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Can Google Translate Rewire Your L2 English Processing?

Resende, Natália ORCID: 0000-0002-5248-2457 and Way, Andy ORCID: 0000-0001-5736-5930 (2021) Can Google Translate Rewire Your L2 English Processing? Digital, 1 (1). pp. 66-85. ISSN 2673-6470

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Abstract

Abstract: In this article, we address the question of whether exposure to the translated output of MT systems could result in changes in the cognitive processing of English as a second language (L2 English). To answer this question, we first conducted a survey with 90 Brazilian Portuguese L2 English speakers with the aim of understanding how and for what purposes they use web-based MT systems. To investigate whether MT systems are capable of influencing L2 English cognitive processing, we carried out a syntactic priming experiment with 32 Brazilian Portuguese speakers. We wanted to test whether speakers re-use in their subsequent speech in English the same syntactic alternative previously seen in the MT output, when using the popular Google Translate system to translate sentences from Portuguese into English. The results of the survey show that Brazilian Portuguese L2 English speakers use Google Translate as a tool supporting their speech in English as well as a source of English vocabulary learning. The results of the syntactic priming experiment show that exposure to an English syntactic alternative through GT can lead to the re-use of the same syntactic alternative in subsequent speech even if it is not the speaker’s preferred syntactic alternative in English. These findings suggest that GT is being used as a tool for language learning purposes and so is indeed capable of rewiring the processing of L2 English syntax.

Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords:machine translation; google translate; English learning; English teaching; Portuguese; syntactic priming; psycholinguistics
Subjects:Humanities > Language
Humanities > Linguistics
Humanities > Translating and interpreting
Social Sciences > Teaching
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Engineering and Computing > School of Computing
Research Initiatives and Centres > ADAPT
Publisher:MDPI
Official URL:https://doi.org/10.3390/digital1010006
Copyright Information:© 2021 The Authors. Open Access (CC-BY-4.0)
Funders:European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 843455, Science Foundation Ireland Research Centres Programme (Grant 13/RC/2106) and is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund
ID Code:26213
Deposited On:08 Sep 2021 11:25 by Natalia Resende . Last Modified 27 Apr 2022 11:00

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