Línguist ∼ Linguístics: phonological alternations in L1 and L2 processing

Objective: This study is the second of a two-part investigation on lexical effects on bilinguals’ performance on a clinical English word recognition test. Focus is on word-frequency effects using counts provided by four corpora. Design: Frequency of occurrence was obtained for 200 NU-6 words from the Hoosier mental lexicon (HML) and three contemporary corpora, American National Corpora, Hyperspace analogue to language (HAL), and SUBTLEXUS. Correlation analysis was performed between word frequency and error rate. Study sample: Ten monolinguals and 30 bilinguals participated. Bilinguals were further grouped according to their age of English acquisition and length of schooling/working in English. Results: Word frequency significantly affected word recognition in bilinguals who acquired English late and had limited schooling/working in English. When making errors, bilinguals tended to replace the target word with a word of a higher frequency. Overall, the newer corpora outperformed the HML in predicting error rate. Conclusions: Frequency counts provided by contemporary corpora predict bilinguals’ recognition of English monosyllabic words. Word frequency also helps explain top replacement words for misrecognized targets. Word-frequency effects are especially prominent for bilinguals foreign born and educated.

To investigate how orthography and semantics interact during bilingual visual word recognition, Dutch–English bilinguals made lexical decisions in two masked priming experiments. Dutch primes and English targets were presented that were either neighbour cognates (boek – BOOK), noncognate translations (kooi – CAGE), orthographically related neighbours (neus – NEWS), or unrelated words (huid - COAT). Prime durations of 50 ms (Experiment 1) and 83 ms (Experiment 2) led to similar result patterns. Both experiments reported a large cognate facilitation effect, a smaller facilitatory noncognate translation effect, and the absence of inhibitory orthographic neighbour effects. These results indicate that cognate facilitation is in large part due to orthographic-semantic resonance. Priming results for each condition were simulated well (all r's >.50) by Multilink+, a recent computational model for word retrieval. Limitations to the role of lateral inhibition in bilingual word recognition are discussed.

Reports an error in "Orthographic forms affect speech perception in a second language: Consonant and vowel length in L2 English" by Bene Bassetti, Jackie Masterson, Tania Cerni and Paolo Mairano (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 2021[Dec], Vol 47[12], 1583-1603). In the article, there are several editorial production errors. Jackie Masterson's ORCID iD (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2869-6612) was missing, and the awardees for Grant RPG 2013 180 were listed incorrectly. This grant was awarded to Bene Bassetti and Jackie Masterson. In the sixth paragraph of The Present Study section, the parenthetical text in the fifth sentence was corrected to read "(for example, the ie in pie has seven readings, Carney, 1994)." Other small typographical errors were fixed, several references were correctly reordered, and one supplemental materials file was removed. The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2022-13139-001.) ItalianL1 speakers of EnglishL2 produce the same English sound as longer if spelled with two than with one letter, following Italian grapheme-phoneme conversion rules. Do Italian listeners perceive short and long sounds in English homophonic word pairs that are spelled with a single letter or a digraph (finish-Finnish; morning-mourning)? In Experiment 1, 50 ItalianL1-EnglishL2 bilinguals and 50 English controls performed a Consonant Perception task and a Vowel Perception Task. They heard English homophonic word pairs containing a target sound spelled with one or two letters and indicated whether the two words contained the same sounds or not. For half of the listeners a picture was used to activate target words (Auditory-Visual Input group). Bilinguals in this group perceived different sounds in homophonic pairs. Experiment 2 tested whether naturalistic exposure reduces orthographic effects on speech perception by comparing learners, sequential bilinguals, and English controls (all n = 30) with Auditory-Visual Input. Orthographic form (spelling) affected consonant perception in both of the second language listener groups. Learners were less affected than bilinguals. Analyses indicated that this was because of the learners' high proficiency. It appears that ItalianL1 speakers of EnglishL2 make a long-short contrast for consonants-unattested in English-and illusorily perceive it in spoken English homophonous words. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The focus of this study is the role of previously acquired languages in the acquisition of a third language (L3). It is focused on cross-linguistic influences (CLI) in German/Spanish third lan- guage acquisition (TLA) by learners with Croatian first language (L1) and English second language (L2). Participants in this study were third-year undergraduate students at Roch- ester Institute of Technology’s subsidiary in Croatia (RIT Croatia). All the participants had exclusively Croatian as L1, English as L2, and were learning German and Spanish as L3 at the time of the study. The present study investigates the relationship between language typology and formal similarity and transfer/error production, since many studies have demonstrated that typology plays a determining role in cross-linguistic transfer (Cenoz, Hufeisen & Jess- ner 2001; Hammarberg 2001; Rothman 2010). There are various areas of similarity and dis- similarity between Croatian, English, German, and Spanish. A significant portion of English vocabulary comes from Romance and Latinate sources. Due to these facts, we argue that the strongest L2 (English) influence will be found in the area of lexicon. On the other hand, Cro- atian, German, and Spanish are more similar in the area of morphology, due to the fact that these languages have a higher degree of inflection than English. Accordingly, we argue that the strongest L1 (Croatian) influence will be found in the area of morphology. The results of this research confirmed our initial hypothesis that the type of transfer episodes observed may be related to language typology and formal similarity between specific features of languages. Similarities at the level of lexis and grammar between L2 English and L3 German and Spanish can influence the acquisition process of German and Spanish.

