@article{ArslanGuerFelser2017, author = {Arslan, Se{\c{c}}kin and G{\"u}r, Eren and Felser, Claudia}, title = {Predicting the sources of impaired wh-question comprehension in non-fluent aphasia}, series = {Cognitive neuropsychology}, volume = {34}, journal = {Cognitive neuropsychology}, publisher = {Taylor \& Francis}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {0264-3294}, doi = {10.1080/02643294.2017.1394284}, pages = {312 -- 331}, year = {2017}, abstract = {This study investigates the comprehension of wh-questions in individuals with aphasia (IWA) speaking Turkish, a non-wh-movement language, and German, a wh-movement language. We examined six German-speaking and 11 Turkish-speaking IWA using picture-pointing tasks. Findings from our experiments show that the Turkish IWA responded more accurately to both object who and object which questions than to subject questions, while the German IWA performed better for subject which questions than in all other conditions. Using random forest models, a machine learning technique used in tree-structured classification, on the individual data revealed that both the Turkish and German IWA's response accuracy is largely predicted by the presence of overt and unambiguous case marking. We discuss our results with regard to different theoretical approaches to the comprehension of wh-questions in aphasia.}, language = {en} } @article{BoschVerissimoClahsen2019, author = {Bosch, Sina and Verissimo, Joao Marques and Clahsen, Harald}, title = {Inflectional morphology in bilingual language processing}, series = {Language acquisition : a journal of developmental linguistics}, volume = {26}, journal = {Language acquisition : a journal of developmental linguistics}, number = {3}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {1048-9223}, doi = {10.1080/10489223.2019.1570204}, pages = {339 -- 360}, year = {2019}, abstract = {This study addresses the question of how age of acquisition (AoA) affects grammatical processing, specifically with respect to inflectional morphology, in bilinguals. We examined experimental data of more than 100 participants from the Russian/German community in Berlin, all of whom acquired Russian from birth and German at different ages. Using the cross-modal lexical priming technique, we investigated stem allomorphs of German verbs that encode multiple morphosyntactic features. The results revealed a striking AoA modulation of observed priming patterns, indicating efficient access to morphosyntactic features for early AoAs and a gradual decline with increasing AoAs. In addition, we found a discontinuity in the function relating AoA to morphosyntactic feature access, suggesting a sensitive period for the development of morphosyntax.}, language = {en} } @article{BoxellFelser2017, author = {Boxell, Oliver and Felser, Claudia}, title = {Sensitivity to parasitic gaps inside subject islands in native and non-native sentence processing}, series = {Bilingualism : language and cognition.}, volume = {20}, journal = {Bilingualism : language and cognition.}, publisher = {Cambridge Univ. Press}, address = {New York}, issn = {1366-7289}, doi = {10.1017/S1366728915000942}, pages = {494 -- 511}, year = {2017}, language = {en} } @article{BoxellFelserCunnings2017, author = {Boxell, Oliver and Felser, Claudia and Cunnings, Ian}, title = {Antecedent contained deletions in native and non-native sentence processing}, series = {Linguistic approaches to bilingualism}, volume = {7}, journal = {Linguistic approaches to bilingualism}, number = {5}, publisher = {John Benjamins Publishing Co.}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {1879-9264}, doi = {10.1075/lab.15006.box}, pages = {554 -- 582}, year = {2017}, abstract = {We report the results from an eye-movement monitoring study investigating native (L1) and non-native (L2) speakers' real-time processing of antecedent-contained deletion (ACD), a type of verb phrase ellipsis in which the ellipsis gap forms part of its own antecedent. The resulting interpretation problem is traditionally thought to be solved by quantifier raising, a covert scope-shifting operation that serves to remove the gap from within its antecedent. Our L2 group comprised advanced, native German-speaking L2 learners of English. The analysis of the eye-movement data showed that both L1 and L2 English speakers tried to recover the missing verb phrase after encountering the gap. Only the native speakers showed evidence of ellipsis resolution being affected by quantification, however. No effects of quantification following gap detection were found in the L2 group, by contrast, indicating that recovery of the elided material was accomplished independently from the object's quantificational status in this group.