Pub Date : 2023-11-06DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1253816
Brett C. Nelson
Phonological redeployment is the theoretical ability of language learners to utilize non-local phonological knowledge from known languages in the mapping and acquisition of novel contrasts in their target languages. The current paper probes the limits of phonological redeployment in a third language acquisition scenario. The phonological features [Advanced Tongue Root] and [Retracted Tongue Root] capture a range of phonological contrasts and harmony processes in both vowels and consonants of spoken languages across the world, including, but not limited to, vowel tensing and post-velar places of articulation (e.g. uvular). Kaqchikel (cak) exhibits both a tense-lax vocalic contrast in its vowels plus a velar-uvular Place contrast in its eight stop consonant phonemes. English (eng) exhibits a tense-lax vocalic distinction but no velar-uvular distinction among its six stop phonemes. Spanish (spa) exhibits neither of these contrasts in its vowels or among its six stop phonemes. How do multilingual learners of Kaqchikel already familiar with English and Spanish, but who differ in which is their first language (L1), compare in their categorical perception of Kaqchikel stop consonants? Despite English and Spanish having a three-way Place distinction among stops in common, in a phonemic categorization task, L1 English learners of Kaqchikel were better at correctly categorizing audio recordings of Kaqchikel uvular stops than L1 Spanish learners of Kaqchikel. To account for this surprising result, I propose that the L1 English group have easier access than the L1 Spanish group to the feature underlying English's tense-lax distinction. This access allows them to redeploy that phonological feature to accurately map out the novel four-way contrast of Kaqchikel's stop consonants, and the [±RTR] specified velar-uvular distinction in particular. Therefore, phonological redeployment must be considered in models of third language acquisition.
{"title":"Phonological redeployment for [retracted tongue root] in third language perception of Kaqchikel stops","authors":"Brett C. Nelson","doi":"10.3389/flang.2023.1253816","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2023.1253816","url":null,"abstract":"Phonological redeployment is the theoretical ability of language learners to utilize non-local phonological knowledge from known languages in the mapping and acquisition of novel contrasts in their target languages. The current paper probes the limits of phonological redeployment in a third language acquisition scenario. The phonological features [Advanced Tongue Root] and [Retracted Tongue Root] capture a range of phonological contrasts and harmony processes in both vowels and consonants of spoken languages across the world, including, but not limited to, vowel tensing and post-velar places of articulation (e.g. uvular). Kaqchikel (cak) exhibits both a tense-lax vocalic contrast in its vowels plus a velar-uvular Place contrast in its eight stop consonant phonemes. English (eng) exhibits a tense-lax vocalic distinction but no velar-uvular distinction among its six stop phonemes. Spanish (spa) exhibits neither of these contrasts in its vowels or among its six stop phonemes. How do multilingual learners of Kaqchikel already familiar with English and Spanish, but who differ in which is their first language (L1), compare in their categorical perception of Kaqchikel stop consonants? Despite English and Spanish having a three-way Place distinction among stops in common, in a phonemic categorization task, L1 English learners of Kaqchikel were better at correctly categorizing audio recordings of Kaqchikel uvular stops than L1 Spanish learners of Kaqchikel. To account for this surprising result, I propose that the L1 English group have easier access than the L1 Spanish group to the feature underlying English's tense-lax distinction. This access allows them to redeploy that phonological feature to accurately map out the novel four-way contrast of Kaqchikel's stop consonants, and the [±RTR] specified velar-uvular distinction in particular. Therefore, phonological redeployment must be considered in models of third language acquisition.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"91 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135636227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1218123
Cas W. Coopmans, Emiliano Zaccarella
Linguistic theories offer empirical hypotheses about the architecture of human language, which provide the basis for neurobiological investigations into the study of language use. Unfortunately, progress in linking the two fields of inquiry is hampered because core concepts and ideas from linguistics are not seldom misunderstood, making them controversial and seemingly irrelevant to the neurobiology of language. Here we identify three such proposals: the distinction between competence and performance, the autonomy of syntax, and the abstract nature of syntactic representations. In our view, confusion about these concepts stems from the fact that they are interpreted at a level of analysis different from the level at which they were originally described. We clarify the intended interpretation of these concepts and discuss how they might be contextualized in the cognitive neuroscience of language. By doing so, the discussion about the integration of linguistics and neurobiology of language can move toward a fruitful exploration of linking hypotheses within a multi-level theory of syntax in the brain.