This is a doctoral thesis in computational psycholinguistics, an interdisciplinary research field combining expertise and experiences in linguistics, psychology, and computer science. The thesis takes as a subject the simulation of human word recognition, that is, it aims at modeling on the computer the cognitive process of how we activate and access words, their forms, and their constituting components, in our mental lexicon. It concerns spoken (rather than written) word units and consequently deals with the simulation of auditory (in contrast to visual) word recognition. Specifically, this thesis puts forward two new models that we have developed and built ourselves: One is named FN5 and simulates spoken word recognition in monolinguals; the other, called BIMOLA, models spoken word recognition in bilinguals. The monolingual model FN5 is on French and therefore contains a lexicon of 17,668 French words (nouns, determiners, and prenominal adjectives), some of which having variants and giving rise to a total of 20,523 pronunciations. FN5 processes single (i.e. isolated) words as well as sequences of two connected words (determiner + noun, or prenominal adjective + noun). It implements a new approach to recognizing sequences of words, by means of optimizing the words’ alignment positions and pronunciation variants. In addition, it provides for several phonological phenomena that can take place within a word or at boundaries between words (deletion of schwa, linking with and without liaison, word contractions including elision). To account for dialectal differences, it may be run in either of two versions, standard French or Swiss French. The bilingual model BIMOLA deals with two languages all at once, English and French; it includes an English-French bilingual lexicon of 8,696 words (all verbs, 4,348 for each language); and it operates in various language modes (i.e. global configurations of the bilingual’s two languages). BIMOLA is able to identify words from either language (always single words, to keep things easy), including guest words, that is, code-switches and borrowings from one into the other language. The two models share a phonetic feature matrix that represents similarities and differences of phonemes both within and between the languages and dialects. As revealed in the evaluations, both our models have a great overall recognition performance and are able to simulate a large number of specific psycholinguistic effects.

We investigate how mood inductions impact the neural processing of emotional adjectives in one’s first language (L1) and a formally acquired second language (L2). Twenty-three student participants took part in an EEG experiment with two separate sessions. Happy or sad mood inductions were followed by series of individually presented positive, negative, or neutral adjectives in L1 (German) or L2 (English) and evaluative decisions had to be performed. Visual event-related potentials elicited during word processing were analyzed during N1 (125–200 ms), Early Posterior Negativities (EPN, 200–300 ms and 300–400 ms), N400 (350–450 ms), and the Late Positive Potential (LPP, 500–700 ms). Mood induction differentially impacted word processing already on the N1, with stronger left lateralization following happy than sad mood induction in L1, but not in L2. Moreover, regardless of language, early valence modulation was found following happy but not sad mood induction. Over occipital areas, happy mood elicited larger amplitudes of the mood-congruent positive words, whereas over temporal areas mood-incongruent negative words had higher amplitudes. In the EPN-windows, effects of mood and valence largely persisted, albeit with no difference between L1 and L2. N400 amplitude was larger for L2 than for L1. On the LPP, mood-incongruent adjectives elicited larger amplitudes than mood-congruent ones. Results reveal a remarkably early valence-general effect of mood induction on cortical processing, in line with previous reports of N1 as a first marker of contextual integration. Interestingly, this effect differed between L1 and L2. Moreover, mood-congruent effects were found in perceptual processing and mood-incongruent ERP amplification in higher-order evaluative stages.

