Language and Linguistics Compass最新文献

The Shallow Structure Hypothesis (SSH) has been highly influential in the study of adult second language (L2) acquisition. With respect to L2 sentence processing, the essential claim is that L2 speakers rely less on syntactic information and more on alternative sources of information (e.g., lexical semantics and discourse) than adult first-language (L1) speakers. This idea, however, has been controversial, and the ample body of empirical research on it has produced a pattern of indeterminate, mixed, and contested results, potentially due to important theoretical and methodological differences in the studies. This article reviews the SSH as a theory of L2 sentence processing and considers the ongoing story that prominent work seems to be telling about it. Whatever amount of truth the SSH may turn out to capture, we find overall that the hypothesis and extant research on it have played a beneficial role in driving forward the field's understanding of L2 sentence processing in general. We are optimistic that future work will as well—especially if it continues to trend towards greater theoretical and methodological acuity—and we provide recommendations for advancing the state of the science.

Knowledge of public attitudes towards language-based diversity can help uncover wider societal prejudices. Nonetheless, sociolinguists are increasingly aware of the limitations of using traditional explicit self-report measures to gauge attitudes towards linguistic variation. Accordingly, a growing number of studies have adapted more recently developed socio-psychological techniques—most particularly the implicit association test (IAT)—to access more deeply embedded, and durable, implicit evaluations of linguistic stimuli. This article provides a critical review of the methodological approaches undertaken and findings of existing prior explicit and implicit language attitude research, and examines the nature of the relationship between the two levels of linguistic evaluation. The methodological and theoretical merits of employing both implicit and explicit attitudinal measures in future language attitude research is discussed, in particular regarding more fine-grained assessment of language attitude change in progress and to better understand the relationship between any changes underway in linguistic attitudes and patterns of language use and language change within the speech community under investigation.

The formal semantic analysis of African languages is still a young subfield within theoretical linguistics. Starting with general overviews of the quantifier systems of individual African languages around two decades ago, there now exists a substantial body of fieldwork-based and autochthonous formal semantic research conducted by both African and non-African scholars. A major objective of these studies is to describe and analyse semantic phenomena in under-researched African languages. A second important aim is to examine the extent to which leading semantic theories—mostly developed on the basis of European languages—can be applied to non-European languages, and to determine what broader theoretical insights can be gained from formal semantic analyses of African languages. Research in this field has fostered the emergence of a new generation of African semanticists who will carry this enterprise forward. This is the second of two articles on formal semantics of African languages. The central aim of these articles is to provide scholars with a background in formal semantics with a general overview of semantic research activities focused on African languages. At the same time, the two articles will also be valuable to readers with a broader interest in African languages, offering them a range of empirical and theoretical questions as well as diagnostic tools to begin their own semantic investigations in the languages of their choice. This sequel article discusses formal-semantic approaches to interpretive phenomena associated with the extended verbal and the clausal domain (VP, TP, CP), such as exceed-based comparatives, serial verb constructions, tense-aspect phenomena, modality, focus exhaustivity, focus particles, and clause embedding.

Reading comprehension in people with aphasia (PWA) remains an underexplored area despite its critical importance for daily functioning. Aphasia often results in diverse reading deficits that impair the ability to process written input. These deficits are linked to damage in language and cognitive mechanisms, including working memory, attention, and syntactic processing. This review examines the nature of reading impairments in aphasia and evaluates treatment approaches, highlighting gaps in current research. While current treatment approaches show promise for improving reading comprehension, evidence supporting generalization to other language skills and long-term maintenance of gains remains limited. Future research should investigate implicit learning-based approaches, which leverage preserved cognitive abilities in PWA, and explore how cognitive and environmental factors influence treatment outcomes. Emerging technologies, such as text augmentation tools, offer more avenues for intervention, though their efficacy in aphasia-specific contexts is not yet well-established. Advancing our understanding of reading comprehension is essential to enhancing quality of life for individuals with aphasia. To that end, we offer several recommendations for future research, which include examination of the effects of cognitive variables, investigation of implicit learning-based treatment approaches, and validation of emerging technologies.

The formal semantic analysis of African languages is still a young subfield within theoretical linguistics. Starting with general overviews of the quantifier systems of individual African languages around two decades ago, there now exists a substantial body of fieldwork-based and autochthonous formal semantic research conducted by both African and non-African scholars. A major objective of these studies is to describe and analyse semantic phenomena in under-researched African languages. A second important aim is to examine the extent to which leading semantic theories—mostly developed on the basis of European languages—can be applied to non-European languages, and to determine what broader theoretical insights can be gained from formal semantic analyses of African languages. Research in this field has fostered the emergence of a new generation of African semanticists who will carry this enterprise forward. This is the first of two articles on formal semantics of African languages. The central aim of these articles is to provide scholars with a background in formal semantics with a general overview of semantic research activities focused on African languages. At the same time, the two articles will also be valuable to readers with a broader interest in African languages, offering them a range of empirical and theoretical questions as well as diagnostic tools to begin their own semantic investigations in the languages of their choice. This first article begins with a brief historical sketch of semantic research on African languages and then introduces formal-semantic approaches to interpretive phenomena associated with the nominal domain (NP, DP), such as definiteness, indefiniteness, universal quantification, and number.

The last three decades have seen a large increase in attempts to explain phonetic and phonological patterns using information theoretic properties such as frequency and predictability. One recurring theme is the attempt to explain phonetic and phonological weakening as following directly from low information content. I argue that the actuation of weakening processes is not consistent with a direct causal route, but is consistent with indirect causal route in which low information content is causally related only to durational reduction, and that downstream effects of low information content may actually hinder communicative efficiency. These findings contradict the expectations of many authors, including my own, going back at least to Zipf.