The processing of English prefixed and suffixed words by Chinese-English bilinguals

Abstract

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: This study had two specific research goals. First, it investigated the relative importance of meaning and form in bilingual morphological processing of English prefixed and suffixed words. Second, it probed how target language proficiency and morphological type moderated bilingual morphological processing. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study implemented the masked morphological priming paradigm that administered three prime types (Transparent, Opaque, and Form) from two morphological types (prefix and suffix) to three Chinese-English bilingual groups (advanced, intermediate, and lower-intermediate). The critical stimuli included the Transparent (e.g., visualize-VISUAL; disagreement-DISAGREE), the Opaque (e.g., vanity-VAN; submission-MISSION), and the Form (e.g., example-EXAM; apparent-PARENT) English words. Data and Analysis: A total of 120 Chinese-English bilinguals representing three levels of distinct English competence participated in a masked priming lexical decision experiment. Direct comparisons were made using the linear mixed-effects models on bilingual groups’ priming effects from the Transparent, the Opaque, and the Form conditions of both English prefixed and suffixed words. Findings/Conclusion: The results exhibited that compared to suffixed words Chinese-English bilinguals altogether were less sensitive to the internal structure of prefixed words. The results presented that target language proficiency and morphological type moderated bilingual morphological processing, with the advanced Chinese-English bilinguals approximating previous native English speakers in processing English suffixed words. Originality: This study compared the priming effects from the Transparent, the Opaque, and the Form conditions of both English prefixed and suffixed words among three Chinese-English bilingual groups with distinct English competence. This study therefore should be the first empirical study that simultaneously evaluates the effects of target language proficiency and morphological type on bilingual morphological processing of prefixed and suffixed words. Significance/Implications: The present results indicate that target language proficiency and morphological type interact to impact bilingual morphological processing. Besides, this study provides important methodological and statistical implications for future studies.