Cognitive Processing in Bilinguals

In 3 ERP experiments, we investigated how experienced L2 speakers process natural and correct syntactic input that deviates from their own, sometimes incorrect, syntactic representations. Our previous study (Lemhöfer, Schriefers, & Indefrey, 2014) had shown that L2 speakers do engage in native-like syntactic processing of gender agreement but base this processing on their own idiosyncratic (and sometimes incorrect) grammars. However, as in other standard ERP studies, but different from realistic L2 input, the materials in that study contained a large proportion of incorrect sentences. In the present study, German speakers of Dutch read exclusively objectively correct Dutch sentences that did or did not contain subjective determiner "errors" (e.g., de boot "the boat," which conflicts with the intuition of many German speakers that the correct phrase should be het boot). During reading for comprehension (Experiment 1), no syntax-related ERP responses for subjectively incorrect compared to correct phrases were observed. The same was true even when participants explicitly attended to and learned from the determiners in the sentences (Experiment 2). Only when participants judged the correctness of determiners in each sentence (Experiment 3) did a clear P600 appear. These results suggest that the full and native-like use of subjective grammars, as reflected in the P600 to subjective violations, occurs only when speakers have reason to mistrust the grammaticality of the input, either because of the nature of the task (grammaticality judgments) or because of the salient presence of incorrect sentences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

The paper focuses on an experiment that has been conducted with experimental groups of L3 German learners, with the aim of answering the question whether a systematic input with the purpose of establishing cross-linguistics relations between the students' L1 Croatian, L2 English and L3 German can a) make a difference in the level of L3 mastering and b) support the development of students' metalinguistic awareness. The experiment included two groups – an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). 56 students in the EG took part in the experiment and gradually received an input divided into five modules. Each module consisted of exercises that required cross-linguistic inferencing on lexical, morphological, syntactic and textual level. Exercises were accompanied by questions encouraging students to think about cross-linguistic differences and similarities and supporting the development of their metalinguistic awareness. The instruments used to measure the impact of the systematic input are tests of objective type combined with questionnaires. Both the experimental and the control group completed these in the initial phase and after the work on the fifth module has been finished. The results have shown that the EC subjects are better skilled in the use of metacognitive strategies, which help them analyse their L3 learning process than the CG subjects. Furthermore they performed better at verbalizing their observations about language elements which can contribute to the facilitating and hindering effects of their L1 and L2 in the process of learning L3. The EG subjects were to a larger extent ready to explain their answers about cross-linguistic influences, and they could use more complex metalanguage and name more categories of potential transfer than the participants of the CG. These results can be a starting point for the assumption that focused MA training in the classroom context can contribute to its development.The results have also confirmed a significant correlation between the indicators of MA and the achieved L3 competence, which is the answer to the second research question. Without any attempt of generalisation, it can be therefore expected that students who have greater awareness of language and language learning will most probably show higher competence in the target language.

We carried out four timed judgement experiments investigating whether bilingual speakers differ in their sensitivity to different kinds of filler–gap dependency violation in L1 German and L2 English. Using a within-subjects design and parallel experimental designs for both languages, we manipulated either the availability of a gap (“filled-gap paradigm”) or the semantic congruency between the filler and its licensing verb. We examined whether participants exhibited consistent judgement patterns for syntactic (i.e., filled wh-gaps) and semantic (i.e., implausible wh-fillers) violations within and across their languages. Our results showed that participants’ sensitivity to filled gaps correlated positively with their sensitivity to a filler’s semantic fit in their L1 but not in their L2, and that participants’ sensitivity to semantic fit was positively correlated in their two languages whilst their sensitivity to gap availability was not. Further analyses of the L2 data showed that participants’ sensitivity to semantic fit but not to filled gaps increased with L2 proficiency. Our findings are in line with earlier findings indicating reduced sensitivity to structural gaps even at advanced L2 proficiency levels. They also highlight the need for L2 processing research to look beyond group-level performance and consider bilinguals’ sensitivity to different types of linguistic constraints at the individual level.

To have more information about the English words known by second language (L2) speakers, we ran a large-scale crowdsourcing vocabulary test, which yielded 17 million useful responses. It provided us with a list of 445 words known to nearly all participants. The list was compared to various existing lists of words advised to include in the first stages of English L2 teaching. The data also provided us with a ranking of 61,000 words in terms of degree and speed of word recognition in English L2 speakers, which correlated r = .85 with a similar ranking based on native English speakers. The L2 speakers in our study were relatively better at academic words (which are often cognates in their mother tongue) and words related to experiences English L2 students are likely to have. They were worse at words related to childhood and family life. Finally, a new list of 20 levels of 1,000 word families is presented, which will be of use to English L2 teachers, as the levels represent the order in which English vocabulary seems to be acquired by L2 learners across the world.

