NONVERBAL CONTEXT EFFECTS IN FORWARD AND BACKWARD WORD TRANSLATION - EVIDENCE FOR CONCEPT MEDIATION

This study addresses the question of whether word translation is based on word-word associations at a lexical level or is achieved on the ba sis of a common representation in an amodal conceptual system. Recentl y, Kroll and Stewart (1994) proposed an asymmetry model in which it is assumed that forward translation (from the first language to the seco nd language) is mainly conceptually mediated, whereas backward transla tion (from the second language to the first language) is mainly based on intralexical word-word associations. This model predicts that nonve rbal semantic context effects (a) will be larger in forward translatio n than in word reading and (b) will be larger in forward translation t han in backward translation. The results of four Stroop-like experimen ts in which a to-be-translated word was accompanied by a color or a pi cture did not support the second prediction. If anything, semantic con text had a larger effect on backward translation than on forward trans lation. We conclude that our findings, and a large number of findings reported earlier in the literature, can be explained by a model or. wo rd translation in which (a) both forward and backward translations are largely conceptually mediated and (b) concept activation is easier fo r first-language words than for second-language words. (C) 1996 Academ ic Press, Inc.