@misc{Demske2015, author = {Demske, Ulrike}, title = {Adverbial Clauses, Main Clause Phenomena, and the composition of the Left Periphery}, series = {Studies in language}, volume = {39}, journal = {Studies in language}, number = {1}, publisher = {Benjamins}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0378-4177}, doi = {10.1075/sl.39.1.09dem}, pages = {235 -- 243}, year = {2015}, language = {en} } @article{LagoShalomSigmanetal.2015, author = {Lago, Sol and Shalom, Diego E. and Sigman, Mariano and Lau, Ellen F. and Phillips, Colin}, title = {Agreement attraction in Spanish comprehension}, series = {Journal of memory and language}, volume = {82}, journal = {Journal of memory and language}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {San Diego}, issn = {0749-596X}, doi = {10.1016/j.jml.2015.02.002}, pages = {133 -- 149}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Previous studies have found that English speakers experience attraction effects when comprehending subject-verb agreement, showing eased processing of ungrammatical sentences that contain a syntactically unlicensed but number-matching noun. In four self-paced reading experiments we examine whether attraction effects also occur in Spanish, a language where agreement morphology is richer and functionally more significant. We find that despite having a richer morphology, Spanish speakers show reliable attraction effects in comprehension, and that these effects are strikingly similar to those previously found in English in their magnitude and distributional profile. Further, we use distributional analyses to argue that cue-based memory retrieval is used as an error-driven mechanism in comprehension. We suggest that cross-linguistic similarities in agreement attraction result from speakers deploying repair or error-driven mechanisms uniformly across languages. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.}, language = {en} } @article{HaeusslerBader2015, author = {H{\"a}ussler, Jana and Bader, Markus}, title = {An interference account of the missing-VP effect}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00766}, pages = {16}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Sentences with doubly center-embedded relative clauses in which a verb phrase (VP) is missing are sometimes perceived as grammatical, thus giving rise to an illusion of grammaticality. In this paper, we provide a new account of why missing-VP sentences, which are both complex and ungrammatical, lead to an illusion of grammaticality, the so-called missing-VP effect. We propose that the missing-VP effect in particular, and processing difficulties with multiply center-embedded clauses more generally, are best understood as resulting from interference during cue-based retrieval. When processing a sentence with double center-embedding, a retrieval error due to interference can cause the verb of an embedded clause to be erroneously attached into a higher clause. This can lead to an illusion of grammaticality in the case of missing-VP sentences and to processing complexity in the case of complete sentences with double center-embedding. Evidence for an interference account of the missing-VP effect comes from experiments that have investigated the missing-VP effect in German using a speeded grammaticality judgments procedure. We review this evidence and then present two new experiments that show that the missing-VP effect can be found in German also with less restricting procedures. One experiment was a questionnaire study which required grammaticality judgments from participants without imposing any time constraints. The second experiment used a self-paced reading procedure and did not require any judgments. Both experiments confirm the prior findings of missing-VP effects in German and also show that the missing-VP effect is subject to a primacy effect as known from the memory literature. Based on this evidence, we argue that an account of missing-VP effects in terms of interference during cue-based retrieval is superior to accounts in terms of limited memory resources or in terms of experience with embedded structures.}, language = {en} } @article{HaeusslerBader2015, author = {H{\"a}ussler, Jana and Bader, Markus}, title = {An interference account of the missing-VP effect}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, number = {766}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00766}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Sentences with doubly center-embedded relative clauses in which a verb phrase (VP) is missing are sometimes perceived as grammatical, thus giving rise to an illusion of grammaticality. In this paper, we provide a new account of why missing-VP sentences, which are both complex and ungrammatical, lead to an illusion of grammaticality, the so-called missing-VP effect. We propose that the missing-VP effect in particular, and processing difficulties with multiply center-embedded clauses more generally, are best understood as resulting from interference during cue-based retrieval. When processing a sentence with double center-embedding, a retrieval error due to interference can cause the verb of an embedded clause to be erroneously attached into a higher clause. This can lead to an illusion of grammaticality in the case of missing-VP sentences and to processing complexity in the case of complete sentences with double center-embedding. Evidence for an interference account of the missing-VP effect comes from experiments that have investigated the missing-VP effect in German using a speeded grammaticality judgments procedure. We review this evidence and then present two new experiments that show that the missing-VP effect can be found in German also with less restricting procedures. One experiment was a questionnaire study which required grammaticality judgments from participants without imposing any time constraints. The second experiment used a self-paced reading procedure and did not require any judgments. Both experiments confirm the prior findings of missing-VP effects in German and also show that the missing-VP effect is subject to a primacy effect as known from the memory literature. Based on this evidence, we argue that an account of missing-VP effects in terms of interference during cue-based retrieval is superior to accounts in terms of limited memory resources or in terms of experience with embedded structures.