{"title":"Three conceptual clarifications about syntax and the brain","authors":"Cas W. Coopmans, Emiliano Zaccarella","doi":"10.3389/flang.2023.1218123","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2023.1218123","url":null,"abstract":"Linguistic theories offer empirical hypotheses about the architecture of human language, which provide the basis for neurobiological investigations into the study of language use. Unfortunately, progress in linking the two fields of inquiry is hampered because core concepts and ideas from linguistics are not seldom misunderstood, making them controversial and seemingly irrelevant to the neurobiology of language. Here we identify three such proposals: the distinction between competence and performance, the autonomy of syntax, and the abstract nature of syntactic representations. In our view, confusion about these concepts stems from the fact that they are interpreted at a level of analysis different from the level at which they were originally described. We clarify the intended interpretation of these concepts and discuss how they might be contextualized in the cognitive neuroscience of language. By doing so, the discussion about the integration of linguistics and neurobiology of language can move toward a fruitful exploration of linking hypotheses within a multi-level theory of syntax in the brain.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"15 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135270634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-09DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1100774
Bernd J. Kröger
Computer-implemented neural speech processing models can simulate patients suffering from neurogenic speech and language disorders like aphasia, dysarthria, apraxia of speech, and neurogenic stuttering. Speech production and perception tasks simulated by using quantitative neural models uncover a variety of speech symptoms if neural dysfunctions are inserted into these models. Neural model dysfunctions can be differentiated with respect to type (dysfunction of neuron cells or of neural connections), location (dysfunction appearing in a specific buffer of submodule of the model), and severity (percentage of affected neurons or neural connections in that specific submodule of buffer). It can be shown that the consideration of quantitative computer-implemented neural models of speech processing allows to refine the definition of neurogenic speech disorders by unfolding the relation between inserted neural dysfunction and resulting simulated speech behavior while the analysis of neural deficits (e.g., brain lesions) uncovered from imaging experiments with real patients does not necessarily allow to precisely determine the neurofunctional deficit and thus does not necessarily allow to give a precise neurofunctional definition of a neurogenic speech and language disorder. Furthermore, it can be shown that quantitative computer-implemented neural speech processing models are able to simulate complex communication scenarios as they appear in medical screenings, e.g., in tasks like picture naming, word comprehension, or repetition of words or of non-words (syllable sequences) used for diagnostic purposes or used in speech tasks appearing in speech therapy scenarios (treatments). Moreover, neural speech processing models which can simulate neural learning are able to simulate progress in the overall speech processing skills of a model (patient) resulting from specific treatment scenarios if these scenarios can be simulated. Thus, quantitative neural models can be used to sharpen up screening and treatment scenarios and thus increase their effectiveness by varying certain parameters of screening as well as of treatment scenarios.