This reprint brings together cutting-edge research on the acquisition of sociolinguistic competence by speakers of additional languages. Acquiring an additional language involves not only knowledge of structures and pronunciation but also knowledge of what is appropriate in different situations. This knowledge permits speakers to generate and manage social interactions and involves knowing intricate patterns which permit the more subtle aspects of human language interaction. The research situates itself squarely at the juncture of second language acquisition and variationist sociolinguistics. Variationist approaches focus on the factors, linguistic and social, which influence the production of variation patterns where alternative speech forms have the same referential meaning but carry different social weight. Knowledge of this is crucial in effective communicative competence. Chapters cover a wide range of language pairs including L2 Chinese, English, French, German, Korean and Spanish. They investigate previously underexplored aspects of L2 sociolinguistic competence such as learner attitudes and perception. They cover novel methodological and technical approaches such as social network analysis, L2 identity construction and usage-based linguistics. The volume represents an important evolution in our understanding of how, when and in what contexts L2 sociolinguistic competence develops and the linguistic and social factors which impact this development.

Event Abstract Back to Event ERP predictors of encoding and recognition memory Olga Marchenko1* 1 Center of Experimental Psychology MCUPE, Russia Congruency effect on encoding and recognition of words was studied. Experiment consisted of learning and test phases. Trials consisted of two words in learning phase. First word was name of some category (prime) and second word belonged to that or another category. Subjects were asked to answer as soon and as accurately as possible if second word belongs to category denoted by prime. Subjects were not aware that memory test will follow. It was shown that behavioural and ERP data for words on learning phase which were remembered later were different from these for words which were forgotten. On a test phase subjects explicitly were instructed to press one key if word was at learning phase in their opinion and press another key if not. Fact of being congruent or incongruent in study phase influenced also recollection on test phase. Thus behavioural and ERP data showed that congruency affected encoding and recognition processes. Events which precede word presentation could influence effectively of its encoding and recollection. When words are primed by name of category, representation of this category is activated which causes deeper processing of word meaning. It causes more effective memorising and recognition of these words. Funding: Supported by RFH Grant 11-36-00314. Keywords: brain oscillations, EEG Conference: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI), Palma, Mallorca, Spain, 25 Sep - 29 Sep, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Poster Sessions: Quantitative Analysis of EEG, MEG & Brain Oscillations Citation: Marchenko O (2011). ERP predictors of encoding and recognition memory. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2011.207.00122 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 17 Nov 2011; Published Online: 28 Nov 2011. * Correspondence: Dr. Olga Marchenko, Center of Experimental Psychology MCUPE, Moscow, Russia, olga.marchenko@psyexp.ru Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Olga Marchenko Google Olga Marchenko Google Scholar Olga Marchenko PubMed Olga Marchenko Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

With its focus on simplification universals, developmental orders, teachability, and functional-grammatical bases for acquisition, the well-known research on German (L2) language acquisition has contributed much to SLA research in general. At the same time, sociolinguistic investigations focus squarely on the difficult social conditions that accompany non-native language acquisition in Germany. In keeping with emerging approaches in SLA in general, German language acquisition (GLA) research requires a more holistic focus if we hope to account for individual experience as well as universal influences on attainment. This broad survey of the research highlights several significant factors in L2 German: (1) informal contact with native speakers, offering personal, interactive practice; (2) formal instruction, representing targeted practice focused on linguistic accuracy and complexity; and (3) affective orientations, particularly identity and affiliation, as reflections of learner engagement in the process. These aspects of learner experience appear relevant across an array of theoretical and empirical perspectives. I therefore argue that cognitive models of GLA fail to adequately account for the constraints on both input and contact experienced by most non-native acquirers of German, and that only a purposeful integration of methodologies can capture the complex relationships between cognitive, social and psychological factors inherent in the process.

The current study investigated two heuristic processing strategies, the agent-first strategy and an animacy-based strategy, in visual world eye-tracking data as well as sentence final interpretations of wh-questions in adolescent L1 German learners of English in both their L1 and their L2. We observed differences between online and offline measures, as well as L1-L2 differences, both in the selection and the time course of application of the heuristics. In L1 German, heuristics were visible only in online data, and the dominant heuristic was animacy-based. In L2 English, the animacy-based heuristic was applied later and to a lesser degree than the agent-first heuristic. The results speak against a direct transfer of heuristic strategies from the L1 to the L2. Instead, we suggest that low-proficiency learners may not have the capacity to use several heuristics at once, and may thus prioritize the agent-first strategy due to its broad domain of application.