The 9th China International Conference on Eye Movements (CICEM)

Language is a complex dynamic system and most of language users are actually multilinguals, both of which make it necessary for any linguistic inquiries to take multilingualism into account. Therefore, the studies of Lexical Inferencing (LIF) shall not be an exception. This study is set to explore the nature of LIF in terms of its time course, mechanism and potential effect from a multilingual perspective. To this end, the eye-tracking technique and repeated reading paradigm were taken, and the Growth Curve Models were fitted to the data to reflect the effect of LIF on the dynamics of languages and incidental vocabulary acquisition. Specifically, thirty one Chinese-English-Japanese unbalanced trilinguals read three language versions of the experimental text in different orders (Order: C-E-J, C-J-E, E-C-J, E-J-C, J-E-C, J-C-E) while their eye-movement being recorded, and after each reading a vocabulary level test was used to indicate their immediate vocabulary development. Results suggested that LIF seems to facilitate connectivity and synergistic effects between languages, allowing exposure to new words in one language to aid development of other languages. Over time, more proficient languages may transfer usefulness to less proficient languages as vocabulary and concepts become more crystallized. Relationships were dynamic, varying with order of introduction and proficiency levels. Unbalanced trilinguals may adopt novel strategies not seen in bilinguals or less multicompetent learners. Further studies are needed to unravel the mechanisms involved and potentials for instructed LIF. Overall though, results clearly showed that trilinguals’ LIF processes are complex, dynamic, unique and worthy of investigation in their own right.