Journal of Psycholinguistic Research最新文献

Comprehension of metaphorical expressions differs with their degree of novelty. Conventional metaphors are typically comprehended as easily as literal sentences, while novel metaphors are responded to less quickly than their conventional counterparts. However, the influence of metaphor signals on the interpretability and acceptability of sentences with metaphors, especially their potential interaction with novelty, remains an open question. We conducted six online experiments among 1,694 native speakers of American English to examine how interpretability and acceptability ratings of individually presented sentences were affected by metaphor novelty and different types of metaphor signals. Across all six experiments, we consistently found that novel metaphors decreased the interpretability and acceptability of sentences compared to both conventional metaphors and literal controls. Signals, on the contrary, did not impact the interpretability or acceptability of the sentences. Moreover, only in experiment 3b did we find an interaction between metaphor type and signals. Specifically, when a metaphor was marked by double signals (i.e., both lexical signals and a typographical signal were added around the metaphorical keywords) vs. no signals, acceptability of novel metaphors increased, but acceptability of conventional metaphors decreased. We hypothesize that the double signaling of novel metaphors marks their novelty, making them more acceptable. By contrast, the double signaling of conventional metaphors may have been perceived as redundant, leading to a lower acceptability.

The issues of depth vocabulary knowledge and Willingness to Communicate (henceforth, WTC) are among the most important issues in second language learning. The present study set out to empirically look into the contribution of WTC to depth of vocabulary knowledge in L2 learning. To this end, 88 English L2 learners, divided into two groups in terms of their WTC, were given two depth vocabulary tests. The Word Association Test (WAT) was first administered to make a comparison between the depth vocabulary knowledge of the two WTC groups. Then, to triangulate the results, the Word Part Levels Test (WPLT) was administered to check whether the obtained results confirmed those of WAT. Analyzing data through independent t-test and MANOVA indicated that learners with higher levels of WTC had deeper vocabulary knowledge than those with lower levels of WTC on the WAT. Further, the triangulation results evinced that although the two groups did not differ significantly on the form-section and meaning-section of the WPLT, they significantly differed on the use-section of the test. The relevant pedagogical implications of the study are discussed.

Previous research has shown that moral choice depends on language, a phenomenon known as the moral foreign language effect (mFLE). The current study examines the influence of social distance on the mFLE. In Experiment 1, 200 participants were randomly assigned to either close or distant social distance in English or Chinese. In Experiment 2, 188 participants were randomly assigned to either English or Chinese and were presented with eight moral dilemmas, each with five different levels of social distance. After reading the dilemma, participants made a choice on a binary scale (Yes/No) in both Experiments 1 and 2 or on a more sensitive 100-point scale in Experiment 2. The results showed that the mFLE was present in distant social distance but absent in close social distance. Finally, a meta-analysis of the results from both studies confirmed the effect of social distance on the mFLE. These findings demonstrate that social distance might play an important role in moderating the mFLE in moral judgment.

The purpose of this study was to consider the core of the mental lexicon of the Kazakh language based on the analysis of associative dictionaries, to determine the basic lexico-semantic groups of words and to compare the basic lexical layer with value categories. This study uses the following methods of linguocultural, comparative, lexico-semantic, and conceptual analysis, as well as analytical and synthetic analysis, with the help of which the main conceptual values of the Kazakh people were studied: spiritual, mental and material. The lexico-semantic categories of words in the Kazakh language were identified: names of people; adjectives with an assessment of reality; basic action verbs; nouns with abstract meanings. An idea was formed about the differences between the conceptual cores of the mental lexicon of the Kazakhs, the British, and the Spaniards. The principles of intercultural communication and ways of its implementation were considered on the example of the study of the Kazakh language from the point of view of linguistic culture. The basic concepts and their semantic meanings were compared based on the analysis of the linguistic nature of lexemes in the Kazakh, English and Spanish languages. Tables with the results of the study were presented to illustrate the results obtained. This study can be used in further scientific practice, for example, in linguocultural, sociocultural, historical, lexicographic, and conceptual studies.

This study uses a data-driven approach to mine the distribution of personality traits among Chinese people in the Chinese social context. Based on the hypothesis of personality lexicology, word embedding technology was employed in machine learning to mine personality vocabulary from Tencent's word embedding database. More than 10,000 Chinese personality descriptors were extracted and analyzed using Gaussian Mixture Model Cluster and Hierarchical clustering analysis. The data was collected from 658 Chinese people randomly from all parts of China through an online questionnaire method. The results reveal six personality traits in the Chinese context, expanding the personality thesaurus and providing examples to illustrate each trait. The findings coincide with previous research on the five-factor model, which partially describes the personality traits of Chinese people, but does not offer a complete explanation of their typical social behavior patterns. Additionally, the study supports the notion of cultural particularity in personality traits. The approach used in this study offers a richer personality vocabulary than traditional personality mining methods, and word embedding technology captures richer semantic information in Chinese. The six Chinese personality traits identified in this study will also be used to explore how to quantify and evaluate personality traits based on word embedding and personality descriptors.

