TY - JOUR A1 - Wierzba, Marta A1 - Fanselow, Gisbert T1 - Factors influencing the acceptability of object fronting in German JF - The journal of comparative Germanic linguistics N2 - In this paper, we address some controversially debated empirical questions concerning object fronting in German by a series of acceptability rating studies. We investigated three kinds of factors: (i) properties of the subject (given/new, pronoun/full DP), (ii) emphasis, (iii) register. The first factor is predicted to play a crucial role by models in which object fronting possibilities are limited by prosodic properties. Two experiments provide converging evidence for a systematic effect of this factor: we find that the relative acceptability of object fronting across subjects that require an accent (new DPs) is lower than across deaccentable subjects (pronouns and given DPs). Other models predict object fronting across full phrases (but not across pronouns) to be limited to an emphatic interpretation. This prediction is also borne out, suggesting that both types of models capture an empirically valid generalization and can be seen as complementing each other rather than competing with each other. Finally, we find support for the view that informal register facilitates object fronting. In sum, our experiments contribute to clarifying the empirical basis concerning a phenomenon influenced by a range of interacting factors. This, in turn, informs theoretical approaches to the prefield position and helps to identify factors that need to be carefully controlled in this field of research. KW - German KW - Object fronting KW - Prefield KW - Givenness KW - Emphasis KW - Register KW - Experiments KW - Acceptability Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10828-020-09113-1 SN - 1383-4924 SN - 1572-8552 VL - 23 IS - 1 SP - 77 EP - 124 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Westphal, Andrea A1 - Vock, Miriam A1 - Kretschmann, Julia T1 - Unravelling the relationship between teacher-assigned grades, student personality, and standardized test scores JF - Frontiers in psychology / Frontiers Research Foundation N2 - The Big Five personality traits play a major role in student achievement. As such, there is consistent evidence that students that are more conscientious receive better teacher-assigned grades in secondary school. However, research often does not support the claim that students that are more conscientious similarly achieve higher scores in domain-specific standardized achievement tests. Based on the Invest-and-Accrue Model, we argue that conscientiousness explains to some extent why certain students receive better grades despite similar academic accomplishments (i.e., achieving similar scores in domain-specific standardized achievement tests). Therefore, the present study examines to what extent the relationship between student personality and teacher-assigned grades consists of direct as opposed to indirect associations (via subject-specific standardized test scores). We used a representative sample of 14,710 ninth-grade students to estimate these direct and indirect pathways in mathematics and German. Structural equation models showed that test scores explained between 8 and 11% of the variance in teacher-assigned grades in mathematics and German. The Big Five personality traits in students additionally explained between 8 and 10% of the variance in grades. Finally, the personality-grade relationship consisted of direct (0.02 | β| ≤ 0.27) and indirect associations via test scores (0.01 | β| ≤ 0.07). Conscientiousness explained discrepancies between teacher-assigned grades and students’ scores in domain-specific standardized tests to a greater extent than any of the other Big Five personality traits. Our findings suggest that students that are more conscientious may invest more effort to accomplish classroom goals, but fall short of mastery. KW - Big Five KW - student personality KW - teacher-assigned grades KW - grading practice KW - conscientiousness KW - mathematics KW - German KW - secondary school Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.627440 SN - 1664-1078 IS - 12 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Szagun, Gisela A1 - Schramm, Satyam Antonio T1 - Lexically driven or early structure building? BT - Constructing an early grammar in German child language JF - First language N2 - This study examines the role of the lexicon and grammatical structure building in early grammar. Parent-report data in CDI format from a sample of 1151 German-speaking children between 1;6 and 2;6 and longitudinal spontaneous speech data from 22 children between 1;8 and 2;5 were used. Regression analysis of the parent-report data indicates that grammatical words have a stronger influence on concurrent syntactic complexity than lexical words. Time-lagged correlations using the spontaneous speech data showed that lexical words at 1;8 predict subsequent MLU at 2;1 significantly; grammatical words do not. MLU at 2;5 is significantly predicted by grammatical words and no longer by lexical words. The influence of different grammatical subcategories on subsequent MLU varies. Use of articles and the copula at 2;1 most strongly predicts MLU at 2;5. Children use both types of articles and multiple determiners before a noun to the same extent as adults. The present results are suggestive of early grammatical structure building. KW - CDI KW - determiners KW - early syntax KW - German KW - grammatical words Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0142723718761414 SN - 0142-7237 SN - 1740-2344 VL - 39 IS - 1 SP - 61 EP - 79 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stone, Kate A1 - Verissimo, Joao A1 - Schad, Daniel J. A1 - Oltrogge, Elise A1 - Vasishth, Shravan A1 - Lago, Sol T1 - The interaction of grammatically distinct agreement dependencies in predictive processing JF - Language, cognition and neuroscience N2 - Previous research has found that comprehenders sometimes predict information that is grammatically unlicensed by sentence constraints. An open question is why such grammatically unlicensed predictions occur. We examined the possibility that unlicensed predictions arise in situations of information conflict, for instance when comprehenders try to predict upcoming words