}, language = {en} } @misc{HaeusslerBader2015, author = {H{\"a}ussler, Jana and Bader, Markus}, title = {An interference account of the missing-VP effect}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78673}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Sentences with doubly center-embedded relative clauses in which a verb phrase (VP) is missing are sometimes perceived as grammatical, thus giving rise to an illusion of grammaticality. In this paper, we provide a new account of why missing-VP sentences, which are both complex and ungrammatical, lead to an illusion of grammaticality, the so-called missing-VP effect. We propose that the missing-VP effect in particular, and processing difficulties with multiply center-embedded clauses more generally, are best understood as resulting from interference during cue-based retrieval. When processing a sentence with double center-embedding, a retrieval error due to interference can cause the verb of an embedded clause to be erroneously attached into a higher clause. This can lead to an illusion of grammaticality in the case of missing-VP sentences and to processing complexity in the case of complete sentences with double center-embedding. Evidence for an interference account of the missing-VP effect comes from experiments that have investigated the missing-VP effect in German using a speeded grammaticality judgments procedure. We review this evidence and then present two new experiments that show that the missing-VP effect can be found in German also with less restricting procedures. One experiment was a questionnaire study which required grammaticality judgments from participants without imposing any time constraints. The second experiment used a self-paced reading procedure and did not require any judgments. Both experiments confirm the prior findings of missing-VP effects in German and also show that the missing-VP effect is subject to a primacy effect as known from the memory literature. Based on this evidence, we argue that an account of missing-VP effects in terms of interference during cue-based retrieval is superior to accounts in terms of limited memory resources or in terms of experience with embedded structures.}, language = {en} } @unpublished{AbutalebiClahsen2015, author = {Abutalebi, Jubin and Clahsen, Harald}, title = {Bilingualism, cognition, and aging}, series = {Bilingualism : language and cognition.}, volume = {18}, journal = {Bilingualism : language and cognition.}, number = {1}, publisher = {Cambridge Univ. Press}, address = {New York}, issn = {1366-7289}, doi = {10.1017/S1366728914000741}, pages = {1 -- 2}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Extract: Topics in psycholinguistics and the neurocognition of language rarely attract the attention of journalists or the general public. One topic that has done so, however, is the potential benefits of bilingualism for general cognitive functioning and development, and as a precaution against cognitive decline in old age. Sensational claims have been made in the public domain, mostly by journalists and politicians. Recently (September 4, 2014) The Guardian reported that "learning a foreign language can increase the size of your brain", and Michael Gove, the UK's previous Education Secretary, noted in an interview with The Guardian (September 30, 2011) that "learning languages makes you smarter". The present issue of BLC addresses these topics by providing a state-of-the-art overview of theoretical and experimental research on the role of bilingualism for cognition in children and adults.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Zaccarella2015, author = {Zaccarella, Emiliano}, title = {Breaking down complexity}, series = {MPI series human cognitive and brain sciences ; 175}, journal = {MPI series human cognitive and brain sciences ; 175}, publisher = {Max-Planck-Institute}, address = {Leipzig}, isbn = {978-3-941504-60-8}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {217}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The unbounded expressive capacity of human language cannot boil down to an infinite list of sentences stored in a finite brain. Our linguistic knowledge is rather grounded around a rule-based universal syntactic computation—called Merge—which takes categorized units in input (e.g. this and ship), and generates structures by binding words recursively into more complex hierarchies of any length (e.g. this ship; this ship sinks…). Here we present data from different fMRI datasets probing the cortical implementation of this fundamental process. We first pushed complexity down to a three-word level, to explore how Merge creates minimally hierarchical phrases and sentences. We then moved to the most fundamental two-word level, to directly assess the universal invariant nature of Merge, when no additive mechanisms are involved. Our most general finding is that Merge as the basic syntactic operation is primarily performed by confined area, namely BA 44 in the IFG. Activity reduces to its most ventral-anterior portion at the most fundamental level, following fine-grained sub-anatomical parcellation proposed for the region. The deep frontal operculum/anterior-dorsal insula (FOP/adINS), a phylogenetically older and less specialized region, rather appears to support word-accumulation processing in which the categorical information of the word is