{"title":"Modeling speech processing in case of neurogenic speech and language disorders: neural dysfunctions, brain lesions, and speech behavior","authors":"Bernd J. Kröger","doi":"10.3389/flang.2023.1100774","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2023.1100774","url":null,"abstract":"Computer-implemented neural speech processing models can simulate patients suffering from neurogenic speech and language disorders like aphasia, dysarthria, apraxia of speech, and neurogenic stuttering. Speech production and perception tasks simulated by using quantitative neural models uncover a variety of speech symptoms if neural dysfunctions are inserted into these models. Neural model dysfunctions can be differentiated with respect to type (dysfunction of neuron cells or of neural connections), location (dysfunction appearing in a specific buffer of submodule of the model), and severity (percentage of affected neurons or neural connections in that specific submodule of buffer). It can be shown that the consideration of quantitative computer-implemented neural models of speech processing allows to refine the definition of neurogenic speech disorders by unfolding the relation between inserted neural dysfunction and resulting simulated speech behavior while the analysis of neural deficits (e.g., brain lesions) uncovered from imaging experiments with real patients does not necessarily allow to precisely determine the neurofunctional deficit and thus does not necessarily allow to give a precise neurofunctional definition of a neurogenic speech and language disorder. Furthermore, it can be shown that quantitative computer-implemented neural speech processing models are able to simulate complex communication scenarios as they appear in medical screenings, e.g., in tasks like picture naming, word comprehension, or repetition of words or of non-words (syllable sequences) used for diagnostic purposes or used in speech tasks appearing in speech therapy scenarios (treatments). Moreover, neural speech processing models which can simulate neural learning are able to simulate progress in the overall speech processing skills of a model (patient) resulting from specific treatment scenarios if these scenarios can be simulated. Thus, quantitative neural models can be used to sharpen up screening and treatment scenarios and thus increase their effectiveness by varying certain parameters of screening as well as of treatment scenarios.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"285 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135094646","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-06DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1242905
John Archibald
In this article, I tackle the question of differential substitution in L2 phonology. A classic example of the phenomenon is learners from different L1s attempting to acquire the L2 English interdental fricative /θ/. Speakers of some languages (e.g., Japanese) tend to pronounce the /θ/ as [s] while speakers of other languages (e.g., Russian) tend to pronounce the /θ/ as [t]). Since both Japanese and Russian have both /s/ and /t/ in their phonemic inventories, it is interesting to ask why one language would choose [s] and the other [t]. What I argue in this article is that it is not a local comparison of two sounds, two features, or two phonemes that will determine why one segment rather than another is substituted. Rather, I argue that we must consider the formal representation of the entire segmental inventory (represented as a contrastive hierarchy) in order to understand why the Japanese pick the [s] but the Russian the [t] as the “best” substitute for the English /θ/. What I will demonstrate is that in the languages that substitute [s], [continuant] is the highest-ranked feature that has scope over the place and voice features in the contrastive hierarchy of phonological features. In the languages that substitute [t], the place and voice features rank above [continuant].
{"title":"Differential substitution: a contrastive hierarchy account","authors":"John Archibald","doi":"10.3389/flang.2023.1242905","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2023.1242905","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, I tackle the question of differential substitution in L2 phonology. A classic example of the phenomenon is learners from different L1s attempting to acquire the L2 English interdental fricative /θ/. Speakers of some languages (e.g., Japanese) tend to pronounce the /θ/ as [s] while speakers of other languages (e.g., Russian) tend to pronounce the /θ/ as [t]). Since both Japanese and Russian have both /s/ and /t/ in their phonemic inventories, it is interesting to ask why one language would choose [s] and the other [t]. What I argue in this article is that it is not a local comparison of two sounds, two features, or two phonemes that will determine why one segment rather than another is substituted. Rather, I argue that we must consider the formal representation of the entire segmental inventory (represented as a contrastive hierarchy) in order to understand why the Japanese pick the [s] but the Russian the [t] as the “best” substitute for the English /θ/. What I will demonstrate is that in the languages that substitute [s], [continuant] is the highest-ranked feature that has scope over the place and voice features in the contrastive hierarchy of phonological features. In the languages that substitute [t], the place and voice features rank above [continuant].","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135350493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-25DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1230408
Vasiliki Chondrogianni, Evangelia Daskalaki
This study examined how heritage children's experiences with the heritage language (HL) in the country of residence (e.g., children's generation, their HL use and richness) and the country of origin (e.g., visits to and from the homeland) may change as a function of the migration generation heritage children belong to, and how this may in turn differentially influence HL outcomes. Fifty-eight Greek-English-speaking bilingual children of Greek heritage residing in Western Canada and New York City participated in the study. They belonged to three different generations of migration: a group of second-generation heritage speakers, which were children of first-generation parents; a group of mixed-generation heritage children of first- and second-generation parents; and of third-generation heritage children with second-generation parents. They were tested on a picture-naming task targeting HL vocabulary and on an elicitation task targeting syntax- and discourse-conditioned subject placement. Children's performance on both tasks was predicted by their generation status, with the third generation having significantly lower accuracy than the second and the mixed generations. HL use significantly predicted language outcomes across generations. However, visits to and from the country of origin also mattered. This study shows that HL use in the country of residence is important for HL development, but that it changes as a function of the child's generation. At the same time, the finding that the most vulnerable domains (vocabulary and discourse-conditioned subject placement) benefited from visits to the country of origin highlights the importance of both diversity of and exposure to a variety spoken by more speakers and in different contexts for HL maintenance.