}, language = {en} } @article{CiaccioClahsen2019, author = {Ciaccio, Laura Anna and Clahsen, Harald}, title = {Variability and consistency in first and second language processing}, series = {Language Learning}, volume = {70}, journal = {Language Learning}, number = {1}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {0023-8333}, doi = {10.1111/lang.12370}, pages = {103 -- 136}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Word forms such as walked or walker are decomposed into their morphological constituents (walk + -ed/-er) during language comprehension. Yet, the efficiency of morphological decomposition seems to vary for different languages and morphological types, as well as for first and second language speakers. The current study reports results from a visual masked priming experiment focusing on different types of derived word forms (specifically prefixed vs. suffixed) in first and second language speakers of German. We compared the present findings with results from previous studies on inflection and compounding and proposed an account of morphological decomposition that captures both the variability and the consistency of morphological decomposition for different morphological types and for first and second language speakers. Open Practices This article has been awarded an Open Materials badge. Study materials are publicly accessible via the Open Science Framework at . Learn more about the Open Practices badges from the Center for Open Science: .}, language = {en} } @article{CiaccioJacob2019, author = {Ciaccio, Laura Anna and Jacob, Gunnar}, title = {Native speakers like affixes, L2 speakers like letters?}, series = {PLoS one}, volume = {14}, journal = {PLoS one}, number = {12}, publisher = {PLoS}, address = {San Fransisco}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0226482}, pages = {20}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In an overt visual priming experiment, we investigate the role of orthography in native (L1) and non-native (L2) processing of German morphologically complex words. We compare priming effects for inflected and derived morphologically related prime-target pairs versus otherwise matched, purely orthographically related pairs. The results show morphological priming effects in both the L1 and L2 group, with no significant difference between inflection and derivation. However, L2 speakers, but not L1 speakers, also showed significant priming for orthographically related pairs. Our results support the claim that L2 speakers focus more on surface-level information such as orthography during visual word recognition. This can cause orthographic priming effects in morphologically related prime-target pairs, which may conceal L1-L2 differences in morphological processing.}, language = {en} } @article{FelserDrummer2016, author = {Felser, Claudia and Drummer, Janna-Deborah}, title = {Sensitivity to Crossover Constraints During Native and Non-native Pronoun Resolution}, series = {Journal of psycholinguistic research}, volume = {46}, journal = {Journal of psycholinguistic research}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {New York}, issn = {0090-6905}, doi = {10.1007/s10936-016-9465-8}, pages = {771 -- 789}, year = {2016}, abstract = {We report the results from two experiments examining native and non-native German speakers' sensitivity to crossover constraints on pronoun resolution. Our critical stimuli sentences contained personal pronouns in either strong (SCO) or weak crossover (WCO) configurations. Using eye-movement monitoring during reading and a gender-mismatch paradigm, Experiment 1 investigated whether a fronted wh-phrase would be considered as a potential antecedent for a pronoun intervening between the wh-phrase and its canonical position. Both native and non-native readers initially attempted coreference in WCO but not in SCO configurations, as evidenced by early gender-mismatch effects in our WCO conditions. Experiment 2 was an offline antecedent judgement task whose results mirrored the SCO/WCO asymmetry observed in our reading-time data. Taken together, our results show that the SCO constraint immediately restricts pronoun interpretation in both native and non-native comprehension, and further suggest that SCO and WCO constraints derive from different sources.}, language = {en} } @article{FelserPattersonCunnings2015, author = {Felser, Claudia and Patterson, Clare and Cunnings, Ian}, title = {Structural constraints on pronoun binding and coreference: Evidence from eye movements during reading}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {6}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, number = {840}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00840}, year = {2015}, abstract = {A number of recent studies have investigated how syntactic and non-syntactic constraints combine to cue memory retrieval during anaphora resolution. In this paper we investigate how syntactic constraints and gender congruence interact to guide memory retrieval during the resolution of subject pronouns. Subject pronouns are always technically