first accessed based on its lexical status, and then maintained on hold before further processing takes place. The present data confirm the general notion of BA 44 being activated as a function of complex structural hierarchy, but they go beyond this view by proposing that structural sensitivity in BA 44 is already appreciated at the lowest levels of complexity during which minimal phrase-structures are build up, and syntactic Merge is assessed. Further, they call for a redefinition of BA 44 from multimodal area to a macro-region with internal localizable functional profiles}, language = {en} } @article{vonderMalsburgKlieglVasishth2015, author = {von der Malsburg, Titus Raban and Kliegl, Reinhold and Vasishth, Shravan}, title = {Determinants of Scanpath Regularity in Reading}, series = {Cognitive science : a multidisciplinary journal of anthropology, artificial intelligence, education, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology ; journal of the Cognitive Science Society}, volume = {39}, journal = {Cognitive science : a multidisciplinary journal of anthropology, artificial intelligence, education, linguistics, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology ; journal of the Cognitive Science Society}, number = {7}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0364-0213}, doi = {10.1111/cogs.12208}, pages = {1675 -- 1703}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Scanpaths have played an important role in classic research on reading behavior. Nevertheless, they have largely been neglected in later research perhaps due to a lack of suitable analytical tools. Recently, von der Malsburg and Vasishth (2011) proposed a new measure for quantifying differences between scanpaths and demonstrated that this measure can recover effects that were missed with the traditional eyetracking measures. However, the sentences used in that study were difficult to process and scanpath effects accordingly strong. The purpose of the present study was to test the validity, sensitivity, and scope of applicability of the scanpath measure, using simple sentences that are typically read from left to right. We derived predictions for the regularity of scanpaths from the literature on oculomotor control, sentence processing, and cognitive aging and tested these predictions using the scanpath measure and a large database of eye movements. All predictions were confirmed: Sentences with short words and syntactically more difficult sentences elicited more irregular scanpaths. Also, older readers produced more irregular scanpaths than younger readers. In addition, we found an effect that was not reported earlier: Syntax had a smaller influence on the eye movements of older readers than on those of young readers. We discuss this interaction of syntactic parsing cost with age in terms of shifts in processing strategies and a decline of executive control as readers age. Overall, our results demonstrate the validity and sensitivity of the scanpath measure and thus establish it as a productive and versatile tool for reading research.}, language = {en} } @article{HaendlerKlieglAdani2015, author = {Haendler, Yair and Kliegl, Reinhold and Adani, Flavia}, title = {Discourse accessibility constraints in children's processing of object relative clauses}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00360}, pages = {17}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Children's poor performance on object relative clauses has been explained in terms of intervention locality. This approach predicts that object relatives with a full DP head and an embedded pronominal subject are easier than object relatives in which both the head noun and the embedded subject are full DPs. This prediction is shared by other accounts formulated to explain processing mechanisms. We conducted a visual-world study designed to test the off-line comprehension and on-line processing of object relatives in German-speaking 5-year-olds. Children were tested on three types of object relatives, all having a full DP head noun and differing with respect to the type of nominal phrase that appeared in the embedded subject position: another full DP, a 1st- or a 3rd-person pronoun. Grammatical skills and memory capacity were also assessed in order to see whether and how they affect children's performance. Most accurately processed were object relatives with 1st-person pronoun, independently of children's language and memory skills. Performance on object relatives with two full DPs was overall more accurate than on object relatives with 3rd-person pronoun. In the former condition, children with stronger grammatical skills accurately processed the structure and their memory abilities determined how fast they were; in the latter condition, children only processed accurately the structure if they were strong both in their grammatical skills and in their memory capacity. The results are discussed in the light of accounts that predict different pronoun effects like the ones we find, which depend on the referential properties of the pronouns. We then discuss which role language and memory abilities might have in processing object relatives with various embedded nominal phrases.