Irena Bogunovic

@uniri.hr

Chair of Foreign Languages/Faculty of Maritime Studies
University of Rijeka

Irena Bogunovic


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https://researchid.co/irena_bogunovic

EDUCATION

PhD in Cognitive Science (University of Zagreb)

RESEARCH INTERESTS

language processing, bilingualism, mental lexicon, lexical access
19

Scopus Publications

244

Scholar Citations

9

Scholar h-index

7

Scholar i10-index

Scopus Publications

  • Lexical access to unadapted English loanwords in Croatian: Evidence from Croatian speakers with different levels of proficiency in English
    Irena Bogunović, Bojana Ćoso, Dražen Domijan
    International Journal of Bilingualism, 2025
    Aims and Objectives: This study aims to investigate lexical access to unadapted English loanwords in Croatian speakers with different levels of English proficiency by exploring the effects of associative-semantic priming. It is expected that associative-semantic relatedness will have a facilitating effect on word recognition in all proficiency groups and in both language directions. Contrary to previous research on unadapted English loanwords, we expect that the effect of proficiency will also be significant. Methodology: To find appropriate stimuli for the main study, three preparatory studies were conducted. The main study consisted of a proficiency test, a questionnaire on language use and exposure, and two cross-language (first language [L1] and second language [L2]) priming experiments (L2–L1/L1–L2). Data and Analysis: Reaction times were analyzed by fitting linear mixed-effects model in R 3.6.1 environment for statistical computing. Findings: The results showed that associative-semantic relatedness significantly facilitates lexical access to unadapted English loanwords in both language directions and all proficiency groups. The effect of proficiency on reaction times was also significant in both experiments. Originality: Unadapted English loanwords provide a unique opportunity for the study of bilingual lexical access because of their specific nature—they occur in L1 and L2 in the same orthographic form, they often do not have adequate native equivalents, and are used by all proficiency groups. However, very little research has been done in that field. Implications: While unadapted English loanwords are common in many languages, the cognitive processing of this specific group of loanwords is still relatively understudied. Thus, the results of this study not only add to the existing knowledge on bilingual lexical access, but also provide new insight into loanword processing.
  • How do we feel about borrowed words? Affective and lexico-semantic norms for most frequent unadapted English loanwords in Croatian (ENGRI CROWD)
    Irena Bogunović, Bojana Ćoso, Marc Guasch, Eva Pavlinušić Vilus, Pilar Ferré, et al.
    International Journal of Bilingualism, 2025
    Aims and objectives: English has become the dominant donor language for many languages, including Croatian. Perception of English loanwords has mainly been investigated through corpus-based studies or attitude questionnaires. At the same time, normative data for unadapted English loanwords are still mainly unavailable. This study aims to fill that gap by collecting affective and lexico-semantic norms for unadapted English loanwords in Croatian. Methodology: Valence, arousal, familiarity, and concreteness ratings for unadapted English loanwords and three types of Croatian equivalents were collected from 565 participants. Data and analysis: Affective and lexico-semantic norms for each word on the four variables are available in the database. In addition, the relationship between different variables was examined. Finally, the differences between English loanwords and three types of Croatian equivalents (in-context, out-of-context, and adapted forms) are reported. Findings: Valence ratings for unadapted English loanwords differed from out-of-context equivalents and adapted forms. Unadapted English loanwords were rated as more arousing than Croatian equivalents. Finally, unadapted English loanwords were less familiar and less concrete than in-context and out-of-context equivalents. The findings suggest that Croatian speakers perceive unadapted English loanwords differently on affective and lexico-semantic levels compared with Croatian equivalents. Originality: This is the first study to provide affective and lexical norms for 391 most frequent unadapted English loanwords in Croatian. Implications: The reported normative data will contribute to the existing knowledge about the processing of English loanwords by enabling experimental research on this topic.
  • THE ROLE OF CONCEPTUAL METAPHORS AND L2 PROFICIENCY IN CROSS-LANGUAGE FACILITATION OF IDIOM COMPREHENSION
    Jasmina Jelčić Čolakovac, Irena Bogunović
    Fluminensia, 2025
