@article{NoirayMenardIskarous2013, author = {Noiray, Aude and Menard, Lucie and Iskarous, Khalil}, title = {The development of motor synergies in children ultrasound and acoustic measurements}, series = {The journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, volume = {133}, journal = {The journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, number = {1}, publisher = {American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville}, issn = {0001-4966}, doi = {10.1121/1.4763983}, pages = {444 -- 452}, year = {2013}, abstract = {The present study focuses on differences in lingual coarticulation between French children and adults. The specific question pursued is whether 4-5 year old children have already acquired a synergy observed in adults in which the tongue back helps the tip in the formation of alveolar consonants. Locus equations, estimated from acoustic and ultrasound imaging data were used to compare coarticulation degree between adults and children and further investigate differences in motor synergy between the front and back parts of the tongue. Results show similar slope and intercept patterns for adults and children in both the acoustic and articulatory domains, with an effect of place of articulation in both groups between alveolar and non-alveolar consonants. These results suggest that 4-5 year old children (1) have learned the motor synergy investigated and (2) have developed a pattern of coarticulatory resistance depending on a consonant place of articulation. Also, results show that acoustic locus equations can be used to gauge the presence of motor synergies in children.}, language = {en} } @article{BurchertHanneVasishth2013, author = {Burchert, Frank and Hanne, Sandra and Vasishth, Shravan}, title = {Sentence comprehension disorders in aphasia the concept of chance performance revisited}, series = {Aphasiology : an international, interdisciplinary journal}, volume = {27}, journal = {Aphasiology : an international, interdisciplinary journal}, number = {1}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hove}, issn = {0268-7038}, doi = {10.1080/02687038.2012.730603}, pages = {112 -- 125}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background: In behavioural tests of sentence comprehension in aphasia, correct and incorrect responses are often randomly distributed. Such a pattern of chance performance is a typical trait of Broca's aphasia, but can be found in other aphasic syndromes as well. Many researchers have argued that chance behaviour is the result of a guessing strategy, which is adopted in the face of a syntactic breakdown in sentence processing. Aims: Capitalising on new evidence from recent studies investigating online sentence comprehension in aphasia using the visual world paradigm, the aim of this paper is to review the concept of chance performance as a reflection of a syntactic impairment in sentence processing and to re-examine the conventional interpretation of chance performance as a guessing behaviour. Main Contribution: Based on a review of recent evidence from visual world paradigm studies, we argue that the assumption of chance performance equalling guessing is not necessarily compatible with actual real-time parsing procedures in people with aphasia. We propose a reinterpretation of the concept of chance performance by assuming that there are two distinct processing mechanisms underlying sentence comprehension in aphasia. Correct responses are always the result of normal-like parsing mechanisms, even in those cases where the overall performance pattern is at chance. Incorrect responses, on the other hand, are the result of intermittent deficiencies of the parser. Hence the random guessing behaviour that persons with aphasia often display does not necessarily reflect a syntactic breakdown in sentence comprehension and a random selection between alternatives. Instead it should be regarded as a result of temporal deficient parsing procedures in otherwise normal-like comprehension routines. Conclusion: Our conclusion is that the consideration of behavioural offline data alone may not be sufficient to interpret a performance in language tests and subsequently draw theoretical conclusions about language impairments. Rather it is important to call on additional data from online studies that look at language processing in real time in order to gain a comprehensive picture about syntactic comprehension abilities of people with aphasia and possible underlying deficits.}, language = {en} } @article{RichtervanHout2013, author = {Richter, Michael and van Hout, Roeland}, title = {Interpreting resultative sentences in German}, series = {Linguistics : an interdisciplinary journal of the language sciences}, volume = {51}, journal = {Linguistics : an interdisciplinary journal of the language sciences}, number = {1}, publisher = {De Gruyter Mouton}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {0024-3949}, doi = {10.1515/ling-2013-0004}, pages = {117 -- 144}, year = {2013}, abstract = {This article presents the results of a study on the interpretation and acceptance of adjectival resultatives of German children between 6 and 9 years of age and adults. These results brought to light significant differences, due to age, in the interpretation and acceptance of these resultatives, that is to say, sentences with an adjective in the final position. The youngest participants were prone to accept ungrammatical sentences by assigning a resultative meaning. The ungrammaticality of the sentences in question was not due to semantic inconsistencies but to violations of the selectional properties of verbs, as for instance in *die Kinder erschrecken die Katze angstlich 'the children frighten the cat scared'. In contrast, the adults rejected or amended those sentences. The conclusion is (a) that the children seemed to rely on the sentence structure as a primary cue to compute the meaning of an utterance and (b) that, in contrast with adults, the youngest children in particular had not yet learned the relevant semantic properties of verbs that determine the selectional restrictions and thus the syntactic options of verbs. This means that differences in interpretation and acceptance of sentences are due to differences in knowledge of semantic verb properties between adults and children. The relevant semantic knowledge increases in gradual stages during language acquisition.