}, language = {en} } @article{HaendlerKlieglAdani2015, author = {Haendler, Yair and Kliegl, Reinhold and Adani, Flavia}, title = {Discourse accessibility constraints in children´s processing of object relative clauses}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, number = {860}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00860}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Children's poor performance on object relative clauses has been explained in terms of intervention locality. This approach predicts that object relatives with a full DP head and an embedded pronominal subject are easier than object relatives in which both the head noun and the embedded subject are full DPs. This prediction is shared by other accounts formulated to explain processing mechanisms. We conducted a visual-world study designed to test the off-line comprehension and on-line processing of object relatives in German-speaking 5-year-olds. Children were tested on three types of object relatives, all having a full DP head noun and differing with respect to the type of nominal phrase that appeared in the embedded subject position: another full DP, a 1st- or a 3rd-person pronoun. Grammatical skills and memory capacity were also assessed in order to see whether and how they affect children's performance. Most accurately processed were object relatives with 1st-person pronoun, independently of children's language and memory skills. Performance on object relatives with two full DPs was overall more accurate than on object relatives with 3rd-person pronoun. In the former condition, children with stronger grammatical skills accurately processed the structure and their memory abilities determined how fast they were; in the latter condition, children only processed accurately the structure if they were strong both in their grammatical skills and in their memory capacity. The results are discussed in the light of accounts that predict different pronoun effects like the ones we find, which depend on the referential properties of the pronouns. We then discuss which role language and memory abilities might have in processing object relatives with various embedded nominal phrases.}, language = {en} } @misc{HaendlerKlieglAdani2015, author = {Haendler, Yair and Kliegl, Reinhold and Adani, Flavia}, title = {Discourse accessibility constraints in children´s processing of object relative clauses}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78694}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Children's poor performance on object relative clauses has been explained in terms of intervention locality. This approach predicts that object relatives with a full DP head and an embedded pronominal subject are easier than object relatives in which both the head noun and the embedded subject are full DPs. This prediction is shared by other accounts formulated to explain processing mechanisms. We conducted a visual-world study designed to test the off-line comprehension and on-line processing of object relatives in German-speaking 5-year-olds. Children were tested on three types of object relatives, all having a full DP head noun and differing with respect to the type of nominal phrase that appeared in the embedded subject position: another full DP, a 1st- or a 3rd-person pronoun. Grammatical skills and memory capacity were also assessed in order to see whether and how they affect children's performance. Most accurately processed were object relatives with 1st-person pronoun, independently of children's language and memory skills. Performance on object relatives with two full DPs was overall more accurate than on object relatives with 3rd-person pronoun. In the former condition, children with stronger grammatical skills accurately processed the structure and their memory abilities determined how fast they were; in the latter condition, children only processed accurately the structure if they were strong both in their grammatical skills and in their memory capacity. The results are discussed in the light of accounts that predict different pronoun effects like the ones we find, which depend on the referential properties of the pronouns. We then discuss which role language and memory abilities might have in processing object relatives with various embedded nominal phrases.}, language = {en} } @article{vandeKootSilvaFelseretal.2015, author = {van de Koot, Hans and Silva, Renita and Felser, Claudia and Sato, Mikako}, title = {Does Dutch a-scrambling involve movement? Evidence from antecedent priming}, series = {The linguistic review}, volume = {32}, journal = {The linguistic review}, number = {4}, publisher = {De Gruyter Mouton}, address = {Berlin}, issn = {0167-6318}, doi = {10.1515/tlr-2015-0010}, pages = {739 -- 776}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The present study focuses on A-scrambling in Dutch, a local word-order alternation that typically signals the discourse-anaphoric status of the scrambled constituent. We use cross-modal priming to investigate whether an A-scrambled direct object gives rise to antecedent reactivation effects in the position where a movement theory would postulate a trace. Our results indicate that this is not the case, thereby providing support for a base-generation analysis of A-scrambling in Dutch.}, language = {en} } @article{FrankFrankZimmermann2015, author = {Frank, Ulrike and Frank, Katrin and Zimmermann, Heinrich}, title = {Effects of Respiratory Therapy (bagging) on Respiratory Function, Swallowing Frequency and Vigilance in Tracheotomized Patients in Early Neurorehabilitation}, series = {Pneumologie : Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Pneumologie und Beatmungsmedizin}, volume = {69}, journal = {Pneumologie : Zeitschrift f{\"u}r Pneumologie und Beatmungsmedizin}, number = {7}, publisher = {Thieme}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0934-8387}, doi = {10.1055/s-0034-1392359}, pages = {394 -- 399}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Objective: Tracheotomized patients often suffer from impairments in mucociliary clearance and limited capacities for active expectoration of secretions. We investigated the effects of a specific respiratory intervention method (bagging) for tracheotomized patients on respiratory parameters (pO(2), pCO(2), SpO(2), respiratory rates), swallowing frequency, vigilance and secretion viscosity. Methods: The bagging method supports enforced mobilization and expectoration of secretions by application of a series of manual hyperinflations with a resuscitation bag during active inspiration and manual cough support on the chest. 