When another language means another gender: How are the masculine and feminine values encoded during bilingual lexical access?

Abstract

There is no semantically driven reason for a noun to be considered masculine or feminine. This arbitrariness creates situations in which the gender value of a given noun varies from one language to another (i.e., heterogeneric nouns such as “tree”, which is masculine in German [“Baum”], but feminine in Portuguese [“árvore”]). Dozens of works have studied this phenomenon by using naming and translation tasks. Gender congruency effects in language production are consistently obtained and thus heterogeneric nouns show higher response times in comparison to homogeneric nouns. Yet, until recently, these studies were restricted to late learners and tested exclusively the effect of the first language (L1) over the second (L2), without considering language proficiency. Researchers concluded that bilinguals share a gender system in which situations of facilitation and interference arise during gender encoding in language production in the L2. Yet, recent studies have shown a more complex picture in which the bilingual gender system is quite dynamic, and hence the interaction between gender nodes during lexical access can go both ways (L1 to L2, L2 to L1) and seems to change according to variations on the language balance (i.e., the difference in proficiency between both languages).

Full text

When another language means
another gender:
How are the masculine and
feminine values encoded during
bilingual lexical access?
ESCOP 2023
Ana Rita Sá Leite

Contents
Current gaps
L1 and
proficiency
Grammatical gender:
concept
Conclusions
01
05
03
02
04
06
Grammatical gender:
mental representation
Research methodology
in bilingualism
ESCOP 2023

Grammatical gender:
concept
01

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
Gender
system
Grammatical
gender
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
…

European Portuguese:
M
M
mesa
[table]
relógio
[watch]
F
Gender
system
Grammatical
gender
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
…
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

European Portuguese:
M
M
mesa
[table]
relógio
[watch]
F
German:
N
M
F
Zimmer
[room]
Tisch
[table]
Uhr
[watch]
Gender
system
Grammatical
gender
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
…
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Grammatical gender:
mental representation
02

Representation of gender within the architecture of lexical access
European
Portuguese TABLE
mesa
/mesa/
conceptual
stratum
lexical-syntactic
stratum
word-form
stratum
M
F
Levelt et al. (1999)
Roelofs (2018)
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Representation of gender within the architecture of lexical access
TABLE
mesa
/mesa/
conceptual
stratum
lexical-syntactic
stratum
word-form
stratum
M
FM F
Threshold for selection
=
difference
Accumulation of activation
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
Levelt et al. (1999)
Roelofs (2018)

M
F
German (L1)
European Portuguese (L2)
TABLE
mesa tisch
/mesa/
conceptual
stratum
lexical-syntactic
stratum
word-form
stratum
N
Producing L2 European Portuguese
Gender systems are integrated within the bilingual mind, so that:
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

M
F
German (L1)
European Portuguese (L2)
TABLE
mesa tisch
/mesa/
conceptual
stratum
lexical-syntactic
stratum
word-form
stratum
gender incongruency → delay in the selection
N
Producing L2 European Portuguese
Gender systems are integrated within the bilingual mind, so that:
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Representation of gender within the architecture of lexical access
M F
Threshold for selection
Accumulation of activation
M
F
TABLE
mesa tisch
/mesa/
conceptual
stratum
lexical-syntactic
stratum
word-form
stratum
N
Producing L2 European Portuguese
previous threshold for selection
gender incongruency → delay in the selection
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Representation of gender within the architecture of lexical access
N
M
F
DOOR
conceptual
stratum
lexical-syntactic
stratum
word-form
stratum
porta
/porta/
tür
gender congruency → facilitation for selection
German (L1)
European Portuguese (L2)
Producing L2 European Portuguese
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Representation of gender within the architecture of lexical access
gender congruency → facilitation for selection
M F
Threshold for selection
Accumulation of activation
N
M
F
DOOR
conceptual
stratum
lexical-syntactic
stratum
word-form
stratum
porta
/porta/
tür
Producing L2 European Portuguese
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Representation of gender within the architecture of lexical access
gender congruency → facilitation for selection
gender incongruency → delay in the selection
Translations of the same gender
Translations of different gender
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Research methodology
in bilingualism
03

Translations of different gender gender incongruency → delay in the selection
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Translations of different gender
Language production
Language comprehension
gender incongruency → delay in the selection
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

gender incongruency → delay in the selection
Translations of different gender
Language production
Language comprehension
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Naming tasks and translation tasks:
+
mesa
500 ms max.: 3000 ms
500 ms
Gender incongruency
Tisch
+
mesa
500 ms max.: 3000 ms
Tisch
Gender incongruency
500 ms
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

+
mesa
500 ms max.: 3000 ms
500 ms
Gender incongruency
Tisch
+
mesa
500 ms max.: 3000 ms
Tisch
Gender incongruency
500 ms
Cross-linguistic gender congruency effect
RTs gender incongruent RTs gender congruent
>
Naming tasks and translation tasks:
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Effect size
Small, heterogeneous but
consistently obtained
25 experiments,
41 comparisons of interest
g= 0.24
QE(34) = 190.27, p < .001
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Gaps in the literature:
not as simple as it seems
04

