Browsing by Author "Cullen, Sarah"

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    Afrikaans-English bilinguals and the foreign language effect in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Cullen, Sarah; Bylund, Emanuel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of General Linguistics.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Do people think differently when they think in a different language? Could the language that you are asked a question in impact the answer that you give? These are the questions that form the foundation of the linguistic phenomenon known as the Foreign Language Effect (FLE). The FLE suggests that individuals do indeed make different decisions when presented with messaging in their native language versus in a foreign language. Linguistic investigations have been done to explore in what circumstances this phenomenon occurs as well as what factors contribute to these changes in bilinguals’ choices. This particular research project takes place within the South African context. As a uniquely multilingual and multicultural nation, South Africa is a rich environment for psycholinguistic research. The current research specifically focuses on Afrikaans-English bilinguals who are proficient in both languages and only started learning English after the age of three. However, while the current research is based in South Africa and investigates South African participants’ decision-making, the research design was modelled on a study performed by Italian researchers Miozzo et al. (2020). They examined whether an FLE was seen when testing two groups of Italian bilinguals who were proficient in Italian and another regional language, thus exploring whether an FLE can be seen when the non-native language is not specifically a foreign language. Using Miozzo et al. (2020) as a foundation, this research project seeks to answer two key questions with regards to the FLE: 1) To what extent is decision-making and risk-aversion impacted by the FLE in proficient Afrikaans-English bilinguals? And 2) If an FLE is elicited in Afrikaans-English bilinguals, to what extent is this impacted by proficiency and age of acquisition? The study took place online and participants were presented with two dilemmas and asked how they would respond in each case. This was done via an audio modality with numerical items displayed on screen. Participants were randomly assigned to either the English or the Afrikaans language condition. The findings of this study were in contrast to Miozzo et al. (2020). While the Italian study did see an FLE occur, in the current study no FLE was seen in the way that participants answered the scenarios. These outcomes have various implications for our understanding of Afrikaans-English bilinguals’ cognitive processing and also present exciting opportunities for further study in the realm of psycholinguistics in South Africa.