Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-hfldf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-22T11:05:45.482Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Factors related to cross-language transfer and metaphor interpretation in bilingual children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Janice Johnson
Janice Johnson*
Affiliation:
York University
*
Janice Johnson, Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, North York, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The study examines factors underlying cross-language transfer in bilingual children; the main focus is on a measure of metaphor interpretation. Subjects were Spanish-English children ranging in age from 7 to 12 years. Measures were obtained for nonverbal mental capacity, metaphor interpretation, verbal-conceptual repertoire, and linguistic proficiency in English and Spanish. Using a previously validated procedure, subjects' metaphor interpretations were scored for cognitive complexity. In both languages, metaphor score was higher in older than in younger children. Correlational analyses indicated that level of metaphor interpretation was most strongly related to cognitive-developmental variables that are interdependent across languages, that is, nonverbal mental capacity and verbal-conceptual repertoire. Variables that measure specific proficiency in a language were less strongly related to level of metaphor interpretation, and did not exhibit cross-language correlations. This pattern was clearly seen in results of exploratory factor analyses. The role of cognitive versus linguistic factors in metaphor development is discussed, as is the issue of interdependence versus independence across first and second languages.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , June 1989 , pp. 157 - 177
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bialystok, E. (1986). Factors in the growth of linguistic awareness. Child Development, 57, 498–510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E., & Ryan, E. (1985). A metacognitive Framework for the development of first and second language skills. In Forrest-Pressley, D., MacKinnon, G., & Waller, T. (Eds.), Metacognition, cognition, and human performance. New York: Academic.Google Scholar
Billow, R. (1975). A cognitive developmental study of metaphor comprehension. Developmental Psychology, 11, 415–423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Black, M. (1962). Models and metaphors: Studies in language and philosophy. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Case, R. (1985). Intellectual Development: Birth to adulthood. New York: Academic.Google Scholar
Cattell, R. (1966). The scree test for the number of factors. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 1, 245–276.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cummins, J. (1984a). Bilingualism and special education: Issues in assessment and pedagogy. San Diego: College-Hill Press.Google Scholar
Cummins, J. (1984b). Wanted: A theoretical framework for relating language proficiency to academic achievement among bilingual students. In Rivera, C. (Ed.), Language proficiency and academic achievement. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Cummins, J., Swain, M., Nakajima, K., Handscombe, J., Green, D., & Tran, C. (1984). Linguistic interdependence among Japanese and Vietnamese immigrant students. In Rivera, C. (Ed.), Communicative competence approaches to language proficiency assessment. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
DeAvila, E., & Duncan, S. (1983). Language Assessment Scales (LAS). San Rafael, CA: Linguametrics Group.Google Scholar
DeAvila, E., Havassy, B., & Pascual-Leone, J. (1976). Mexican-American schoolchildren: A neo-Piagetian approach. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
de Ribaupierre, A., & Pascual-Leone, J. (1979). Formal operations and M power: A neo-Piagetian investigation. New Directions for Child Development, 5, 1–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, H., Winner, E., Bechhofer, R., & Wolf, D. (1978). The development of figurative language. In Nelson, K. E. (Ed.), Children's language (Vol. 1). New York: Gardner.Google Scholar
Gentner, D. (1983). Structure-mapping: A theoretical framework for analogy. Cognitive Science, 7, 155–170.Google Scholar
Geva, E., & Ryan, E. (1987, 06). Linguistic knowledge and cognitive demands for academic skills in first and second language. Paper presented at the meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Vancouver.Google Scholar
Goldman, S., Reyes, M., & Varnhagen, C. (1984). Understanding fables in first and second languages. NABE Journal, 8, 35–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grosjean, F. (1982). Life with two languages. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Hakuta, K. (1986). Mirror of language. New York: Basic.Google Scholar
Hakuta, K., & Diaz, R. (1985). The relationship between degree of bilingualism and cognitive ability: A critical discussion and some new longitudinal data. In Nelson, K. (Ed.), Children's language (Vol. 5). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Halford, G. (1982). Development of thought. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Hessler, G. (1982). Use and interpretation ofthe Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery. Hingham, MA: Teaching Resources.Google Scholar
Hill, J., & Arbib, M. (1984). Schemas, computation, and language acquisition. Human Development, 27, 282–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, J. (1982a). The development of metaphor comprehension: Its mental-demand measurement and its process-analytical models. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, York University, Toronto.Google Scholar
Johnson, J. (1982b). The Figural Intersections Test (FIT): A measure of mental (M) attentional energy. Unpublished manuscript, York University, Department of Psychology, Toronto.Google Scholar
Johnson, J. (1984). Levels of processing in metaphor comprehension. In Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society. Boulder, CO.Google Scholar
