Barbara C Malt
Biographic Data
| ID | 7548707 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Barbara C Malt |
| GIVEN NAMES | Barbara C |
| FAMILY NAME | Malt |
| SIGNATURE | MALT B C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Lehigh University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0631-5375 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 11 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 11 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Dual drivers of bilingual semantic accent
Research question: Second language (L2) learners may have a “semantic accent,” using L2 words differently from a native speaker. The current studies investigate how learning conditions and the need to use different semantic dimensions may constrain the acquisition of L2 meanings. Approach: In Experiment 1, we asked whether first language (L1) Mandarin speakers would successfully learn English carry and hold with intensive input in a laboratory tr…
Does L2 influence on use of L1 animacy constraints depend on alignment of syntactic and semantic features
Aims and Objectives: English allows inanimate objects to be sentence subjects (e.g., “The knife cut the bread”) but Korean and Japanese restrict subjects of causal sentences on the basis of animacy. In previous work, we found that Korean speakers relaxed their native grammatical animacy constraint when immersed in English (e.g., found knives to be acceptable sentence subjects in Korean). We suggested this L2 influence occurred because the Korean …
Second-Language Influence on First-Language Animacy Constraints and Word Order in Korean–English Bilinguals
Does second-language (L2) syntactic influence on first-language (L1) reflect long-term changes to L1 syntax or occur only as a result of retrieval difficulties during time-constrained tasks? To evaluate L2 influence on L1 representation of animacy constraints (an element at the syntax–semantics interface) and word order (narrow syntax), we asked Korean–English bilingual speakers to judge sentences for grammaticality under both speeded and unspeed…
Language-Specificity in Monolingual and Bilingual Later Lexical Development
Although children may productively use concrete nouns after limited exposure, complete mastery of adult-like patterns of noun usage can take up to 14 years. We evaluated whether a transition from universal to language-specific naming is part of the refinement in later lexical development, and we compared how this refinement plays out in monolingual versus bilingual children. We collected free naming data for pictures of nearly 200 household conta…
Conceptual relations predict colexification across languages
Understanding L2 word learning outcomes
Aims and objectives: This study contributes to understanding L2 word learning and why “semantic accent” persists. It examines the impact of L1–L2 semantic relations, input conditions, and L1–L2 dissimilarity on learning outcomes. Methodology: Mandarin-speaking learners of English labeled actions in 26 brief videos, typically called carrying or holding by native speakers. The labeling pattern is simpler in English than in Mandarin but requires a s…
Development of cross-language lexical influence
Storms, Ameel, and Malt [2015. “Development of Cross-language Lexical Influence.” International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 18: 529–547] compared the development of naming patterns in monolingual and bilingual children. They concluded that bilinguals' naming patterns in their two languages become increasingly similar with age and are thus converging. In this commentary, we argue that taking into account younger participants' s…
What constrains simultaneous mastery of first and second language word use
Aims and objectives: We examined the bi-directional interaction of first language (L1) and second language (L2) word use patterns by asking whether L2 patterns of word use can be acquired with intensive exposure in a laboratory setting, and whether this early stage of L2 learning would impact L1 performance. Methodology: In two experiments, native speakers of English first labeled drinking vessels in English, then received intensive training on L…
Concepts and Semantic Memory
Humans accumulate vast amounts of knowledge over the life span. Much work aimed at understanding this knowledge store has been called either concepts or semantic memory research. This essay reviews early research on the nature of concrete concepts (concepts of concrete objects) and their organization in memory. It then raises considerations of abstract and relational concepts and of how action affects representation and vice versa. Additional adv…
Development of cross-language lexical influence
Bilinguals are often not fully monolingual-like in either language. With respect to the lexicon, recent research demonstrates that their naming patterns for common household objects tend to converge on a common pattern for the two languages. The present study investigates the developmental trajectory of naming of common household objects in Dutch/French bilingual and monolingual children. First, we investigated whether bilingual word diversity fo…
Words and the Mind
The study of word meanings promises important insights into the nature of the human mind by revealing what people find to be most cognitively significant in their experience. However, as we learn more about the semantics of various languages, we are faced with an interesting problem. Different languages seem to be telling us different stories about the mind. For example, important distinctions made in one language are not necessarily made in othe…
