Thesis (Ph.D.)--State University of New York at Stony Brook, 2003
Previous studies of monolingual word recognition have shown the age at which a word is learned---Age of Acquisition (AoA)---affects the speed and accuracy of its processing. In this study, the effects of second language (i.e., L2) fluency and age of second language acquisition are assessed. Three types of bilinguals are compared: Early Fluent L2 learners, Late Fluent L2 learners, and Late Nonfluent L2 learners. A lexical decision priming paradigm is used in which the critical trials consist of first language (i.e., L1) Spanish targets preceded by English (L2) primes. Three types of L2-L1 priming conditions were used: semantic primes [e.g., prime = nail; target = TORNILLO ('screw')], translation mediated primes [e.g., prime = bull ('toro'); target = TORNILLO] and form primes (e.g., prime = torture; target = TORNILLO). Early Fluent L2 learners are compared to Late Fluent learners with fluency equated to determine the effects of AoA. Late Fluent second language learners are compared to Late Nonfluent learners with AoA equated to assess the effects of second language fluency. The pattern of priming effects supports direct access of meaning for Early Fluent learners and a translation route to meaning for Late Fluent and Nonfluent learners. The implication is that Age of L2 Acquisition is important in how bilingual access word meanings in their second language