while simultaneously building dependencies with previously encountered elements in memory. German possessive pronouns are a good testing ground for this hypothesis because they encode two grammatically distinct agreement dependencies: a retrospective one between the possessive and its previously mentioned referent, and a prospective one between the possessive and its following nominal head. In two visual world eye-tracking experiments, we estimated the onset of predictive effects in participants' fixations. The results showed that the retrospective dependency affected resolution of the prospective dependency by shifting the onset of predictive effects. We attribute this effect to an interaction between predictive and memory retrieval processes. KW - sentence processing KW - visual world eye-tracking KW - prediction KW - gender KW - agreement KW - German Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2021.1921816 SN - 2327-3798 SN - 2327-3801 VL - 36 IS - 9 SP - 1159 EP - 1179 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sperlich, Anja A1 - Schad, Daniel A1 - Laubrock, Jochen T1 - When preview information starts to matter BT - Development of the perceptual span in German beginning readers JF - Journal of cognitive psychology N2 - How is reading development reflected in eye-movement measures? How does the perceptual span change during the initial years of reading instruction? Does parafoveal processing require competence in basic word-decoding processes? We report data from the first cross-sectional measurement of the perceptual span of German beginning readers (n = 139), collected in the context of the large longitudinal PIER (Potsdamer Intrapersonale Entwicklungsrisiken/Potsdam study of intra-personal developmental risk factors) study of intrapersonal developmental risk factors. Using the moving-window paradigm, eye movements of three groups of students (Grades 1-3) were measured with gaze-contingent presentation of a variable amount of text around fixation. Reading rate increased from Grades 1-3, with smaller increases for higher grades. Perceptual-span results showed the expected main effects of grade and window size: fixation durations and refixation probability decreased with grade and window size, whereas reading rate and saccade length increased. Critically, for reading rate, first-fixation duration, saccade length and refixation probability, there were significant interactions of grade and window size that were mainly based on the contrast between Grades 3 and 2 rather than Grades 2 and 1. Taken together, development of the perceptual span only really takes off between Grades 2 and 3, suggesting that efficient parafoveal processing presupposes that basic processes of reading have been mastered. KW - Eye movements KW - German KW - Moving window KW - Perceptual span KW - Reading development Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2014.993990 SN - 2044-5911 SN - 2044-592X VL - 27 IS - 5 SP - 511 EP - 530 PB - Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group CY - Abingdon ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Sauermann, Antje A1 - Höhle, Barbara T1 - Word order in German child language and child-directed speech BT - a corpus analysis on the ordering of double objects in the German middlefield JF - Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics N2 - We report two corpus analyses to examine the impact of animacy, definiteness, givenness and type of referring expression on the ordering of double objects in the spontaneous speech of German-speaking two- to four-year-old children and the child-directed speech of their mothers. The first corpus analysis revealed that definiteness, givenness and type of referring expression influenced word order variation in child language and child-directed speech when the type of referring expression distinguished between pronouns and lexical noun phrases. These results correspond to previous child language studies in English (e.g., de Marneffe et al. 2012). Extending the scope of previous studies, our second corpus analysis examined the role of different pronoun types on word order. It revealed that word order in child language and child-directed speech was predictable from the types of pronouns used. Different types of pronouns were associated with different sentence positions but also showed a strong correlation to givenness and definiteness. Yet, the distinction between pronoun types diminished the effects of givenness so that givenness had an independent impact on word order only in child-directed speech but not in child language. Our results support a multi-factorial approach to word order in German. Moreover, they underline the strong impact of the type of referring expression on word order and suggest that it plays a crucial role in the acquisition of the factors influencing word order variation. KW - German KW - word order KW - corpus study KW - language acquisition KW - information structure KW - referring expression Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.281 SN - 2397-1835 VL - 3 IS - 1 PB - Ubiquity Press LTD CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Salzmann, Martin A1 - Wierzba, Marta A1 - Georgi, Doreen T1 - Condition C in German A'-movement BT - tackling challenges in experimental research on reconstruction JF - Journal of linguistics : JL N2 - In recent experimental work, arguments for or against Condition C reconstruction in A'-movement have been based on low/high availability of coreference in sentences with and without A'-movement. We argue that this reasoning is problematic: It involves arbitrary thresholds, and the results are potentially confounded by the different surface orders of the compared structures and non-syntactic factors. We present three experiments with designs that do not require defining thresholds of 'low' or 'high' coreference values. Instead, we focus on grammatical contrasts (wh-movement vs. relativization, subject vs. object wh-movement) and aim to identify and reduce confounds. The results show that reconstruction for A'-movement of DPs is not very robust in German, contra previous findings. Our results are compatible with the view that the surface order and non-syntactic factors (e.g. plausibility, referential accessibility of an