Abstract :
This study aims to examine the influence of multiple translations of a word on bilingual processing in three translation
recognition experiments during which French–English bilinguals had to decide whether two words were translations of each
other or not. In the first experiment, words with only one translation were recognized as translations faster than words with
multiple translations. Furthermore, when words were presented with their dominant translation, the recognition process was
faster than when words were presented with their non-dominant translation. In Experiment 2, these effects were replicated in
both directions of translation (L1–L2 and L2–L1). In Experiment 3, we manipulated number-of-translations and the semantic
relatedness between the different translations of a word. When the two translations of a word (i.e., bateau) were related in
meaning (synonyms such as the English translations boat and ship), the translation recognition process was faster than when
the two translations of a word (i.e., argent) were unrelated in meaning (the two translations money and silver). The
consequences of translation ambiguities are discussed in the light of the distributed conceptual feature model of bilingual
memory (De Groot, 1992b; Van Hell and De Groot, 1998b).
