
Cognates are acquired earlier than non-cognates, especially in the lower-exposure language.
Supporting Evidence
- Cognates were found to be acquired earlier than non-cognates.
- The effect of cognateness was moderated by the degree of language exposure.
- Children benefited more from cognates in the lower-exposure language.
Takeaway
Kids learning two languages find it easier to learn words that sound similar in both languages, especially when they hear one language less often.
Methodology
Bayesian Item Response Theory was used to model acquisition trajectories for 604 Catalan-Spanish translations from a dataset of 366 bilingual children.
Potential Biases
Potential overestimation or underestimation of children's vocabulary due to caregiver assumptions about word knowledge across languages.
Limitations
Caregiver reports may introduce biases in estimating children's vocabulary acquisition.
Participant Demographics
Participants were aged 12–32 months, with a mean age of 22.23 months, including 175 females and 179 males, mainly White.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.007
Confidence Interval
[0.02, 0.109]
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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