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Words and the Mind
The study of word meanings promises important insights into the nature of the human mind by revealing what people find to be most cognitively significant in their experience. However, as we learn more about the semantics of various languages, we are faced with an interesting problem. Different languages seem to be telling us different stories about the mind. For example, important distinctions made in one language are not necessarily made in othe…
Concepts and Semantic Memory
Humans accumulate vast amounts of knowledge over the life span. Much work aimed at understanding this knowledge store has been called either concepts or semantic memory research. This essay reviews early research on the nature of concrete concepts (concepts of concrete objects) and their organization in memory. It then raises considerations of abstract and relational concepts and of how action affects representation and vice versa. Additional adv…
Development of cross-language lexical influence
Bilinguals are often not fully monolingual-like in either language. With respect to the lexicon, recent research demonstrates that their naming patterns for common household objects tend to converge on a common pattern for the two languages. The present study investigates the developmental trajectory of naming of common household objects in Dutch/French bilingual and monolingual children. First, we investigated whether bilingual word diversity fo…
What constrains simultaneous mastery of first and second language word use
Aims and objectives: We examined the bi-directional interaction of first language (L1) and second language (L2) word use patterns by asking whether L2 patterns of word use can be acquired with intensive exposure in a laboratory setting, and whether this early stage of L2 learning would impact L1 performance. Methodology: In two experiments, native speakers of English first labeled drinking vessels in English, then received intensive training on L…
Language-Specificity in Monolingual and Bilingual Later Lexical Development
Although children may productively use concrete nouns after limited exposure, complete mastery of adult-like patterns of noun usage can take up to 14 years. We evaluated whether a transition from universal to language-specific naming is part of the refinement in later lexical development, and we compared how this refinement plays out in monolingual versus bilingual children. We collected free naming data for pictures of nearly 200 household conta…
Conceptual relations predict colexification across languages
Understanding L2 word learning outcomes
Aims and objectives: This study contributes to understanding L2 word learning and why “semantic accent” persists. It examines the impact of L1–L2 semantic relations, input conditions, and L1–L2 dissimilarity on learning outcomes. Methodology: Mandarin-speaking learners of English labeled actions in 26 brief videos, typically called carrying or holding by native speakers. The labeling pattern is simpler in English than in Mandarin but requires a s…
Development of cross-language lexical influence
Storms, Ameel, and Malt [2015. “Development of Cross-language Lexical Influence.” International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 18: 529–547] compared the development of naming patterns in monolingual and bilingual children. They concluded that bilinguals' naming patterns in their two languages become increasingly similar with age and are thus converging. In this commentary, we argue that taking into account younger participants' s…
Second-Language Influence on First-Language Animacy Constraints and Word Order in Korean–English Bilinguals
Does second-language (L2) syntactic influence on first-language (L1) reflect long-term changes to L1 syntax or occur only as a result of retrieval difficulties during time-constrained tasks? To evaluate L2 influence on L1 representation of animacy constraints (an element at the syntax–semantics interface) and word order (narrow syntax), we asked Korean–English bilingual speakers to judge sentences for grammaticality under both speeded and unspeed…
Does L2 influence on use of L1 animacy constraints depend on alignment of syntactic and semantic features
Aims and Objectives: English allows inanimate objects to be sentence subjects (e.g., “The knife cut the bread”) but Korean and Japanese restrict subjects of causal sentences on the basis of animacy. In previous work, we found that Korean speakers relaxed their native grammatical animacy constraint when immersed in English (e.g., found knives to be acceptable sentence subjects in Korean). We suggested this L2 influence occurred because the Korean …
Dual drivers of bilingual semantic accent
Research question: Second language (L2) learners may have a “semantic accent,” using L2 words differently from a native speaker. The current studies investigate how learning conditions and the need to use different semantic dimensions may constrain the acquisition of L2 meanings. Approach: In Experiment 1, we asked whether first language (L1) Mandarin speakers would successfully learn English carry and hold with intensive input in a laboratory tr…
Linguistics (11 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Computer Science (9 works) · Categorization, perception, and language (6 works) · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition (6 works) · Cognitive psychology (5 works) · Language Development and Disorders (5 works) · Artificial Intelligence (4 works) · Cognition (4 works) · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism (4 works)