Abstract

This study investigates the visual word processing of English-derived loanwords in Korean-English bilinguals. While loanwords constitute approximately 5.6% of Korean vocabulary, their cognitive status in bilingual speakers remains underexplored. We examined whether Korean- English bilinguals process loanwords as fully integrated Korean vocabulary or as items requiring cross-linguistic mediation. In a lexical decision task, participants responded to native Korean words, established English-derived loanwords, direct Hangul transcriptions of English words not accepted as loanwords (“foreign words”), and nonwords. Response times revealed that loanwords were processed similarly to native Korean words (M=722.42ms vs. M=717.17ms) with no significant difference. However, both categories were processed significantly faster than foreign words (M=786.81ms) and nonwords (M=858.76ms). These results suggest that established loanwords are processed as integral components of the Korean lexical system rather than as foreign elements requiring additional processing resources. The findings demonstrate that the theoretical distinction between loanwords and foreign words is reflected in cognitive processing and contribute to our understanding of lexical organization in bilingual speakers.