Age of Acquisition Effects in Bilingual Word Translation

Abstract

The present research investigated the organization of semantic memory in bilinguals. Prior research suggested that memory links between conceptual representations and words in one's first language (L1) are stronger than memory links between conceptual representations and words in one's second language (L2). The present research tested the hypothesis that memory links between conceptual representations and L1 words are stronger for words learned early in life than words learned later in life. An experiment with 36 Spanish-English bilinguals supported the hypothesis. Participants translated L1 words into L2 and L2 words into L1 when target words were presented either in random order or blocked by semantic category. Half the words were learned early in childhood (low AoA words), and half were learned later in life (high AoA words). Implications for current models of bilingual memory are discussed.