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Similarity between French and English words—a factor to be considered in bilingual language behavior?

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Abstract

Some French and English translation equivalents are similar in form and meaning (e.g., carotte and carrot), while others are dissimilar in form (e.g., drapeau and flag). In continued-word association to the two types of key words, French-English bilinguals produced different patterns of responses. More response words to the similar than to the dissimilar key words tended to be translation equivalents between the two languages. This finding sheds some lights on how bilinguals organize words in their memory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, Canada

    Insup Taylor

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  1. Insup Taylor
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Additional information

The present experiment is a part of a project on the word similarity factor in bilingualism. The entire project is supported by Canada Council Grant No. 70-0914.

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Taylor, I. Similarity between French and English words—a factor to be considered in bilingual language behavior?. J Psycholinguist Res 5, 85–94 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01067950

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01067950

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