Johnson, J. (1989). Capacity, conceptual, and linguistic factors in metaphor interpretation. Manuscript submitted for publication.Google Scholar
Johnson, J., Fabian, V., & Pascual-Leone, J. (in press). Quantitative hardware-stages that constrain language development. Human Development.Google Scholar
Johnson, J., & Pascual-Leone, J. (in press). Developmental levels of processing in metaphor interpretation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.Google Scholar
Keil, F. (1986). Conceptual domains and the acquisition of metaphor. Cognitive Development, 1, 73–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kolers, P. (1978). On the representation of experience. In Gerver, D. & Sinaiko, H. (Eds.), Language interpretation and communication. New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Malakoff, M. (1988). The effect of language of instruction on reasoning in bilingual children. Applied Psycholinguistics, 9, 17–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLaughlin, B. (1984). Second-language acquisition in childhood (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Miller, M. (1980). Executive schemes versus mental capacity in predicting intellectual underperformance among lower socioeconomic status groups. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, York University, Toronto.Google Scholar
Niaz, M., & Lawson, A. (1985). Balancing chemical equations: The role of developmental level and mental capacity. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 22, 41–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ortony, A. (1979). Beyond literal similarity. Psychological Review, 86, 161–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ortony, A., Reynolds, R., & Arter, J. (1978). Metaphor: Theoretical and empirical research. Psychological Bulletin, 85, 919–943.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Palermo, D. (1986). From the marble mass of language, a view of the developing mind. Metaphor and Symbolic Activity, 1, 5–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parkinson, G. (1975). The limits of learning: A quantitative investigation of intelligence. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, York University, Toronto.Google Scholar
Pascual-Leone, J. (1970). A mathematical model for the transition rule in Piaget's developmental stages. Acta Psychologica, 32, 301–345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pascual-Leone, J. (1984). Attention, dialectic, and mental effort: Towards an organismic theory of life stages. In Gommons, M., Richards, F., & Armon, C. (Eds.), Beyond formal operations: Late adolescent and adult cognitive development. New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Pascual-Leone, J. (1987). Organismic processes for neo-Piagetian theories: A dialectical causal account of cognitive development. International Journal of Psychology, 22, 531–570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pascual-Leone, J., & Burtis, P. J. (1975). Manual for FIT Figural Intersections Test. Unpublished manuscript, York University, Department of Psychology, Toronto.Google Scholar
Pascual-Leone, J., & Ijaz, H. (1989). Mental capacity testing as a form of intellectual-developmental assessment. In Samuda, R., Kong, S., Cummins, J., Lewis, J., & Pascual-Leone, J., Assessment and placement of minority students. Toronto: Hogrefe.Google Scholar
Pascual-Leone, J., & Smith, J. (1969). The encoding and decoding of symbols by children: A new experimental paradigm and a neo-Piagetian model. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 8, 328–355.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piaget, J. (1970). Piaget's theory. In Mussen, P. (Ed.), Carmichael's manual of child psychology. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Pollio, M., & Pickens, J. (1980). The developmental structure of figurative competence. In Honeck, R. & Hoffman, R. (Eds.), Cognition and figurative language. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
SAS Institute. (1985). SAS user's guide: Statistics (version 5 ed.). Cary, NC: SAS Institute.Google Scholar
Snow, C. (1985). Beyond conversation: Second language learners' acquisition of description and explanation. In Lantolf, J. & DiPietro, R. (Eds.), Second language acquisition in the classroom setting. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Stewart, L. (1986). A metasubjective analysis of the development of moral reasoning. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, York University, Toronto.Google Scholar
Tourangeau, R., & Sternberg, R. (1982). Understanding and appreciating metaphors. Cognition, 11, 203–244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Verbrugge, R., & McCarrell, N. (1977). Metaphoric comprehension: Studies in reminding and resembling. Cognitive Psychology, 9, 494–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Voneche, J. (1986). Psychogenese de la metaphore. Archives de Psychologie, 54, 125–136.Google Scholar
Vosniadou, S. (1987a). Children and metaphors. Child Development, 58, 870–885.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vosniadou, S. (1987b). Contextual and linguistic factors in children's comprehension of nonliteral language. Metaphor and Symbolic Activity, 2, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vosniadou, S., Ortony, A., Reynolds, R., & Wilson, P. (1984). Sources of difficulty in the young child's understanding of metaphorical language. Child Development, 55, 1585–1606.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winner, E., Engel, M., & Gardner, H. (1980). Misunderstanding metaphor: What's the problem? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 30, 22–32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Winner, E., Rosenstiel, A., & Gardner, H. (1976). The development of metaphoric understanding. Developmental Psychology, 12, 289–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodcock, R. W. (1980). Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery, English form. Hingham, MA: Teaching Resources Corp.Google Scholar
Woodcock, R. W. (1981). Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery, Spanishform. Hingham, MA: Teaching Resources Corp.Google Scholar