30 tracheotomized neurological patients participated in a multiple-baseline study including a three-weeks intervention period and a follow-up measurement three weeks after termination of the treatment. Results: Most outcome parameters improved significantly during the intervention period: pO(2) (p<.01), SpO(2) (p<.01), respiratory rates (p<.01), swallowing rates (p<.01), and vigilance scores (p<.01). The quality of bronchial secretions improved in all participants. All effects were sustained up to the follow-up measurements. Conclusion: This preliminary data indicates positive effects for a respiratory intervention method (bagging) on respiratory function and additional respiration-related functions in tracheotomized neurological patients. This easy-to-learn and inexpensive method might expand the range of treatment options for tracheotomized and non-responsive patients.}, language = {en} } @article{Hassler2015, author = {Haßler, Gerda}, title = {Evidentiality and the expression of speaker's stance in Romance languages and German}, series = {Discourse studies : an interdisciplinary journal for the study of text and talk}, volume = {17}, journal = {Discourse studies : an interdisciplinary journal for the study of text and talk}, number = {2}, publisher = {Sage Publ.}, address = {London}, issn = {1461-4456}, doi = {10.1177/1461445614564522}, pages = {182 -- 209}, year = {2015}, abstract = {In recent years, the category of evidentiality has also come into use for the description of Romance languages and of German. This has been contingent on a change in its interpretation from a typological category to a semantic-pragmatic category, which allows an application to languages lacking specialised morphemes for the expression of evidentiality. We consider evidentiality to be a structural dimension of grammar, the values of which are expressed by types of constructions that code the source of information which a speaker imparts. If we look at the situation in Romance languages and in German, drawing a boundary between epistemic modality and evidentiality presents problems that are difficult to solve. Adding markers of the source of the speaker's knowledge often limits the degree of responsibility of the speaker for the content of the utterance. Evidential adverbs are a frequently used means of marking the source of the speaker's knowledge. The evidential meaning is generalised to marking any source of knowledge, what can be regarded as a result of a process of pragmaticalisation. The use of certain means which also carry out evidential markings can even contribute to the blurring of the different kinds of evidentiality. German also has modal verbs which in conjunction with the perfect tense of the verb have a predominantly evidential use (sollen and wollen). But even here the evidential marking is not without influence on the modality of the utterance. The Romance languages, however, do not have such specialised verbs for expressing evidentiality in certain contexts. To do this, they mark evidentiality - often context bound - by verb forms such as the conditional and the imperfect tense. This article shall contrast the different architectures used in expressing evidentiality in German and in the Romance languages.}, language = {en} } @article{MarfoYeboahBonku2015, author = {Marfo, Charles and Yeboah, Philomena Abeka and Bonku, Lucy}, title = {Exploiting the exploiter: some violations of society's expectations in beyond the horizon and the housemaid}, series = {3 L : language, linguistics, literature ; the Southeast Asian journal of English language studies}, volume = {21}, journal = {3 L : language, linguistics, literature ; the Southeast Asian journal of English language studies}, number = {1}, publisher = {School of Language Studies \& Linguistics, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia}, address = {Bangi}, issn = {0128-5157}, pages = {35 -- 46}, year = {2015}, abstract = {This paper does a critical reading of Beyond the Horizon and The Housemaid and observes that the author, Amma Darko, seeks primarily to challenge prevailing and traditional views of motherhood held by African societies; i.e. motherhood and its associated activities such as caring, training and disciplining. Amma Darko sharply condemns this view and calls for a critical analysis of the nature of motherhood, especially in contemporary times. Agreeing with Amma Darko and taking issues raised by her even a little further, with snippets from the books, the paper brings to the fore the fact that the prevailing and traditional views of motherhood have inherent conflict with reality. That is to say, these views are carelessly assumed as problem-free. Within this context, we also critically bring into discussion the running theme of exploiting the exploiter in the two books within the framework of gender studies and queer theory. We also generally question the fixed categories of paradigms generated by normative ideology and conclude with the realisation that almost all mothers (and, for that matter, exhibition of womanhood) in these novels failed because of the wrong choices they made, which were basically and largely fuelled by challenging economic conditions.