Facilitation
vs.
interference
Neuter
gender
N
Impact of L2
on L1
Bilingual
speaker
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Facilitation
vs.
interference
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Facilitation
vs.
interference
Mission imposible:
Looking for a baseline
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Facilitation
vs.
interference
Neuter
gender
N
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Facilitation
vs.
interference
Neuter
gender
N
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
•Greater and more robust effects
MASCULINE VS. FEMININE

Facilitation
vs.
interference
Neuter
gender
N
•Greater and more robust effects
MASCULINE VS. FEMININE
•Effect absent or reduced for
M/F VS. NEUTER
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Facilitation
vs.
interference
Neuter
gender
N
M F
Threshold for selection
Accumulation of activation
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Facilitation
vs.
interference
Neuter
gender
N
N
M
F
DOOR
porta tür
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Facilitation
vs.
interference
Neuter
gender
N
Impact of L2
on L1
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Facilitation
vs.
interference
Neuter
gender
N
Impact of L2
on L1
Bilingual
speaker
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Facilitation
vs.
interference
Neuter
gender
N
Impact of L2
on L1
Bilingual
speaker
•AoA
•Proficiency
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

Facilitation
vs.
interference
Neuter
gender
N
Impact of L2
on L1
Bilingual
speaker
•AoA
•Proficiency
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

L1 and proficiency
05

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
Participants:
•Early bilinguals
74 (Mage = 38.12 years, SD =
9.73)
European Portuguese (L1)
German (L2)
•Late bilinguals
▪Language balance
(DIALANG)

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
Forward and backward translation task (online)
Portuguese (L1) to German (L2)
German (L2) to Portuguese (L1)
Procedure:
+
Tisch
mesa +
mesa
Tisch

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
180 nouns →
90 nouns Portuguese → German;
90 nouns German → Portuguese – counterbalanced
60 nouns per German gender value (F/M/N)
Materials:

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
180 nouns →
90 nouns Portuguese → German;
90 nouns German → Portuguese – counterbalanced
60 nouns per German gender value (F/M/N)
Materials:
Design:
Gender Congruencyx Target Language (L1/L2) x Language balance score x Age of acquisition
x Target Gender x Contact with German Language x Dominance
Gender congruency: porta (f) – Tür (f) [door]
Gender incongruency: mesa (f) – Tisch (m) [table]

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
When producing Portuguese (L1), the higher the imbalance, the greater the effect of
interference (gender incongruency), regardless of age of acquisiton.

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
Gender congruency
Gender incongruency
German Portuguese
Response times
When producing Portuguese (L1), the higher the imbalance, the greater the effect of
interference (gender incongruency), regardless of age of acquisiton.

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
(a) The cross-linguistic gender congruency effect is obtained also in the direction L2 → L1.
(b) The effect depends on proficiency (language balance).
(c) The effect does not depend on the Age of Acquisition.
(d) The effect may depend on gender transparency.

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
GENDER TRANSPARENCY:
Relationship between the NOUN FORM and GENDER VALUE
+ -
Portuguese: German:
Masculine nouns: “-o”
Feminine nouns: “-a”
Lots of endings and
exceptions (more intricate)

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
GENDER TRANSPARENCY:
Relationship between the NOUN FORM and GENDER VALUE
+ -
Portuguese: German:
Masculine nouns: “-o”
Feminine nouns: “-a”
Lots of endings and
exceptions (more intricate)
•Effects of gender seem harder to obtain in opaque languages

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
GENDER TRANSPARENCY:
Relationship between the NOUN FORM and GENDER VALUE
+ -
Portuguese: German:
Masculine nouns: “-o”
Feminine nouns: “-a”
Lots of endings and
exceptions (more intricate)
•Effects of gender seem harder to obtain in opaque languages
•Gender seems to depend more on agreement in opaque languages (our study
did not use elements of agreement)

Facilitation
vs.
interference
Neuter
gender
N
Impact of L2
on L1
Bilingual
speaker
1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
Gender
transparency

Conclusions
06

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
Bilinguals share a gender system between languages

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
Bilinguals share a gender system between languages
(at least when the gender values are shared between languages)

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
Bilinguals share a gender system between languages
(at least when the gender values are shared between languages)
Gender competition seems to depend on language balance
Age of acquisition seems to have no role when considering
proficiency

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
Bilinguals share a gender system between languages
(at least when the gender values are shared between languages)
Gender competition seems to depend on language balance
Age of acquisition seems to have no role when considering
proficiency
The mechanism seems to be of interference rather than facilitation

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
Bilinguals share a gender system between languages
(at least when the gender values are shared between languages)
Gender competition seems to depend on language balance
Age of acquisition seems to have no role when considering
proficiency
The mechanism seems to be of interference rather than facilitation
Gender transparency may impact the interplay during gender
retrieval.

1. Grammatical gender: concept
2. Grammatical gender: mental representation
3. Research methodology in bilingualism
4. Current gaps on the literature
5. L1 and proficiency
6. Conclusions: moving forward
ESCOP 2023
Bilinguals share a gender system between languages
(at least when the gender values are shared between languages)
Gender competition seems to depend on language balance
Age of acquisition seems to have no role when considering
proficiency
The mechanism seems to be of interference rather than facilitation
Gender transparency may impact the interplay during gender
retrieval.
Replication is necessary (proficiency, AoA, transparency)

ESCOP 2023
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you! My ResearchGate