Selection Processes in Monolingual and Bilingual Lexical Access

Abstract

Abstract How do bilinguals selectively retrieve words from either the first or second language when both words express the same conceptual content? Formulated in this way, this problem is very similar to the one faced by monolinguals when a preverbal message does not uniquely specify a single lexical item (the ‘‘convergence problem’’). In this chapter, I argue that this convergence problem is nonexistent if one assumes that the preverbal message contains all necessary information, including affective and pragmatic features, to uniquely specify a single word. In monolinguals, these features may indicate the intention to use slang, formal language, or a euphemism.