Japanese-as-a-foreign-language acquisition affects native Chinese lexical processing among Chinese learners

Abstract

Existing research has primarily focused on the influence of the native language on second language (L2) acquisition and processing, with less attention given to whether L2 acquisition affects native language processing. This study examines Chinese learners of Japanese, focusing on the orthographic and phonological similarities between two-character words in Chinese and Japanese. It investigates how these similarities affect native Chinese lexical processing at intermediate and advanced stages of Japanese learning and explores the predictive effect of L2 lexical processing efficiency on native language lexical processing efficiency at different stages of L2 learning. Through a comparison with native Chinese speakers who have not learned Japanese, the results indicate that L2 Japanese acquisition significantly impacts native Chinese lexical processing for Chinese learners of Japanese. Additionally, although there are some indications of the effects of orthographic and phonological similarities between Chinese and Japanese on native Chinese processing, the overall impact appears to be relatively weak. Moreover, the impact of L2 proficiency on lexical processing is influenced by L2 lexical processing efficiency, with both factors being closely related and jointly affecting lexical processing. Based on these results, this study proposes a potential pathway for native Chinese lexical processing among Chinese learners of Japanese.

Keywords: Japanese-as-a-foreign-language acquisition; L2 lexical processing efficiency; native Chinese lexical processing; orthographic similarity; phonological similarity.

Figure 1

Experimental procedure.

Figure 2

Interaction between Japanese proficiency and L2 processing efficiency in section 4.3.1.

Figure 3

Interaction between Japanese proficiency and L2 processing efficiency in section 4.3.2.

Figure 4

Influence pathway of orthographic similarity in L1 processing for Chinese learners of Japanese. (A) Illustrates the L1 processing model under the condition of high orthographic similarity, while panel (B) illustrates the model under the condition of low orthographic similarity. The thickness and style of the arrows represent the strength of the processing link, with thicker solid arrows indicating stronger pathways. Green arrows indicate words with high orthographic similarity and low phonological similarity, while red arrows indicate words with low orthographic similarity and low phonological similarity. The left sections represent Chinese (L1) lexical representation, while the right sections represent Japanese (L2) lexical representation. Since the experimental results did not show significant effects for orthographic similarity, we incorporated comparisons based on the magnitude of response-time differences to describe the processing model.

Figure 5

Influence pathway of phonological similarity in L1 processing for Chinese learners of Japanese. (A) Illustrates the L1 processing model under the condition of high phonological similarity, while panel (B) illustrates the model under the condition of low phonological similarity. The thickness and style of the arrows represent the strength of the processing link, with thicker solid arrows indicating stronger pathways. Purple arrows indicate words with high orthographic similarity and high phonological similarity, while green arrows indicate words with high orthographic similarity and low phonological similarity. The left sections represent Chinese (L1) lexical representation, while the right sections represent Japanese (L2) lexical representation. Since the experimental results did not show significant effects for phonological similarity, we incorporated comparisons based on the magnitude of response-time differences to describe the processing model.