Picture naming of cognate and non-cognate nouns in bilingual aphasia

Previous research has found differences in the speed and accuracy of respon ses involving concrete cognate nouns and non-cognate nouns in a range of wr itten and "on-line" tasks using neurologically unimpaired, bilingual adults . The present study investigated whether cognateness affects verbal confron tation naming performance in balanced French/English bilinguals (N = 15 aph asic and 15 non-aphasic subjects). Subjects met selection criteria for equa l proficiency, regular use, and early acquisition of both languages. Result s of a picture naming test show that cognate pictures were more often corre ctly named in both languages than were non-cognates. Some error types and s elf-correction behaviors also varied with cognate status. There were simila rities between the results of this study and those of previous studies of m onolingual naming. Some error types and self-correction strategies appear t o be unique to bilingual speakers. Theoretical questions and treatment appl ications arising from these findings are outlined. (C) 1999 by Elsevier Sci ence Inc.