The article deals with language reflection, verbalization through metatexts, and interpretation. The expression of language reflection is defined in the works of writers and poets. The research is directed at investigating the text, realizing the process of interpreting the works of great poet A. Kunanbayev from the point of linguistic consciousness, and determining the results. The poet conveys information by utilizing various language tools and constructs that prompt self-questioning. The definitions of concepts, classifications, and characteristics related to language reflection are given. The authors aimed to identify language reflection in A. Kunanbayev's works, classify reflexives marking the language reflection of the author, modeling them using the G. Gibbs' model, and comparing them with the psycholinguistic survey materials within the framework of reflexive linguistics. The authors agree that there are two classifications of reflexives, such as metatextual commentary and metalanguage interpretation. As a result of the study, the poet's self-reflection consisted of 6 elements (Gibbs' cycle), through the lexico-semantic analysis of the reflexives the poet's language units were classified as metatextual commentary and the respondents' answers as metalanguage interpretation. The syntactic structures of the language reflexives were determined, and it was found that they are often in interrogative and negative forms. According to the purpose of the article, the reflexives in the poet's poem were identified and classified into four groups (Describing the poet or providing additional information; Working on yourself; Working with character; Positive assessment) by the semantic nature of the respondents' interpretation of the work as a result of the psycholinguistic experiment.

The availability of a first language translation equivalent (i.e., congruency) has repeatedly been shown to influence second-language collocation processing in decontextualized tasks. However, no study to date has examined how L2 speakers process congruent/incongruent collocations on-line in a real-world context. The present study aimed to fill this gap by examining the eye-movement behavior of 31 Arabic-English speakers and 30 native English speakers as they read 20 congruent and 20 incongruent collocations (in addition to 40 control phrases) in short contexts. The study also examined possible modulating effects of proficiency level and transparency on congruency effects. Results showed that non-natives (similar to native speakers) showed a processing advantage for collocations over control phrases. However, there was no effect of congruency (i.e., no difference between congruent and incongruent collocations) for either group, and no modulating effect of proficiency or transparency on congruency. We discuss implications of the findings for theories of L2 lexical processing.

The present study examines the impact of implementing video captioning and subtitles on listening comprehension with special reference to the speaker's speed. A total of 64 undergraduate Saudi EFL learners were assigned into six groups: fast speaker with full captioning, fast speaker with subtitles, fast speaker with no captioning nor subtitles, slow speaker with full captioning, and slow speaker with subtitles, slow speaker with no captioning nor subtitles. Each group was instructed to watch a video in English under its assigned condition and then answered a listening test. Participants also answered a questionnaire to determine the impact of these conditions on their cognitive load. The results revealed that the group that viewed the video of slow speakers with a caption obtained the highest score on the listening comprehension test, followed by the group that viewed the video of fast speakers with a caption. The group that viewed no caption video of fast speakers obtained the lowest scores. The questionnaire analysis indicated that the students in the subtitle slow group reported using low mental effort, whereas the students in the caption fast group reported using very high mental effort followed by the students in the caption slow group who also reported using high mental effort.

This study aimed to examine the validity of the "simple view of reading" (SVR) model in the diglossic Arabic language. Using a longitudinal design, we tested whether decoding and listening comprehension (LC) in kindergarten can later predict reading comprehension (RC) in the first grade and whether the contribution of LC to RC differs between the spoken and literary varieties of Arabic. The participants were 261 kindergartners who were followed to the first grade. Our results from separate SEM analysis for the spoken and literary varieties revealed some similarity between the explained variance in the spoken (52%) and literary (48%) variety models. However, while the contribution of LC to RC was higher than the contribution of decoding in the spoken variety model, an opposite pattern was observed in the literary variety model. The results are discussed in light of the diglossia phenomenon and its impact on comprehension skills in Arabic, with theoretical and pedagogical implications.

It has been well documented that formulaic language (such as collocations; e.g., provide information) enjoys a processing advantage over novel language (e.g., compare information). In natural language use, however, many formulaic sequences are often inserted with words intervening in between the individual constituents (e.g., provided information → provide some of the information). Whether or not the processing advantage persists in nonadjacent forms remains largely unknown. The present study thus sought to address this gap by recording the eye movements of Chinese native speakers when they were reading sentences embedded with formulaic sequences (high frequency collocations) versus novel phrases (low frequency controls), in their adjacent (e.g., 'resolve difficulties' vs. 'experience difficulties'), short-insertion (e.g., 'resolve these difficulties' vs. 'experience these difficulties'), and long-insertion forms (e.g., 'resolved so many difficulties' vs. 'experienced so many difficulties'). Results suggested that the processing advantage for formulaic language over novel language existed not only in their adjacent form, but also in their short-insertion form, albeit the magnitude of the processing advantage diminished with the increase of insertion length. The persistence of FL processing advantage is in line with usage-based approach to language learning, processing, and use.