Between- and within-language priming is the same: evidence for shared bilingual syntactic representations

TY - JOUR

T1 - Between- and within-language priming is the same

T2 - evidence for shared bilingual syntactic representations

AU - Kantola, Leila

AU - van-Gompel, Roger P. G.

PY - 2011/2

Y1 - 2011/2

N2 - Two structural-priming experiments investigated how bilinguals represent syntactic structures. According to the shared-syntax account (Hartsuiker, Pickering, & Veltkamp, 2004), bilinguals have a single syntactic representation for structures that exist in both languages, whereas separate-syntax accounts claim that the representations for these structures are language specific. Our experiments tested native speakers of Swedish who were highly proficient in English. The results showed that structural priming within language and between languages was equally strong. This indicates that representations of syntactic structures from different languages are shared and, therefore, supports the shared-syntax account.

AB - Two structural-priming experiments investigated how bilinguals represent syntactic structures. According to the shared-syntax account (Hartsuiker, Pickering, & Veltkamp, 2004), bilinguals have a single syntactic representation for structures that exist in both languages, whereas separate-syntax accounts claim that the representations for these structures are language specific. Our experiments tested native speakers of Swedish who were highly proficient in English. The results showed that structural priming within language and between languages was equally strong. This indicates that representations of syntactic structures from different languages are shared and, therefore, supports the shared-syntax account.

U2 - 10.3758/s13421-010-0016-5

DO - 10.3758/s13421-010-0016-5

M3 - Article

C2 - 21264625

SN - 0090-502X

VL - 39

SP - 276

EP - 290

JO - Memory and Cognition

JF - Memory and Cognition

IS - 2

ER -