{"title":"Heritage language use in the country of residence matters for language maintenance, but short visits to the homeland can boost heritage language outcomes","authors":"Vasiliki Chondrogianni, Evangelia Daskalaki","doi":"10.3389/flang.2023.1230408","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2023.1230408","url":null,"abstract":"This study examined how heritage children's experiences with the heritage language (HL) in the country of residence (e.g., children's generation, their HL use and richness) and the country of origin (e.g., visits to and from the homeland) may change as a function of the migration generation heritage children belong to, and how this may in turn differentially influence HL outcomes. Fifty-eight Greek-English-speaking bilingual children of Greek heritage residing in Western Canada and New York City participated in the study. They belonged to three different generations of migration: a group of second-generation heritage speakers, which were children of first-generation parents; a group of mixed-generation heritage children of first- and second-generation parents; and of third-generation heritage children with second-generation parents. They were tested on a picture-naming task targeting HL vocabulary and on an elicitation task targeting syntax- and discourse-conditioned subject placement. Children's performance on both tasks was predicted by their generation status, with the third generation having significantly lower accuracy than the second and the mixed generations. HL use significantly predicted language outcomes across generations. However, visits to and from the country of origin also mattered. This study shows that HL use in the country of residence is important for HL development, but that it changes as a function of the child's generation. At the same time, the finding that the most vulnerable domains (vocabulary and discourse-conditioned subject placement) benefited from visits to the country of origin highlights the importance of both diversity of and exposure to a variety spoken by more speakers and in different contexts for HL maintenance.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135817741","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-21DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1290200
Wendy Whitehead Martelle, Yasuhiro Shirai
Corrigendum: THE ASPECT HYPOTHESIS AND L2 RUSSIAN * Correspondence: wmmartelle@alaska.eduKeywords: same as original articleCorrigendum on: Whitehead Martelle W and Shirai Y (2023) The Aspect Hypothesis and L2 Russian. Front. Lang. Sci. 2:1119026. doi: 10.3389/flang.2023.1119026Incorrect Funding In the published article, there was an error in the Funding statement. The Funding statement was erroneously absent in the original published article. The correct Funding statement appears below.FUNDINGIn the published article, there was a mistake in the Funding statement. The Funding statement was missing in the original article. The correct statement should be as follows: “The authors acknowledge the support from the Case Western Reserve University Expanding Horizons Initiative in the College of Arts and Sciences through a Finish Line Fund award.The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.
