scholarly journals Can Language Direct Speakers' Attention in Causal Events?: An Empirical Study between Japanese and English Speakers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukiko Obata
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Language Effects ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Causal Event

This thesis sheds lights on the relationship between descriptions of causal events and their effects on speakers’ memory. English and Japanese are similar in that speakers can use the same constructions when describing intentional events – both comfortably use transitive sentences. However, they are different when describing non-intentional events. English speakers can use the same construction as intentional events, while Japanese speakers prefer to mark that the event is accidental. They tend to add accidental markers to cancel the agent’s intention frequently. In Experiment 1, I confirm differences in describing causal events between these two languages. Then, Japanese speakers are expected to remember event nature (i.e., intentional or non-intentional) more accurately than English speakers. However, Experiment 2 fails to support the hypothesis. I present two possible reasons why language effects are not observed. First, marking non-intentionality is not obligatory but only preferred by Japanese speakers. Thus, language effects are not strong enough to affect speakers’ memory. Second, language does not affect speakers’ memory, especially in causal-event descriptions, even though it does in other domains, such as color terminology.

scholarly journals Can Language Direct Speakers' Attention in Causal Events?: An Empirical Study between Japanese and English Speakers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukiko Obata
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Language Effects ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Causal Event

This thesis sheds lights on the relationship between descriptions of causal events and their effects on speakers’ memory. English and Japanese are similar in that speakers can use the same constructions when describing intentional events – both comfortably use transitive sentences. However, they are different when describing non-intentional events. English speakers can use the same construction as intentional events, while Japanese speakers prefer to mark that the event is accidental. They tend to add accidental markers to cancel the agent’s intention frequently. In Experiment 1, I confirm differences in describing causal events between these two languages. Then, Japanese speakers are expected to remember event nature (i.e., intentional or non-intentional) more accurately than English speakers. However, Experiment 2 fails to support the hypothesis. I present two possible reasons why language effects are not observed. First, marking non-intentionality is not obligatory but only preferred by Japanese speakers. Thus, language effects are not strong enough to affect speakers’ memory. Second, language does not affect speakers’ memory, especially in causal-event descriptions, even though it does in other domains, such as color terminology.

Interpretation of binding and orientation of the Chinese reflexive ziji by English and Japanese speakers

1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 324-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boping Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Subject Orientation ◽  
Nonfinite Clauses

This article reports on an empirical study of the interpretation of the Chinese reflexive ziji by English and Japanese speakers. In English, reflexives can only take a local (LOC) antecedent, whereas the Chinese reflexive ziji and the Japanese reflexive zibun can have a long-distance (LD) antecedent as well as a local one. Another property of the long-distance reflexives is subject orientation. However, reflexives in English allow both subject NPs and object NPs as their antecedents. The results of the study suggest that L1 transfer occurs in second language acquisition (SLA) of the Chinese reflexive ziji. However, not everything can be explained by L1 interference. It is found that: it is much easier for Japanese speakers than for English speakers to acquire the LD binding of ziji; binding of ziji is asymmetric in finite and nonfinite clauses in English speakers' L2 grammars of Chinese; acquiring subject orientation of ziji is problematic to both English and Japanese speakers, and no implicational relationship is found between LD binding of ziji and subject orientation of ziji; LD binding of ziji entails LOC binding of ziji, and it also generally entails no LD object binding. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Japanese speakers' second language Chinese wh-questions: a lexical morphological feature deficit account

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boping Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Study ◽  
Morphological Feature ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
L2 Chinese ◽  
Wh Questions

In this article, an empirical study of how Chinese wh-questions are mentally represented in Japanese speakers' grammars of Chinese as a second language (L2) is reported. Both Chinese and Japanese are generally considered wh-in-situ languages in which a wh-word is allowed to remain in its base-generated position, and both languages use question particles to mark questions. It is assumed that C0 in wh-questions is essentially ambiguous and unvalued and that unvalued C0 must be valued. In Chinese, the wh-particle ne values C0 with [+Q, +wh] features, which licenses the wh-word in situ. As a result, no wh-movement is necessary and Subjacency becomes irrelevant. Japanese also employs question particles, such as ka or no. However, they are `defective' in the sense that they can only value the ambiguous C0 as [+Q] and they are unable to specify the question as to whether it is [+yes/no] or [+wh]. To value C0 as a head with [+wh], a wh-operator in a wh -word inside the sentence has to raise overtly to C0. The results of an acceptability judgement task show that although the Japanese speakers respond in a broadly target-like way, the lexical morphological feature [+wh] of the particle ne in their L2 Chinese lexicons is permanently deficient, which leads to variability in their intuitions about Chinese wh-questions. A lexical morphological feature deficit account for the results is proposed, and it is suggested that the lexical morphology—syntax interface can be a source of variability in L2 acquisition.

Second language effects on ambiguity resolution in the first language

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 191-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christie Brien ◽  
Laura L. Sabourin
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Semantic Context ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Canadian English ◽  
Lexical Frequency ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Frequency Effects ◽  
Language Effects

The processing of homonyms is complex considering homonyms have many lexical properties. For instance, train contains semantic (a locomotive/to instruct) and syntactic (noun/verb) properties, each affecting interpretation. Previous studies find homonym processing influenced by lexical frequency (Duffy et al. 1988) as well as syntactic and semantic context (Folk & Morris 2003; Swinney 1979; Tanenhaus et al. 1979). This cross-modal lexical-decision study investigates second language (L2) effects on homonym processing in the first language (L1). Participants were monolingual English speakers and Canadian English/French bilinguals who acquired L2 French at distinct periods. The early bilinguals revealed no significant differences compared to monolinguals (p = .219) supporting the Reordered Access Model (Duffy et al. 1988). However, the late bilinguals revealed longer reaction times, syntactic priming effects (p < .001), and lexical frequency effects (p < .001), suggesting a heightened sensitivity to surface cues influencing homonym processing in the L1 due to a newly-acquired L2 (Cook 2003).

