Cross-language influences in L2 visual word processing: A localist connectionist modelling perspective

Abstract

Over the last decades, a variety of verbal models have been proposed to account for empirical findings on bilingual word processing and second language (L2) acquisition. However, in these domains only a small number of computational models have seen the light, including localist connectionist models like the Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA) model (Dijkstra & van Heuven, 1998; van Heuven et al., 1998), the Bilingual Interactive Activation + (BIA+) model (Dijkstra & van Heuven, 2002), and Multilink(+) (Dijkstra et al., 2019; 2022a). In this chapter, we review structural and processing characteristics of these models, such as input coding, lateral inhibition, word frequency, language nodes, and task demands. Finally, advantages and limitations of current computational models are discussed.