关于Whitehead Martelle W和Shirai Y (2023) THE ASPECT HYPOTHESIS AND L2 RUSSIAN的勘误表*通信:wmmartelle@alaska.eduKeywords:与原文相同。前面。朗。Sci, 2:1119026。在发表的文章中，在资助声明中有一个错误。在最初发表的文章中，错误地缺少了资助声明。正确的经费表如下。在发表的文章中，在资助声明中有一个错误。原文中缺少资金声明。正确的陈述应该如下:“作者感谢凯斯西储大学文理学院拓展视野计划通过终点线基金奖提供的支持。作者为这个错误道歉，并声明这不会以任何方式改变文章的科学结论。原文已更新。
{"title":"Corrigendum: The Aspect Hypothesis and L2 Russian","authors":"Wendy Whitehead Martelle, Yasuhiro Shirai","doi":"10.3389/flang.2023.1290200","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2023.1290200","url":null,"abstract":"Corrigendum: THE ASPECT HYPOTHESIS AND L2 RUSSIAN * Correspondence: wmmartelle@alaska.eduKeywords: same as original articleCorrigendum on: Whitehead Martelle W and Shirai Y (2023) The Aspect Hypothesis and L2 Russian. Front. Lang. Sci. 2:1119026. doi: 10.3389/flang.2023.1119026Incorrect Funding In the published article, there was an error in the Funding statement. The Funding statement was erroneously absent in the original published article. The correct Funding statement appears below.FUNDINGIn the published article, there was a mistake in the Funding statement. The Funding statement was missing in the original article. The correct statement should be as follows: “The authors acknowledge the support from the Case Western Reserve University Expanding Horizons Initiative in the College of Arts and Sciences through a Finish Line Fund award.The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"65 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136130687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-15DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1118739
Yasmeen Faroqi-Shah
The language production deficit in post-stroke agrammatic aphasia (PSA-G) tends to result from lesions to the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and is characterized by a triad of symptoms: fragmented sentences, errors in functional morphology, and a dearth of verbs. Despite decades of research, the mechanisms underlying production patterns in PSA-G have been difficult to characterize. Two major impediments to progress may have been the view that it is a purely morphosyntactic disorder and the (sometimes overzealous) application of linguistic theory without interceding psycholinguistic evidence. In this paper, empirical evidence is examined to present an integrated portrait of language production in PSA-G and to evaluate the assumption of a syntax-specific syndrome. In light of extant evidence, it is proposed that agrammatic language production results from a combination of morphosyntactic, phonomotor, and processing capacity limitations that cause a cumulative processing bottleneck at the point of articulatory planning. This proposed Synergistic Processing Bottleneck model of PSA-G presents a testable framework for future research. The paper ends with recommendations for future research on PSA-G.
{"title":"A reconceptualization of sentence production in post-stroke agrammatic aphasia: the Synergistic Processing Bottleneck model","authors":"Yasmeen Faroqi-Shah","doi":"10.3389/flang.2023.1118739","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2023.1118739","url":null,"abstract":"The language production deficit in post-stroke agrammatic aphasia (PSA-G) tends to result from lesions to the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG) and is characterized by a triad of symptoms: fragmented sentences, errors in functional morphology, and a dearth of verbs. Despite decades of research, the mechanisms underlying production patterns in PSA-G have been difficult to characterize. Two major impediments to progress may have been the view that it is a purely morphosyntactic disorder and the (sometimes overzealous) application of linguistic theory without interceding psycholinguistic evidence. In this paper, empirical evidence is examined to present an integrated portrait of language production in PSA-G and to evaluate the assumption of a syntax-specific syndrome. In light of extant evidence, it is proposed that agrammatic language production results from a combination of morphosyntactic, phonomotor, and processing capacity limitations that cause a cumulative processing bottleneck at the point of articulatory planning. This proposed Synergistic Processing Bottleneck model of PSA-G presents a testable framework for future research. The paper ends with recommendations for future research on PSA-G.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"22 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135437806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-06DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1222982
Marit Lobben, Agata Bochynska, Halvor Eifring, Bruno Laeng
Directing visual attention toward items mentioned within utterances can optimize understanding the unfolding spoken language and preparing appropriate behaviors. In several languages, numeral classifiers specify semantic classes of nouns but can also function as reference trackers. Whereas all classifier types function to single out objects for reference in the real world and may assist attentional guidance, we propose that only sortal classifiers efficiently guide visual attention by being inherently attached to the nouns' semantics, since container classifiers are pragmatically attached to the nouns they classify, and the default classifiers index a noun without specifying the semantics. By contrast, container classifiers are pragmatically attached, and default classifiers index a noun without specifying the semantics. Using eye tracking and the “visual world paradigm”, we had Chinese speakers (N = 20) listen to sentences and we observed that they looked spontaneously within 150 ms after offset of the Sortal classifier. After about 200 ms the same occurred for the container classifiers, but with the default classifier only after about 700 ms. This looking pattern was absent in a control group of non-Chinese speakers and the Chinese speakers' gaze behavior can therefore only be ascribed to classifier semantics and not to artifacts of the visual objects. Thus, we found that classifier types affect the rapidity of spontaneously looking at the target objects on a screen. These significantly different latencies indicate that the stronger the semantic relatedness between a classifier and its noun, the more efficient the deployment of overt attention.