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Grubic2015, author = {Grubic, Mira}, title = {Focus and alternative sensitivity in Ngamo (West-Chadic)}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-81666}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The main research question of this thesis concerns the relation between focus interpretation, focus realization, and association with focus in the West Chadic language Ngamo. Concerning the relation between focus realization and interpretation, this thesis contributes to the question, cross-linguistically, what factors influence a marked realization of the focus/background distinction. There is background-marking rather than focus-marking in Ngamo, and the background marker is related to the definite determiner in the language. Using original fieldwork data as a basis, a formal semantic analysis of the background marker as a definite determiner of situations is proposed. Concerning the relation between focus and association with focus, the thesis adds to the growing body of crosslinguistic evidence that not all so-called focus-sensitive operators always associate with focus. The thesis shows that while the exclusive particle yak('i) (= "only") in Ngamo conventionally associates with focus, the particles har('i) (= "even, as far as, until, already"), and ke('e) (= "also, and") do not. The thesis provides an analysis of these phenomena in a situation semantic framework.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{BaerHenney2015, author = {Baer-Henney, Dinah}, title = {Learners' Little Helper}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {135}, year = {2015}, language = {en} } @article{KuhlmannKollerSatta2015, author = {Kuhlmann, Marco and Koller, Alexander and Satta, Giorgio}, title = {Lexicalization and Generative Power in CCG}, series = {Computational linguistics}, volume = {41}, journal = {Computational linguistics}, number = {2}, publisher = {MIT Press}, address = {Cambridge}, issn = {0891-2017}, doi = {10.1162/COLI_a_00219}, pages = {215 -- 247}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The weak equivalence of Combinatory Categorial Grammar (CCG) and Tree-Adjoining Grammar (TAG) is a central result of the literature on mildly context-sensitive grammar formalisms. However, the categorial formalism for which this equivalence has been established differs significantly from the versions of CCG that are in use today. In particular, it allows restriction of combinatory rules on a per grammar basis, whereas modern CCG assumes a universal set of rules, isolating all cross-linguistic variation in the lexicon. In this article we investigate the formal significance of this difference. Our main result is that lexicalized versions of the classical CCG formalism are strictly less powerful than TAG.}, language = {en} } @article{ArslanBastiaanseFelser2015, author = {Arslan, Se{\c{c}}kin and Bastiaanse, Roelien and Felser, Claudia}, title = {Looking at the evidence in visual world: eye-movements reveal how bilingual and monolingual Turkish speakers process grammatical evidentiality}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01387}, pages = {13}, year = {2015}, abstract = {This study presents pioneering data on how adult early bilinguals (heritage speakers) and late bilingual speakers of Turkish and German process grammatical evidentiality in a visual world setting in comparison to monolingual speakers of Turkish. Turkish marks evidentiality, the linguistic reference to information source, through inflectional affixes signaling either direct (-DI) or indirect (-mls) evidentiality. We conducted an eyetracking-during-listening experiment where participants were given access to visual 'evidence' supporting the use of either a direct or indirect evidential form. The behavioral results indicate that the monolingual Turkish speakers comprehended direct and indirect evidential scenarios equally well. In contrast, both late and early bilinguals were less accurate and slower to respond to direct than to indirect evidentials. The behavioral results were also reflected in the proportions of looks data. That is, both late and early bilinguals fixated less frequently on the target picture in the direct than in the indirect evidential condition while the monolinguals showed no difference between these conditions. Taken together, our results indicate reduced sensitivity to the semantic and pragmatic function of direct evidential forms in both late and early bilingual speakers, suggesting a simplification of the Turkish evidentiality system in Turkish heritage grammars. We discuss our findings with regard to theories of incomplete acquisition and first language attrition.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Gerth2015, author = {Gerth, Sabrina}, title = {Memory limitations in sentence comprehension}, isbn = {978-3-86956-321-3}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-71554}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {xviii, 157}, year = {2015}, abstract = {This dissertation addresses the question of how linguistic structures can be represented in working memory. We propose a memory-based computational model that derives offline and online complexity profiles in terms of a top-down parser for minimalist grammars (Stabler, 2011). The complexity metric reflects the amount of time an item is stored in memory. The presented architecture links grammatical representations stored in memory directly to the cognitive behavior by deriving predictions about sentence processing difficulty. Results from five different sentence comprehension experiments were used to evaluate the model's assumptions about memory limitations. The predictions of the complexity metric were compared to the locality (integration and storage) cost metric of Dependency Locality Theory (Gibson, 2000). Both metrics make comparable offline and online predictions for four of the five phenomena. The key difference between the two metrics is that the proposed complexity metric accounts for the structural complexity of intervening material. In contrast, DLT's integration cost metric considers the number of discourse referents, not the syntactic structural complexity. We conclude that the syntactic analysis plays a significant role in memory requirements of parsing. An incremental top-down parser based on a grammar formalism easily computes offline and online complexity profiles, which can be used to derive predictions about sentence processing difficulty.}, language = {en} }