Word Associations in English as L1 and L2

master's thesis

• Title (croatian): Asocijacije riječi na engleskom jeziku kao J1 i J2
• Author: Marina Auguštin
• Mentor: Irena Zovko Dinković (mentor)
• Committee member: Marina Grubišić (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Ivana Bašić (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature); Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2020-09-30, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; Philology; Anglistics

Abstract

The organization of the human mental lexicon has been explored for many years through various psychological experiments. This paper focuses on exploring and comparing the first- and the second-language mental lexicon with the help of a word association test. Native and non-native (Croatian) speakers of English provided their associations to twenty words written in English, which were then analysed according to a modified version of a categorization system proposed by Tess Fitzpatrick. This categorization system allowed for a thorough comparison of response type tendencies in L1 and L2. Furthermore, a separate analysis of the responses produced by lower- and higher-English-proficiency non-native speakers was used to explore the effect of language proficiency on the results. Lastly, the effects of concreteness and imageability of cue words on associations were investigated by comparing the responses elicited by words of different levels of concreteness and words of different levels of imageability. The paper attempts to provide an insight into the organization of an L1 and an L2 mental lexicon and how their similarities and differences are affected by L2 proficiency. Additionally, it includes indications of the influence of concreteness and imageability levels of cue words on the association links activated both in L1 and L2.

Abstract (croatian)

Organizacija ljudskog mentalnog leksikona istražuje se već niz godina putem raznih psiholoških eksperimenata. Ovaj rad usmjeren je na istraživanje i usporedbu mentalnog leksikona prvog i drugog usvojenog jezika uz pomoć testa asocijacija riječi. Izvorni i neizvorni (hrvatski) govornici engleskog jezika pružili su svoje asocijacije na dvadeset riječi napisanih na engleskom jeziku, koje su zatim analizirane na temelju preinačene verzije sustava kategorizacije koji je predložila Tess Fitzpatrick. Taj je sustav kategorizacije omogućio detaljnu usporedbu sklonosti ka određenom tipu odgovora na J1 i J2. Nadalje, zasebna analiza odgovora koje su pružili neizvorni govornici niže te oni više razine znanja engleskog jezika provedena je kako bi se istražio utjecaj razine znanja jezika na rezultate. Konačno, utjecaj konkretnosti i predočivosti podražajnih riječi na asocijacije ispitan je usporedbom odgovora aktiviranih riječima različite razine konkretnosti i riječima različite razine predočivosti. Ovaj rad nastoji pružiti uvid u organizaciju mentalnog leksikona prvog i drugog usvojenog jezika te prikazati kako na njihove sličnosti i razlike utječe razina znanja J2. Osim toga, uključuje naznake utjecaja razine konkretnosti i predočivosti podražajnih riječi na aktivaciju asocijativnih veza na J1 i J2.

• Keywords: mental lexicon; word association test; language proficiency; concreteness; imageability
• Keywords (croatian): mentalni leksikon; test asocijacija riječi; razina znanja jezika; konkretnost; predočivost
• Language: english
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:616749
• Study programme: Title: English Language and Literature (double major); specializations in: Linguistics, Literature and Culture, Translation; Course: Linguistics; Study programme type: university; Study level: graduate; Academic / professional title: magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti (magistar/magistra engleskog jezika i književnosti)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2020-10-08 21:49:34