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Article published In:
Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 37:1 (2024) ► pp.264–298

Typicality effects in Spanish as a Foreign Language of intermediate and advanced level Greek learners

ORCID logo | University of La Rioja
ORCID logo | National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Categorization and identification of typical exemplars within semantic categories is a universal skill of human cognition which is involved in language development. However, cultural, and experiential aspects might influence typicality effects. This paper examines the role of native language and culture on that categorization process and on typicality effects. Towards that objective, we had Spanish native speakers and Spanish FL learners whose mother tongue is Greek complete a category generation word association task. Data were analyzed within a network and graph theory framework as the best fitting for this type of data, bearing in mind previous descriptions of semantic memory. Results showed how, indeed, native speakers and learners of varying proficiency levels differ in their availability and production of typical exemplars, especially in slot-filler categories versus taxonomic categories. Lexical access during category generation might be determined by native language and culture. Additionally, natives’ mental lexicon seems to feature denser connections responsible for more efficient access.
Keywords: lexical availability, fluency tests, typicality effect, semantic category, cross-cultural influences
Article outline
  • 1.Semantic category structure and typicality effect
  • 2.Word association and fluency tasks in SLA studies: The case of lexical availability
  • 3.Word association tasks and network representation
  • 4.Method
    • 4.1Design
    • 4.2Participants
    • 4.3Instruments
    • 4.4Procedure and data analysis
  • 5.Results
  • 6.Discussion
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Data availability statement
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 11 December 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/resla.21038.agu
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