Effects of the grammatical representation of number on cognition in bilinguals

2006 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
PANOS ATHANASOPOULOS
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
First Language ◽  
The Other ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Number Marking ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Language And Cognition ◽  
Grammatical Number ◽  
The Relationship

Research investigating the relationship between language and cognition (Lucy, 1992b) shows that speakers of languages with grammatical number marking (e.g. English) judge differences in the number of countable objects as more significant than differences in the number or amount of non-countable substances. On the other hand, speakers of languages which lack grammatical number marking (e.g. Yucatec) show no such preference. The current paper extends Lucy's (1992b) investigation, comparing monolingual English and Japanese speakers with Japanese speakers of English as a second language (L2). Like Yucatec, Japanese is a non-plural-marking language. Results show that intermediate L2 speakers behave similarly to the Japanese monolinguals while advanced L2 speakers behave similarly to the English monolinguals. The results (a) provide support for the claim that grammatical representation may influence cognition in specific ways and (b) suggest that L2 acquisition may alter cognitive dispositions established by a first language (L1).

scholarly journals Cut-offs and Gestures: Analytical Tools to Understand a Second Language Speaker

10.29007/tb8k ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renia Lopez-Ozieblo
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Communicative Process ◽  
Hong Kong Students ◽  
Analytical Tools ◽  
The Relationship

This paper will focus on one specific type of disfluency (speech less than fluent), that is, interruptions or cut-offs. The research on cut-offs has led to various hypotheses explaining how cut-offs are processed: Seyfeddinipur, Kita &amp; Indefrey (2008) suggested that the cut-off is a controlled action and so on detecting the trouble the stop might be postponed, if necessary, to allow time for the resumption process; Tydgat, Stevens, Hartsuiker and Pickering (2011) added that the stopping and resumption processes are likely to occur concurrently and share the same resources. Therefore, the speaker has to decide whether it is more effective to stop and, if so, where.In Second Language Acquisition (SLA) error has been the topic of much discussion. However, disfluencies have surprisingly aroused less interest. SLA usually takes the view that any repair following a disfluency is the consequence of linguistic difficulties (usually grammar or vocabulary). However, like among native speakers, there are more reasons for disfluency and repair than just linguistic difficulties.A tool to aid disfluency analysis is that of the gesture performed together with speech. McNeill’s gesture theory holds that gesture and speech are two modalities of the same communicative process and that as such should be analysed together (2012). Therefore, the gesture might provide additional analytical information to the observer.The objective of this study was to investigate the nature of cut-offs in speakers using their mother tongue and also a second language. As our specific interest is the acquisition of Spanish by English speakers, our results are based on data from 8 participants, 4 Spanish native speakers and 4 Hong Kong students of Spanish as a foreign language (L2). Our results, based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis, indicate that cut-offs, and the gestures associated with them, are used similarly by native speakers of both English and Spanish, including the relationship between the cut-off and the repair or its absence and the gesture. However, the L2 results are very different, showing a significant increase of within-word cut-offs in Hong Kong participants and a decrease among Spanish native speakers. We observed differences in the length and number of pauses after the cut-offs, as well as differences as to the point at which the cut-off occurred in the word. This paper will provide explanations as to the differences observed as well as providing evidence to support some of the existing hypotheses on cut-off production and gesture-speech relationships.

scholarly journals Masked morphological priming tracks the development of a fully mature lexical system in L2

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Viviani ◽  
Davide Crepaldi
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Masked Priming ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Priming Task ◽  
Morphological Priming ◽  
Visual Word Identification ◽  
Orthographic Priming ◽  
The Relationship

Visual word identification is based on an early morphological analysis in one’s native language; how these mechanisms apply to a second language is much less clear. We recruited L1 Italian–L2 English speakers in a masked priming task where the relationship between prime and target was morphologically transparent, e.g., employer–EMPLOY, morphologically opaque, e.g., corner-CORN, or merely orthographic, e.g., brothel–BROTH. Critically, participants underwent a thorough testing of their lexical, morphological, phonological, spelling and semantic proficiency in their second language. By exploring a wide spectrum of L2 proficiency, we showed that this factor critically qualifies L2 priming. Genuine morphological facilitation only arises as proficiency grows; and opaque and orthographic priming shrink as L2 competence increases. Age of acquisition was also evaluated, and did not affect the priming pattern. Furthermore, we showed that L2 priming is modulated by sensitivity to probabilistic relationships between form and meaning. Overall, these data illustrate the trajectory towards a fully consolidated L2 lexicon, and show that masked priming is a key tracker of this process.

Production of Subject-Verb Agreement in Spanish as a Second Language

2003 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Nicol ◽  
Delia Greth
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Spanish Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Error Patterns ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Semantic Variables ◽  
Advanced Proficiency

Abstract. In this paper, we report the results of a study of English speakers who have learned Spanish as a second language. All were late learners who have achieved near- advanced proficiency in Spanish. The focus of the research is on the production of subject-verb agreement errors and the factors that influence the incidence of such errors. There is some evidence that English and Spanish subject-verb agreement differ in susceptibility to interference from different types of variables; specifically, it has been reported that Spanish speakers show a greater influence of semantic factors in their implementation of subject-verb agreement ( Vigliocco, Butterworth, & Garrett, 1996 ). In our study, all participants were tested in English (L1) and Spanish (L2). Results indicate nearly identical error patterns: these speakers show no greater influence of semantic variables in the computation of agreement when they are speaking Spanish than when they are speaking English.

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