{"title":"Tracking semantic relatedness: numeral classifiers guide gaze to visual world objects","authors":"Marit Lobben, Agata Bochynska, Halvor Eifring, Bruno Laeng","doi":"10.3389/flang.2023.1222982","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/flang.2023.1222982","url":null,"abstract":"Directing visual attention toward items mentioned within utterances can optimize understanding the unfolding spoken language and preparing appropriate behaviors. In several languages, numeral classifiers specify semantic classes of nouns but can also function as reference trackers. Whereas all classifier types function to single out objects for reference in the real world and may assist attentional guidance, we propose that only sortal classifiers efficiently guide visual attention by being inherently attached to the nouns' semantics, since container classifiers are pragmatically attached to the nouns they classify, and the default classifiers index a noun without specifying the semantics. By contrast, container classifiers are pragmatically attached, and default classifiers index a noun without specifying the semantics. Using eye tracking and the “visual world paradigm”, we had Chinese speakers (N = 20) listen to sentences and we observed that they looked spontaneously within 150 ms after offset of the Sortal classifier. After about 200 ms the same occurred for the container classifiers, but with the default classifier only after about 700 ms. This looking pattern was absent in a control group of non-Chinese speakers and the Chinese speakers' gaze behavior can therefore only be ascribed to classifier semantics and not to artifacts of the visual objects. Thus, we found that classifier types affect the rapidity of spontaneously looking at the target objects on a screen. These significantly different latencies indicate that the stronger the semantic relatedness between a classifier and its noun, the more efficient the deployment of overt attention.","PeriodicalId":350337,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Language Sciences","volume":"3 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129873471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-04DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1143214
T. Solstad, Oliver Bott
Investigating Implicit Causality (I-Caus) and Implicit Consequentiality (I-Cons) biases associated with action verbs (e.g., Peter praised/healed Mary because/and so …), this paper sheds light on the nature of the coreference and coherence biases associated with Implicit Causality verbs. We provide evidence in support of the Two-Mechanism Account, according to which I-Caus and I-Cons are driven by two different mechanisms: While I-Caus derives from empty explanatory slots for explanations in verb semantics, I-Cons follows from the general discourse principle of Discourse Contiguity. Evidence is provided by three production experiments in German investigating the coreference and coherence properties of agent-evocator and causative agent-patient verbs (e.g., praise vs. heal), which differ with regard to the availability of explanatory slots for I-Caus. Experiment 1 established I-Caus and I-Cons coreference biases for the two verb classes, while Experiment 2 investigated their corresponding coherence biases, showing that they pattern as predicted on the Two-Mechanism Account. Finally, Experiment 3 provided empirical evidence on the fine-grained types of causal relations associated with I-Caus and I-Cons for the two verb types.
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Pub Date : 2023-08-22DOI: 10.3389/flang.2023.1239490
S. Brouwer
Previous work has shown that moral decision making depends on whether moral dilemmas are presented in the native or a foreign language (Foreign Language effect). In that work, the focus was on bilinguals' final decision, but the tasks used, failed to capture the processes involved over time. The aim of this study was to examine the time course of moral decision making in bilinguals' native and foreign language prior to and after their moral decision. In a visual-world eye-tracking experiment, 82 Dutch-English bilinguals listened to 20 moral dilemmas (e.g., would you kill one to save five?) in their native or foreign language, while looking at two pictures containing key people involved in the dilemmas. These pictures illustrated (1) the person/people that is/are sacrificed, and (2) the person/people that is/are not sacrificed, depending on the participants' decision which was measured with yes/no-questions. The Foreign Language effect was replicated for the decisions on the personal dilemmas. Importantly, the eye gaze data showed that in the native language, listeners looked at the person who they did not sacrifice, whereas in the foreign language, they looked at the people who they sacrificed. A speculative explanation is that bilinguals might have experienced guilt in the native language, and therefore focused attention on the person they did not sacrifice, while in the foreign language they might have experienced less guilt because they focused attention on the people they sacrificed. More research is needed to understand the influence of factors such as emotion reduction and cognitive load on moral decision making.
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