}, language = {en} } @article{Kranich2013, author = {Kranich, Svenja}, title = {Functional layering and the English progressive}, series = {Linguistics : an interdisciplinary journal of the language sciences}, volume = {51}, journal = {Linguistics : an interdisciplinary journal of the language sciences}, number = {1}, publisher = {De Gruyter Mouton}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {0024-3949}, doi = {10.1515/ling-2013-0001}, pages = {1 -- 32}, year = {2013}, abstract = {In this article, it will be argued that the concept of functional layering - an extension of Hopper's (1991) concept of layering - can be fruitfully applied to understand the mechanisms behind the sometimes large and messy looking synchronic picture of diverse meanings which one and the same construction can fulfill at a particular point in time. The concept will be used to account for the meaning spectrum of the present-day English progressive, which, it will be argued, no monosemic approach to date can account for. Taking a look at the diachrony of the construction will help to reveal that the various "exceptions" found in the use of the progressive can be understood as reflections of different stages in its development. Older, less grammaticalized or less well-defined usage patterns thus often survive in certain restricted niches next to the newer, more grammaticalized or more clear-cut functions, representing different diachronic layers. In addition to this diachronic motivation for synchronic meaning variety, the article will also address the crucial question of how a present-day hearer of a progressive form is able to decode the specific meaning intended by the speaker based on contextual clues. The article ends with some suggestions for further applications of the concept of functional layering.}, language = {en} } @article{ChaudharyWalchHeroldetal.2013, author = {Chaudhary, Tanja and Walch, Elisabeth and Herold, Birgit and Metze, B. and Lejeune, A. and Burkhardt, F. and Buehrer, C.}, title = {Predictive and concurrent validity of standardized neurodevelopmental examinations by the griffiths scales and bayley scales of infant development II}, series = {Klinische P{\"a}diatrie : clinical research and practice in pediatrics}, volume = {225}, journal = {Klinische P{\"a}diatrie : clinical research and practice in pediatrics}, number = {1}, publisher = {Thieme}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0300-8630}, doi = {10.1055/s-0032-1331169}, pages = {8 -- 12}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Background: Standardized examinations of preterm infants are used to identify candidates for early intervention. We aimed to assess the predictive power and concurrent validity of the mental development index of the Bayley scales of infant development II (Bayley MDI) and the Griffiths scales developmental quotient (Griffiths DQ) in healthy term and preterm infants < 1 500 g birth weight without major perinatal complications. Methods: 137 Infants (89 term, 48 preterm) were examined by both tests at a corrected age of 6, 12, and 22 months, and 114 went on to undergo Bayley assessments at 39 months. Results: There were significant correlations between Bayley and Griffiths results at 6, 12, and 22 months (r = 0.530, 0.714, and 0.833, respectively, p < 0.001) but Bland Altman plots revealed major systematic bias at 6 months (Griffiths > Bayley, mean differences 14.3 +/- 9.8) and 22 months (Bayley > Griffiths, mean difference 5.2 +/- 13.9) and wide 95\% limits of agreement at 6, 12 and 22 months (35.9\%, 40.0\%, and 52.4\%, respectively). The agreement for a presumptive diagnosis of developmental impairment in the group of preterm infants between Bayley examinations obtained at 39 months corrected age (reference) and previous examinations was poor at 6, 12, and 22 months for both Bayley and Griffiths (Cohen's kappa for Griffiths: 0.225, 0.192, 0.369; for Bayley: 0.121, 0.316, 0.369, respectively). Conclusion: Caution should be exercised when interpreting results from standardized neurodevelopmental examinations obtained during the first 2 years of life in comparatively well preterm infants.}, language = {en} } @article{Zerbian2013, author = {Zerbian, Sabine}, title = {Prosodic marking of narrow focus across varieties of South African English}, series = {English world-wide : a journal of varieties of English}, volume = {34}, journal = {English world-wide : a journal of varieties of English}, number = {1}, publisher = {Benjamins}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0172-8865}, doi = {10.1075/eww.34.1.02zer}, pages = {26 -- 47}, year = {2013}, abstract = {This paper reports on an elicited production study which investigates prosodic marking of narrow focus in modified noun phrases in varieties of South African English. The acoustic analysis of fundamental frequency, intensity, and duration in narrow focus is presented and discussed. The results suggest that these three acoustic parameters are manipulated differently in narrow focus in the varieties of English as a Second Language as compared to General South African English. The article compares the results to what is known about prosodic marking of information structure in other varieties of English as a Second Language and underlines the necessity of carefully controlled data in the investigation of phonological and phonetic variation in varieties of English.