    This study investigates the role of the learners’ L1 and L2 language in the formulaic transfer between the two languages in the case of metaphorical expressions which are either based on conceptual metaphors present in both languages (CM-motivated) or are culturally-specific (CS-motivated) to either L1 or L2 context. With the aim of investigating the direction and strength of L1-L2 and L2-L1 transfers respectively, a three-part instrument was used that included a learning profile survey, an English proficiency test, and the main questionnaire consisting of 19 Croatian idioms in English (L1-to-L2 items) and 19 English idioms in Croatian (L2-to-L1 items) respectively. Results showed both direction of transfer and underlying motivation (metaphor-related (CM) or culturally specific (CS) phrase origin) influence idiom comprehension in L2 context, with better comprehension recorded in the L1-to-L2 condition. In line with the dual route model, L2 proficiency was found to have a stronger effect under the L1-to-L2 condition. This suggests L2 learners were more successful in understanding L1 idioms in L2 context with a higher rate of accuracy recorded for the CM-motivated phrases. Accordingly, lower accuracy rates were recorded for CS-motivated idioms without L1 translational equivalents, thus adding to the evidence on L2 learners’ reliance on L1 conceptual systems.
  • Applying Zipf’s Law to English words in Croatian: A comparative study of frequency and word length
    Suvremena Lingvistika, 2025
    In corpus linguistics, the negative correlation between word frequency and word length is a well–documented phenomenon referred to as Zipf ’s law. This linguistic universal observed by Zipf, which posits that the length of a word is in an inverse relation to its frequency (but not necessarily proportional to), has also been confirmed by numerous studies, and its implications can be observed in different fields such as language teaching and cognitive language processing. However, there is a gap in research data when it comes to studying this phenomenon from the perspective of loanwords. Even though it has been observed that translation equivalents in Croatian generally exist for loanwords or English words that appear 5000 times or more in the Croatian corpus (ENGRI corpus), the question still remains why speakers of Croatian resort to using English words in such cases where first language (L1) equivalents exist. This paper examines the systematicity of the language universal that shorter words are more frequent when it comes to foreign (primarily English) words in the (Croatian) language, i.e. whether the most frequent English words are shorter than their Croatian equivalents. For the purpose of this research, the Database of English words and their equivalents in Croatian was examined. Results indicate that some degree of systematicity between word length and frequency can be observed, but they also highlight the need for incorporating a semantic component into the analysis. The results contribute to the theoretical discussion on language universals, and explain why Croatian users prefer English words and whether language economy is one of the reasons for the use of English words in Croatian.
  • Shedding new light on English loanwords in Croatian: Computational-linguistic and corpus linguistic perspectives
    Irena Bogunović
    Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, 2024
    English loanwords in Croatian have been thoroughly investigated in terms of the degree of their adaptation, use across different styles and domains, and speakers’ attitudes. Most studies rely on selectively chosen examples or specialized corpora. To provide systematic data on a subgroup of English loanwords, those that occur in orthographically unadapted forms, new resources have been recently developed. They provide the data on the identification of unadapted English loanwords in Croatian, their meaning, native equivalents, and frequency. The aim of this paper is to bring together recent findings on unadapted English loanwords in Croatian, obtained from a set of studies in which computational-linguistic and corpus linguistic methods were used, with the purpose of providing a new insight into the phenomenon.
  • Putting languages into perspective: A comprehensive database of English words and their Croatian equivalents
    Crossroads, 2024
  • CROWD-5e: A Croatian psycholinguistic database of affective norms for five discrete emotions
    Bojana Ćoso, Marc Guasch, Irena Bogunović, Pilar Ferré, José A. Hinojosa
    Behavior Research Methods, 2023
  • A CORPUS-BASED APPROACH TO ENGLISH LOANWORDS: INTRODUCING THE DATABASE OF ENGLISH LOANWORDS IN CROATIAN
    Fluminensia, 2023
  • English words in Croatian: linguistic borrowing and bilingual language processing
    Irena Bogunović
    Suvremena Lingvistika, 2023
