An exploratory study of L1-specific non-words

TL;DR

This study investigates how native speakers of Swedish, German, and English perceive and react to non-words that are specific to their language, revealing differences in processing based on language familiarity.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of L1-specific non-words and explores their perception and reaction times, providing initial insights into language-specific lexical processing.

Findings

L1-specific non-words are processed slower than general non-words.

Swedish-looking non-words are processed the slowest among the tested types.

Native speakers show different reaction times to non-words based on their L1.

Abstract

In this paper, we explore L1-specific non-words, i.e. non-words in a target language (in this case Swedish) that are re-ranked by a different-language language model. We surmise that speakers of a certain L1 will react different to L1-specific non-words than to general non-words. We present the results from two small case studies exploring whether re-ranking non-words with different language models leads to a perceived difference in `Swedishness' (pilot study 1) and whether German and English native speakers have longer reaction times in a lexical decision task when presented with their respective L1-specific non-words (pilot study 2). Tentative results seem to indicate that L1-specific non-words are processed second-slowest, after purely Swedish-looking non-words.