}, language = {en} } @article{ClahsenBalkhairSchutteretal.2013, author = {Clahsen, Harald and Balkhair, Loay and Schutter, John-Sebastian and Cunnings, Ian}, title = {The time course of morphological processing in a second language}, series = {Second language research}, volume = {29}, journal = {Second language research}, number = {1}, publisher = {Sage Publ.}, address = {London}, issn = {0267-6583}, doi = {10.1177/0267658312464970}, pages = {7 -- 31}, year = {2013}, abstract = {We report findings from psycholinguistic experiments investigating the detailed timing of processing morphologically complex words by proficient adult second (L2) language learners of English in comparison to adult native (L1) speakers of English. The first study employed the masked priming technique to investigate -ed forms with a group of advanced Arabic-speaking learners of English. The results replicate previously found L1/L2 differences in morphological priming, even though in the present experiment an extra temporal delay was offered after the presentation of the prime words. The second study examined the timing of constraints against inflected forms inside derived words in English using the eye-movement monitoring technique and an additional acceptability judgment task with highly advanced Dutch L2 learners of English in comparison to adult L1 English controls. Whilst offline the L2 learners performed native-like, the eye-movement data showed that their online processing was not affected by the morphological constraint against regular plurals inside derived words in the same way as in native speakers. Taken together, these findings indicate that L2 learners are not just slower than native speakers in processing morphologically complex words, but that the L2 comprehension system employs real-time grammatical analysis (in this case, morphological information) less than the L1 system.}, language = {en} } @article{McCurdyKentnerVasishth2013, author = {McCurdy, Kate and Kentner, Gerrit and Vasishth, Shravan}, title = {Implicit prosody and contextual bias in silent reading}, series = {Journal of Eye Movement Research}, volume = {6}, journal = {Journal of Eye Movement Research}, number = {2}, publisher = {International Group for Eye Movement Research}, address = {Bern}, issn = {1995-8692}, pages = {17}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Eye-movement research on implicit prosody has found effects of lexical stress on syntactic ambiguity resolution, suggesting that metrical well-formedness constraints interact with syntactic category assignment. Building on these findings, the present eyetracking study investigates whether contextual bias can modulate the effects of metrical structure on syntactic ambiguity resolution in silent reading. Contextual bias and potential stress-clash in the ambiguous region were crossed in a 2 x 2 design. Participants read biased context sentences followed by temporarily ambiguous test sentences. In the three-word ambiguous region, main effects of lexical stress were dominant, while early effects of context were absent. Potential stress clash yielded a significant increase in first-pass regressions and re-reading probability across the three words. In the disambiguating region, the disambiguating word itself showed increased processing difficulty (lower skipping and increased re-reading probability) when the disambiguation engendered a stress clash configuration, while the word immediately following showed main effects of context in those same measures. Taken together, effects of lexical stress upon eye movements were swift and pervasive across first-pass and second-pass measures, while effects of context were relatively delayed. These results indicate a strong role for implicit meter in guiding parsing, one that appears insensitive to higher-level constraints. Our findings are problematic for two classes of models, the two-stage garden-path model and the constraint-based competition-integration model, but can be explained by a variation on the two-stage model, the unrestricted race model.}, language = {en} } @article{Warditz2013, author = {Warditz, Vladislava Maria}, title = {The linguistic Reception of the French Novel in Russia the Phenomenon of the Argot in Hugo's Les Miserables and in Krestovskij's Peterburgskie truscoby}, series = {Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Slawistik}, volume = {58}, journal = {Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Slawistik}, number = {4}, publisher = {De Gruyter}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {0044-3506}, doi = {10.1524/slaw.2013.58.4.391}, pages = {391 -- 416}, year = {2013}, language = {de} } @article{Kosta2013, author = {Kosta, Peter}, title = {Ambiguity and humor in translation}, series = {Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Slawistik}, volume = {58}, journal = {Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Slawistik}, number = {3}, publisher = {De Gruyter}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {0044-3506}, doi = {10.1524/slaw.2013.58.3.297}, pages = {297 -- 324}, year = {2013}, language = {de} }