    Engleski se jezik smatra prestižnim, a takav je status povezan s jezičnim posuđivanjem, jezičnim stavovima i jezičnom izloženošću. Engleski je postao dominantan jezik davalac, a zbog prestižnog statusa umanjuje se vjerojatnost da će se posuđene riječi prilagoditi jeziku primaocu. Zbog toga se mnoge riječi posuđene iz engleskoga rabe u neprilagođenom obliku. U hrvatskome se jeziku preporučuje uporaba domaćih riječi, no čini se da one još uvijek u potpunosti ne zadovoljavaju potrebe govornika. Istraživanja su pokazala da hrvatski govornici imaju pozitivan stav prema engleskim riječima u neformalnom kontekstu, ali i da je uporaba engleskih riječi povezana s boljom procjenom osobe u kategoriji socijalne poželjnosti. To se može objasniti jezičnim prestižem, ali i izloženošću engleskom jeziku, koja u novije vrijeme počinje već u predškolskoj dobi, a za mnoge je govornike svakodnevna. Izloženost jeziku pogoduje spontanom usvajanju jezika te je prepoznata kao važan čimbenik u istraživanju dvojezičnosti u širem smislu. Time se stvaraju uvjeti za istraživanje kognitivne obrade engleskih riječi u okviru dvojezične obrade jezika, a nedavno razvijeni računalno–jezikoslovni i psiholingvistički resursi za hrvatski jezik omogućuju provođenje eksperimentalnih istraživanja. Cilj ovoga rada je predstaviti interdisciplinarni pristup engleskim riječima, razmotriti dostupne resurse i eksperimentalne metode te izložiti pojavu engleskih riječi u teorijskom okviru dvojezičnosti i dvojezične obrade jezika. Ovaj istraživački pravac još nije ispitivan u drugim jezicima te predstavlja novi pristup u istraživanjima dvojezične leksičke obrade
  • JUTUBER, JUTJUBER OR YUTJUBER: ADAPTED FORMS OF ENGLISH LOANWORDS IN THE WRITTEN PRODUCTION OF CROATIAN UNIVERSITY-LEVEL LEARNERS
    Eva Pavlinušić Vilus, Jasmina Jelčić Čolakovac, Irena Bogunović, Bojana Ćoso
    Journal for Foreign Languages, 2023
    New concepts are constantly being borrowed across languages. The influence of one language on another can occur on all linguistic levels, with lexis being the most sensitive. Croatian has become most receptive to borrowing from English, and the influence of English on Croatian has been documented in different functional styles. The prestigious status of English, which reduces the likelihood that a borrowed element will adapt to the rules of the recipient language, is one of the reasons why English has become an inexhaustible source of new words for Croatian learners. The aim of the present study is to investigate the use of adapted forms of English loanwords in Croatian, with particular attention to the type and degree of their adaptation. Due to the differences between the phonemic systems of the two languages, it was expected that the Croatian learners would show diversity in their responses regarding loanword adaptation. A translation task with the 392 most frequently used unadapted English loanwords in Croatian was given to 116 undergraduate students at the Faculty of Maritime Studies. The data showed that the participants preferred the unadapted forms to the adapted forms of English. They were also more inclined to orthographically adapt a loanword, than to adapt it both orthographically and morphologically. The differences observed in orthographic adaptation reflect the underlying differences in the phonemic systems of the two languages. Overall, the results suggest that the unadapted forms of English words have become established in Croatian and are a preferred lexical choice among younger L1 speakers of Croatian.
  • EXTRACTING ENGLISH WORDS FROM A CORPUS OF CROATIAN
    Mirjana Borucinsky, Irena Bogunović
    Fluminensia, 2022
  • STUDENTS’ STRATEGIES FOR TRANSLATING MOST FREQUENT ENGLISH LOANWORDS IN CROATIAN
    Eva Pavlinušić Vilus, Irena Bogunović, Bojana Ćoso
    Rasprave Instituta Za Hrvatski Jezik I Jezikoslovlje, 2022
  • AN EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH TO NEGATIONS: STUDIES IN CROATIAN AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE MODELS OF PROCESSING NEGATIONS
    Bojana Ćoso, Irena Bogunović
    Fluminensia, 2021
  • The role of linguistic cues in bilingual negation processing
    Bojana Ćoso, Irena Bogunović
    International Journal of Bilingualism, 2019
  • The role of informal activities in incidental language acquisition: The relationship between language use and proficiency
    Irena Bogunović, Jasmina Jelčić Čolakovac
    Fluminensia, 2019
  • Lexical access in croatian–english unbalanced bilinguals: A cross–linguistic study
    Irena Bogunović, Bojana Ćoso
    Suvremena Lingvistika, 2019
  • Person perception and language: A case of English words in Croatian
    Bojana Ćoso, Irena Bogunović
    Language and Communication, 2017
  • Cognitive Processing of Verbal Quantifiers in the Context of Affirmative and Negative Sentences: A Croatian Study
    Bojana Ćoso, Irena Bogunović
    Research in Language, 2016
  • English in Croatian scientific medical discourse: A corpus-based study
    Fluminensia, 2013

RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Lexical access to unadapted English loanwords in Croatian: Evidence from Croatian speakers with different levels of proficiency in English
    I Bogunović, B Ćoso, D Domijan
    International journal of bilingualism 29 (6), 1819-1835 , 2025
    2025
  • How do we feel about borrowed words? Affective and lexico-semantic norms for most frequent unadapted English loanwords in Croatian (ENGRI CROWD)
    I Bogunović, B Ćoso, M Guasch, E Pavlinušić Vilus, P Ferre, JA Hinojosa
    International journal of bilingualism 29 (5), 1309-1334 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 1
  • Uloga konceptualnih metafora i poznavanja drugog jezika u međujezičnom olakšavanju razumijevanja frazema
    J Jelčić Čolakovac, I Bogunović
    FLUMINENSIA: časopis za filološka istraživanja 37 (1), 111-135 , 2025
    2025
  • The role of conceptual metaphors and L2 proficiency in cross-language facilitation of idiom comprehension
    JJ Čolakovac, I Bogunović
    FLUMINENSIA: časopis za filološka istraživanja 37 (1), 111–135-111–135 , 2025
    2025
    Citations: 1
  • Primjena Zipfova zakona na engleske riječi u hrvatskom jeziku: usporedba čestote i dužine riječi
    M Borucinsky, I Bogunović, J Jelčić Čolakovac
    Suvremena lingvistika 51 (99), 21-38 , 2025
    2025
  • Applying Zipf's Law to English words in Croatian: A comparative study of frequency and word length
    M Borucinsky, I Bogunović, J Jelčić Čolakovac
    2025
  • PUP_ENGRI_HRZZ_UIP-2019-04-1576_završno
    I Bogunović
    2025
  • Putting languages into perspective: A comprehensive database of English words and their Croatian equivalents
    JJ Čolakovac, I Bogunović
    Crossroads. A Journal of English Studies, 62-81 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 3
  • Shedding new light on English loanwords in Croatian: computational-linguistic and corpus linguistic perspectives
    I Bogunović
    Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics 60 (3), 257-282 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 2
  • Putting languages into perspective: A comprehensive database of English words and their Croatian equivalents
    ČJA JELČIĆ, I Bogunović
    CrossRoads, 62-81 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 3
  • Pod povećalom interdisciplinarnosti: novi pogledi na neprilagođene engleske riječi u hrvatskome jeziku
    I Bogunović, B Ćoso, J Jelčić Čolakovac, E Pavlinušić Vilus
    Sveučilište u Rijeci, Pomorski fakultet , 2024
    2024
  • Jezično posuđivanje i dvojezičnost: Interdisciplinarni pristup engleskim riječima u hrvatskome
    I Bogunović
    Jezik i migracije. Zbornik radova s međunarodnoga znanstvenog skupa … , 2024
    2024
  • KORPUSNI PRISTUP ENGLESKIM POSUĐENICAMA: BAZA ENGLESKIH RIJEČI U HRVATSKOME
    I Bogunović
    FLUMINENSIA: časopis za filološka istraživanja 35 (2), 437-460 , 2023
    2023
  • English words in Croatian: linguistic borrowing and bilingual language processing
    I Bogunović
    Suvremena lingvistika 49 (96), 251-280 , 2023
    2023
  • Jutuber, Jutjuber or Yutjuber: Adapted Forms of English Loanwords in the Written Production of Croatian University-Level Learners
    EP Vilus, JJ Čolakovac, I Bogunović, B Ćoso
    Journal for Foreign Languages 15 (1), 79-97 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 1
  • CROWD-5e: A Croatian psycholinguistic database of affective norms for five discrete emotions
    B Ćoso, M Guasch, I Bogunović, P Ferré, JA Hinojosa
    Behavior research methods 55 (8), 4018-4034 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 13
  • Jutuber, Jutjuber or Yutjuber: Adapted forms of English loanwords in the written production of Croatian university-level learners
    E Pavlinušić Vilus, J Jelčić Čolakovac, I Bogunović, B Ćoso
    Vestnik za tuje jezike= Journal for foreign languages 15 (1), 79-97 , 2023
    2023
  • Istraživanje obrade engleskih riječi u hrvatskome metodom mjerenja evociranih potencijala
    E Pavlinušić Vilus, B Ćoso, I Bogunović, J Jelčić Čolakovac
    CLARC 2023: Jezik i jezični podaci: knjižica sažetaka, 44-45 , 2023
    2023
  • ENGRI CROWD: psiholingvistička baza afektivnih i leksičko-semantičkih normi za najčešće engleske riječi u hrvatskome
    I Bogunović, B Ćoso, M Guasch, E Pavlinušić Vilus, JA Hinojosa, P Ferre
    CLARC 2023: Jezik i jezični podaci: knjižica sažetaka, 95-96 , 2023
    2023
  • Istraživanje leksičke obrade neprilagođenih engleskih posuđenica u hrvatskome jeziku pomoću paradigme međujezičnog semantičkog usmjeravanja
    E Pavlinušić Vilus, B Ćoso, I Bogunović
    Jezik i migracije, 142-144 , 2023
    2023

MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS

  • Engleske riječi u jeziku hrvatskih medija
    I Brdar
    LAHOR: časopis za hrvatski kao materinski, drugi i strani jezik 10, 217-232 , 2010
    2010
    Citations: 50
  • Engleski u hrvatskome: znanstveni izričaj biomedicine i zdravstva
    I Bogunović, B Ćoso
    Fluminensia: časopis za filološka istraživanja 25 (2), 177-191 , 2013
    2013
    Citations: 24
  • Modals and modality in translation: A case study based approach
    B Knežević, I Brdar
    Jezikoslovlje 12 (2), 117-145 , 2011
    2011
    Citations: 22
  • Person perception and language: A case of English words in Croatian
    IB Bojana Ćoso
    Language & Communication 53, 25-34 , 2017
    2017
    Citations: 20
  • The role of linguistic cues in bilingual negation processing
    B Ćoso, I Bogunović
    International journal of bilingualism , 2017
    2017
    Citations: 16
  • CROWD-5e: A Croatian psycholinguistic database of affective norms for five discrete emotions
    B Ćoso, M Guasch, I Bogunović, P Ferré, JA Hinojosa
    Behavior research methods 55 (8), 4018-4034 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 13
  • Cognitive Processing of Verbal Quantifiers in the Context of Affirmative and Negative Sentences: a Croatian Study
    B Ćoso, I Bogunović
    Research in Language 14 (3), 203-220 , 2016
    2016
    Citations: 10
  • Leksički pristup hrvatskih govornika engleskog s različitim razinama jezičnog znanja
    I Bogunović, B Ćoso
    Suvremena lingvistika 45 (87), 1-22 , 2019
    2019
    Citations: 9
  • Passive- and passive-like constructions in translation of Croatian legislative text into English
    B Knežević, I Brdar
    Jezikoslovlje 11 (1), 23-49 , 2010
    2010
    Citations: 9
  • Crpljenje engleskih riječi iz korpusa hrvatskoga jezika
    M Borucinsky, I Bogunović
    FLUMINENSIA: časopis za filološka istraživanja 34 (2), 435-461 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 8
  • Corpus of Croatian news portals ENGRI (2014–2018), Slovenian language resource repository CLARIN. SI
    I Bogunović, M Kučić, N Ljubešić, T Erjavec
    2021
    Citations: 6
  • Cross-language priming: Evidence from Croatian-English bilinguals with different second language proficiency levels
    I Bogunović
    Sveučilište u Zagrebu , 2017
    2017
    Citations: 6
  • Deontic possibility and necessity: A case study based on two parallel legislative texts
    B Knežević, I Brdar
    The Linguistics Journal 6 (1), 34-58 , 2012
    2012
    Citations: 6
  • Students’ strategies for translating most frequent English loanwords in Croatian
    E Pavlinušić Vilus, I Bogunović, B Ćoso
    Rasprave Instituta za hrvatski jezik 48 (2), 547-570 , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 5
  • Engleske riječi u hrvatskome: Jezično posuđivanje i dvojezična leksička obrada
    I Bogunović
    Suvremena lingvistika 49 (96), 251-280 , 2023
    2023
    Citations: 4
  • Uloga neformalnih aktivnosti u nenamjernom usvajanju jezika: Povezanost uporabe jezika i jezičnog znanja
    I Bogunović, JJ Čolakovac
    FLUMINENSIA: časopis za filološka istraživanja 31 (2), 181-199 , 2019
    2019
    Citations: 4
  • On the nature of adjectival resultatives – Corpus-based evidence
    B Knežević, I Brdar
    Suvremena lingvistika 70 (2), 209-228 , 2010
    2010
    Citations: 4
  • Putting languages into perspective: A comprehensive database of English words and their Croatian equivalents
    JJ Čolakovac, I Bogunović
    Crossroads. A Journal of English Studies, 62-81 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 3
  • Putting languages into perspective: A comprehensive database of English words and their Croatian equivalents
    ČJA JELČIĆ, I Bogunović
    CrossRoads, 62-81 , 2024
    2024
    Citations: 3
  • Lexical access to unadapted English loanwords in Croatian: Evidence from translation priming
    E Pavlinušić Vilus, I Bogunović, B Ćoso
    ExLing 2022 Paris: Proceedings of 13th International Conference of … , 2022
    2022
    Citations: 3