The ADIM project explores the phenomenon of multlingualism from a psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic perspective. In this project, we assessed multilingual acquisition, processing, and use. We investigated cross-linguistic influence across different domains in multilingual acquisition. Our focus was on multilinguals who speak Polish, English, and Norwegian. 

This project spanned across three universities (UiT the Arctic University of Tromsø, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and Adam Mickiewicz University) and two countries (Poland and Norway). I include each of the subprojects I was involved in below. 

In this project, we used an artificial language paradigm to test the Linguistic Proximity Model (Westergaard et al 2017). In other words, we tested whether learners of a third or additional language draw on one or both of their previously acquired languages in the very beginning stages of learning a new language. We found that learners of one of our Artificial languages, Aliensk N, benefitted from knowledge of both of their previously acquired languages in learning the new language. We also found that overt structural similarity (the same property expressed in the same way, e.g., case marking as a suffix on the noun) is important in the very beginning stages of L3/Ln acquisition - abstract structural similarity (the same property expressed in a different way, e.g., case marking expressed as a postnominal suffix in a previously acquired language and on the article in the new language) is not enough. We identified several overarching factors involved in L3/Ln acquisition, the most prominent being word order preferences.

This project combined both psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic theory and methods. In it, we assessed several different aspects of L3D2 (second dialect) acquisition, including: the differences between dialect use for L1 Polish speakers in Oslo (where Eastern Norwegian is spoken) and Tromsø (where Northern Norwegian is spoken), whether and how Polish-Norwegian speakers use dialect forms, and what sociolinguistic variables are associated with this (e.g., length of residency, attitudes to Norway and Norwegian, Norwegian partner, etc.). We assessed this from a phonological, lexical and morphosyntactic perspective. 

We found that L3 learners can and do acquire and use dialect forms in the L3, but that we see this predominantly at the levels of phonology and the lexicon. We found that sociolinguistic variables including how much learners like the local dialect and the proportion of daily Norwegian language use play a role here.

This project investigates individual and cognitive factors purported to influence CLI in L3 acquisition: those of relative dominance in the L1 and L2 and recency of language use (and activation). We examine this across four different grammatical properties to gain a more holistic picture of these processes.

We exposed four groups of Polish-English speakers to thirty-six lexical items in a new language (Norwegian) followed by a picture-matching task to ensure word comprehension. Participants gave forced-choice judgements on sentences wherein one was Polish-like and the other English-like in its morphosyntax. 

The results showed complex relationships between dominance, recency, and property, which we relate to a foreign language effect, differential cognitive control, language domains, degree of bilingualism, and previous L3 studies. 

This project examines CLI in L1 Polish L2 English and L1 English learners of Norwegian. 

We used a subtractive language groups design in this study, and assessed CLI from a morphosyntactic and semantic perspective using an Acceptability Judgement Task. Specifically, we assessed articles, reflexive possessives, and genericity. 

We also included an L1 Norwegian group to assess whether participants exhibited more 'L1 Norwegian-like' behaviour over time (length of residency in Norway), or behaviour more in line with Norwegian rules learned in the classroom and/or their previously acquired language/s. 

In this project, we compared bioelectrical brain activity in response to changes in pairs of vowels produced in three languages. Multilingual participants listened to selected vowel contrasts in their L1 Polish, L2 English, and L3/Ln Norwegian presented within the passive-oddball paradigm. 

We found that Mismatch Negativity  was modulated by language: there were significant differences between L2 English and L3/Ln Norwegian as well as between L1 Polish and L3/Ln Norwegian. Our findings suggest that foreign language status modulates early auditory processing. 

This project investigates the effect of accentedness in the L3 on grammatical judgements for L1 Polish L2 English L3 Norwegian speakers. We use grammatical and ungrammatical sentences in three accents (a Polish accent, an English [American] accent, and a Norwegian accent) in an Acceptability Judgement task to discern whether there is an effect of accentedness in participants' linguistic judgements. We hypothesise that these differences may be in the direction of the associated accent (e.g., Polish-accented Norwegian sentences without articles may be more accepted, as Polish does not have articles).