Language Nonselective Lexical Access in Bilingual Toddlers

We examined how words from bilingual toddlers’ second language (L2) primed recognition of related target words in their first lan- guage (L1). On critical trials, prime–target word pairs were either (a) phonologically related, with L2 primes overlapped phonologically with L1 target words [e.g., slide (L2 prime)– Kleid (L1 target, ‘‘dress’’)], or (b) phonologically related through translation, with L1 translations of L2 primes rhymed with the L1 target words [e.g., leg (L2 prime, L1 translation, ‘‘Bein’’)– Stein (L1 target, ‘‘stone’’). Evidence of facilitated target recognition in the phonological priming condition suggests language nonselective access but not necessarily lexical access. However, a late interference effect on target recognition in the phonological priming through translation condition provides evidence for language nonselective lexical access: The L2 prime ( leg ) could influence L1 target recognition ( Stein ) in this condition only if both the L2 prime ( leg ) and its L1 translation (‘‘Bein’’) were concurrently activated. In addition, age- and gender-matched monolingual toddler controls showed no difference between conditions, providing further evidence that the results with bilingual toddlers were driven by cross-language activation. The current study, therefore, presents the first-ever evidence of cross-talk between the two languages of bilinguals even as they begin to acquire fluency in their second language.