ambiguous, and the application of syntactic constraints on their interpretation depends on properties of the antecedent that is to be retrieved. While pronouns can freely corefer with non-quantified referential antecedents, linking a pronoun to a quantified antecedent is only possible in certain syntactic configurations via variable binding. We report the results from a judgment task and three online reading comprehension experiments investigating pronoun resolution with quantified and non-quantified antecedents. Results from both the judgment task and participants' eye movements during reading indicate that comprehenders freely allow pronouns to corefer with non-quantified antecedents, but that retrieval of quantified antecedents is restricted to specific syntactic environments. We interpret our findings as indicating that syntactic constraints constitute highly weighted cues to memory retrieval during anaphora resolution.}, language = {en} } @article{Mosca2018, author = {Mosca, Michela}, title = {Trilinguals' language switching}, series = {The quarterly journal of experimental psychology}, volume = {72}, journal = {The quarterly journal of experimental psychology}, number = {4}, publisher = {Routledge, Taylor \& Francis Group}, address = {Abingdon}, issn = {1747-0218}, doi = {10.1177/1747021818763537}, pages = {693 -- 716}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The goal of this study was to determine how trilinguals select the language they intend to use in a language switching context. Two accounts are examined: (a) a language-specific account, according to which language selection considers the activation level of words of the intended language only (i.e., language co-activation without language competition), and (b) a language non-specific account, where activated words from both the intended and non-intended languages compete for selection (i.e., language co-activation with language competition). Results showed that, in both groups, all three languages competed for selection and that selection was achieved by inhibiting the currently non-relevant languages. Moreover, extending findings from previous research, the study reveals that, in both Experiments 1 and 2, the amount of inhibition was influenced not only by language proficiency but also by the typological similarity between languages. Overall, the study shows that language switching performance can be accounted for by a strategic and flexible inhibitory account. In particular, the controlling system is "strategic" in the sense that it aims at preventing potential conflicting situations, such as typological closeness between languages, and it is "flexible" in that it adjusts languages' activation levels, depending on the conflict to be solved.}, language = {en} } @article{NakanoIkemotoJacobetal.2016, author = {Nakano, Yoko and Ikemoto, Yu and Jacob, Gunnar and Clahsen, Harald}, title = {How Orthography Modulates Morphological Priming}, series = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {7}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation}, address = {Lausanne}, issn = {1664-1078}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00316}, pages = {10}, year = {2016}, abstract = {The current study investigates to what extent masked morphological priming is modulated by language-particular properties, specifically by its writing system. We present results from two masked priming experiments investigating the processing of complex Japanese words written in less common (moraic) scripts. In Experiment 1, participants performed lexical decisions on target verbs; these were preceded by primes which were either (i) a past-tense form of the same verb, (ii) a stem-related form with the epenthetic vowel -i, (iii) a semantically-related form, and (iv) a phonologically-related form. Significant priming effects were obtained for prime types (i), (ii), and (iii), but not for (iv). This pattern of results differs from previous findings on languages with alphabetic scripts, which found reliable masked priming effects for morphologically related prime/target pairs of type (i), but not for non-affixal and semantically-related primes of types (ii), and (iii). In Experiment 2, we measured priming effects for prime/target pairs which are neither morphologically, semantically, phonologically nor - as presented in their moraic scripts—orthographically related, but which—in their commonly written form—share the same kanji, which are logograms adopted from Chinese. The results showed a significant priming effect, with faster lexical-decision times for kanji-related prime/target pairs relative to unrelated ones. We conclude that affix-stripping is insufficient to account for masked morphological priming effects across languages, but that language-particular properties (in the case of Japanese, the writing system) affect the processing of (morphologically) complex words.}, language = {en} }