Some applications of translation to psycholinguistic research

Linguistica Silesiana 33, 2012 ISSN 0208-4228 TERESA MARIA WŁOSOWICZ Silesian School of Economics and Languages, Katowice SOME APPLICATIONS OF TRANSLATION TO PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH The purpose of the present article is an analysis of the possible applications of translation to psycholinguistic research. It is argued that it offers valuable insights into foreign language processing, especially comprehension, the mental representation of words, the interaction of different kinds of information and, last but not least, affective states. However, the use of translation also has some limitations which should be taken into account and, if necessary, it should be combined with other research tools. 1. Introduction The purpose of the present article is an analysis of the possible applications of translation to psycholinguistic research, especially to research on the structure and the functioning of the multilingual mental lexicon, on the interaction of languages in the bilingual or the multilingual mind and on cognitive processes which are not directly observable in language production, such as comprehension. Language processing in multilinguals is of particular interest here because, first, it is still a relatively new field of study, after years of focusing on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and bilingualism research, second, it offers new insights into language processing and human cognition in general and, third, it may inform foreign language teaching methodology. Undoubtedly, the translation process requires the coactivation of two languages, even though in multilinguals even more languages may be coactivated and participate in processing. At this point, it might be relevant to ask whether bilingualism and multilingualism are two distinct phenomena or two varieties of the same phenomenon. As Hufeisen’s (2000) Factor Model (Faktorenmodell) shows, the qualitative difference between L2 and L3 acquisition or learning (which Hufeisen 2000: 212 clearly distinguishes as naturalistic and formal processes respectively) is greater 128 TERESA MARIA WŁOSOWICZ than the difference between the learning or acquisition of further languages (L4, L5, etc.). Unlike a second language learner, a person learning his or her L3 already possesses a higher level of metalinguistic awareness, more foreign language learning experience and strategies specific to the learning of foreign languages. By contrast, the only additional factor in L4 acquisition or learning is the L3, which is already in place and may constitute a source of cross-linguistic influence, such as transfer or interference. Therefore, although some phenomena may be common to bilingualism and multilingualism, others should be assumed to be specific to multilingualism and research on them should involve multilingual subjects or at least third language learners. Moreover, given L3 learners’ higher level of strategic competence, they are also more likely to use language processing strategies which may be revealed by the use of translation combined with, for example, think-aloud protocols (TAPs). In general, it may be assumed that translation gives insight into both comprehension and production, as it requires both a good comprehension of the source language text and the production of an equivalent text in the target language. As Gerloff (1987: 137) puts it, “the act of translation provides an ideal “window” on to both comprehension and production components of language use.” Still, manipulating such factors as the direction of translation, the level of difficulty of the text, including the choice of vocabulary (e.g. false friends, idioms, etc.), or the subjects’ proficiency in the languages involved (also at different stages of language learning if the research design requires a longitudinal study) may give access to different aspects of language processing. In fact, a large part of psycholinguistic research is based on lexical decision tasks, including several kinds of priming (repetition priming, semantic priming, etc.), word and picture naming tasks, categorization tasks and Stroop tasks (Altarriba and Basnight-Brown 2009), which may be precise in measuring reaction times and revealing statistically significant tendencies, for example, longer reaction times can indicate passing through the L1 counterparts instead of lexicalizing concepts directly in L2 (Talamas, Kroll and Dufour 1999), but which do not reveal anything about subjects’ strategies or the lexical entries that are actually activated. For instance, a longer reaction time might suggest accessing the meaning of an L2 word via its L1 equivalent, but in reality this process in a particular subject might involve, say, activating its L3 cognate before accessing the meaning, perhaps via L1 indeed. As Herwig (2001) has shown, the organization of multilingual mental lexicons can be highly idiosyncratic, so it would be a good idea to combine “conventional” psycholinguistic studies with translation tasks which involve introspection, especially TAPs. A similar point is made by Müller-Lancé (2003: 122), who based his own study on inferring the meanings of unknown words (which could, if necessary, be translated) and on word associations. According to him, psycholinguistic models “based on data such as reaction times, reading spans, artificial languages and “pseudo words”” (Müller-Lancé 2003: 122), carried out under laboratory conditions, can easily SOME APPLICATIONS OF TRANSLATION TO PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 129 exclude such factors as different language competences or different individual vocabularies. The present article will thus suggest some applications of translation tasks to research on the organization and functioning of the multilingual lexicon, including the development of lexical knowledge, on the interaction of two or more grammars and the restructuring of grammatical competence, as well as on foreign language comprehension. Moreover, on the basis of earlier research it will be argued that translation combined with introspection can give access to some cognitive processes and strategies, to different types of knowledge (linguistic, pragmatic, encyclopaedic, etc.) and, finally, to affective states, such as motivation, anxiety or the subjects’ satisfaction (or dissatisfaction) with their own performance. The question of possible applications of translation to foreign language teaching will also be addressed, both as the direct use of translation tasks in teaching and as the practical application of translation-based research results. However, prior to analysing the possibilities of using translation in psycholinguistic research on multilingualism, the general organization and dynamics of multilingual systems should be taken into consideration. 2. The organization of multilingual systems 2.1. The multilingual mental lexicon Although linguistic knowledge comprises several components, such as lexical, grammatical, pragmatic, etc. knowledge, the focus here will (...truncated)