LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 15:3 March 2015
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Inter-lingual Homophone Retrieval in Younger Adults

Rajalekshmi. S., Satish. K. & Dr. T. A. Subba Rao

Abstract

For decades there has been a debate as to whether bilinguals are like two monolinguals within the same individual or they share the same lexicon. Is language representation in the brain shared or are they absolutely separate is still being researched. Inter-lingual homophones are words that have identical phonology across languages but different meanings. These provide a real challenge to a bilinguals’ and multi-linguals’ recognition system. Studies have been done on the inter-lingual homophone retrieval ability in Hindi-Kannada bilinguals. The present study investigates the language of dominance and its pattern in Hindi-English bilinguals and multilinguals using inter-lingual homophones. Data was collected from 40 participants who were bilinguals. Twenty paired-words which consisted of inter-lingual homophones were used as stimulus. Result shows that the retrieval of the meanings of the inter-lingual homophones is superior in their native languages (L1) in younger adults. Those who learn different languages other than L1 exhibits equal proficiency in L1 and L2. The study has its implications in the assessment, diagnosis and the intervention planning programs for younger adults.

Keywords:Biliguals, Multilinguals, Inter-lingual homophones, Lexicon, Retrieval.

Introduction

Homophones are one group of words which are pronounced in the same way but differ in meaning or spelling or both. Inter-lingual homophones are words that have identical phonology across languages but they denote different meanings. An example is /more/ which means “peacock” in Hindi and pronounced as “more” in English.

Bilingualism is commonly defined as the use of at least two languages by an individual (ASHA, 2004). It is a fluctuating system in children and adults whereby use of and proficiency in two languages may change depending on the opportunities to use the languages and exposure to other users of the languages. It is a dynamic and fluid process across a number of domains, including experience, tasks, topics, and time.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Rajalekshmi. S. (Corresponding Author)
Second Year Post-Graduate Student
Dr. M.V. Shetty College of Speech and Hearing
Maladi Court, Kavoor
Mangalore
Karnataka
India
srajalekshmi1990@gmail.com

Satish.K.
Dr. M.V. Shetty College of Speech and Hearing
Maladi Court, Kavoor
Mangalore
Karnataka
India
sat8378@yahoo.com

Dr. T.A.Subba Rao
Dr. M.V. Shetty College of Speech and Hearing
Maladi Court, Kavoor
Mangalore
Karnataka
India
drtasr.slp@gmail.com
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