Abstract

Recent research suggests that psychotypology may be one of the main factors determining L3 acquisition and use, especially so in the early stages. However, the existence and nature of multilingual learners’ perception of language proximity have often only been assumed rather than measured, and rarely addressed with respect to the increasingly established understanding of the multilingual mind as a complex interconnected system. The present study examines the perception of phonological proximity in a group of 44 multilinguals (aged 12–13), by means of a visual psychotypological measure. All participants had the same language repertoires, with English always being their L2, but German and Polish either their L1 or L3. This specific mirror-image design tapped the potential role of language status. The results show that their psychotypology largely coincided with actual typology, identifying English-German as most similar. However, an L1 effect was found as well; while the L1 Polish group perceived the three language pairs as more equidistant, the L1 German group clearly distinguished between them. The data also showed individual variability, confirming the need to recognize psychotypology as a unique driving force in a multilingual’s learning process.

摘要

最近的研究表明，心理类型学可能是决定 L3 获得和使用的主要因素之一，尤其是在早期阶段。然而，多语言学习者对语言接近度的感知的存在和性质往往只是假设而不是衡量，并且很少针对多语言思维作为一个复杂的相互关联系统的日益建立的理解来解决。本研究通过视觉心理类型学测量检查了 44 名多语者（12-13 岁）对语音接近度的感知。所有参与者都有相同的语言曲目，英语总是他们的 L2，但德语和波兰语是他们的 L1 或 L3。这种特定的镜像设计利用了语言状态的潜在作用。结果表明，他们的心理类型学在很大程度上与实际类型学一致，认为英语和德语最相似。然而，也发现了 L1 效应；L1 波兰语组认为这三种语言对距离更近，而 L1 德语组则清楚地区分它们。数据还显示了个体差异，确认需要将心理类型学视为多语言学习过程中的独特驱动力。