R-expression) heavily influence coreference possibilities. Thus, the data argue against a theory that includes both reconstruction and a hard Condition C constraint. There is a residual contrast between sentences with subject/object movement, which is compatible with an account without reconstruction (and an additional non-syntactic factor) or an account with reconstruction (and a soft Condition C constraint). KW - A'-movement KW - binding KW - Condition C KW - experimental syntax KW - German KW - reconstruction KW - relative clauses KW - wh-questions Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022226722000214 SN - 0022-2267 SN - 1469-7742 VL - 59 IS - 3 SP - 577 EP - 622 PB - Cambridge Univ. Press CY - London [u.a.] ER - TY - THES A1 - Rettig, Anja T1 - Learning to read in German BT - eye movements and the perceptual span of German beginning readers and their relation to reading motivation BT - Blickbewegungen und die perzentuelle Lesespanne von deutschsprachigen Leseanfängern und der Zusammenhang zur Lesemotivation N2 - In the present dissertation, the development of eye movement behavior and the perceptual span of German beginning readers was investigated in Grades 1 to 3 (Study 1) and longitudinally within a one-year time interval (Study 2), as well as in relation to intrinsic and extrinsic reading motivation (Study 3). The presented results are intended to fill the gap of only sparse information on young readers’ eye movements and completely missing information on German young readers’ perceptual span and its development. On the other hand, reading motivation data have been scrutinized with respect to reciprocal effects on reading comprehension but not with respect to more immediate, basic cognitive processing (e.g., word decoding) that is indicated by different eye movement measures. Based on a longitudinal study design, children in Grades 1–3 participated in a moving window reading experiment with eye movement recordings in two successive years. All children were participants of a larger longitudinal study on intrapersonal developmental risk factors in childhood and adolescence (PIER study). Motivation data and other psychometric reading data were collected during individual inquiries and tests at school. Data analyses were realized in three separate studies that focused on different but related aspects of reading and perceptual span development. Study 1 presents the first cross-sectional report on the perceptual span of beginning German readers. The focus was on reading rate changes in Grades 1 to 3 and on the issue of the onset of the perceptual span development and its dependence on basic foveal reading processes. Study 2 presents a successor of Study 1 providing first longitudinal data of the perceptual span in elementary school children. It also includes information on the stability of observed and predicted reading rates and perceptual span sizes and introduces a new measure of the perceptual span based on nonlinear mixed-effects models. Another issue addressed in this study is the longitudinal between-group comparison of slower and faster readers which refers to the detection of developmental patterns. Study 3 includes longitudinal reading motivation data and investigates the relation between different eye movement measures including perceptual span and intrinsic as well as extrinsic reading motivation. In Study 1, a decelerated increase in reading rate was observed between Grades 1 to 3. Grade effects were also reported for saccade length, refixation probability, and different fixation duration measures. With higher grade, mean saccade length increased, whereas refixation probability, first-fixation duration, gaze duration, and total reading time decreased. Perceptual span development was indicated by an increase in window size effects with grade level. Grade level differences with respect to window size effects were stronger between Grades 2 and 3 than between Grades 1 and 2. These results were replicated longitudinally in Study 2. Again, perceptual span size significantly changed between Grades 2 and 3, but not between Grades 1 and 2 or Grades 3 and 4. Observed and predicted reading rates were found to be highly stable after first grade, whereas stability of perceptual span was only moderate for all grade levels. Group differences between slower and faster readers in Year 1 remained observable in Year 2 showing a pattern of stable achievement differences rather than a compensatory pattern. Between Grades 2 and 3, between-group differences in reading rate even increased resulting in a Matthew effect. A similar effect was observed for perceptual span development between Grades 3 and 4. Finally, in Study 3, significant relations between beginning readers’ eye movements and their reading motivation were observed. In both years of measurement, higher intrinsic reading motivation was related to more skilled eye movement patterns as indicated by short fixations, longer saccades, and higher reading rates. In Year 2, intrinsic reading motivation was also significantly and negatively correlated with refixation probability. These correlational patterns were confirmed in cross-sectional linear models controlling for grade level and reading amount and including both reading motivation measures, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. While there were significant positive relations between intrinsic reading motivation and word decoding as indicated by the above stated eye movement measures, extrinsic reading motivation only predicted variance in eye movements in Year 2 (significant for fixation durations and reading rate), with a consistently opposite pattern of effects as compared to intrinsic reading motivation. Finally, longitudinal effects of Year 1 intrinsic reading motivation on Year 2 word decoding were observed for gaze duration, total reading time, refixation probability, and perceptual span within cross-lagged panel models. These effects were reciprocal because all eye movement measures significantly predicted variance in intrinsic reading motivation. Extrinsic reading motivation in Year 1 did not affect any eye movement measure in Year 2, and vice versa, except for a significant, negative relation with perceptual span. Concluding, the present dissertation demonstrates that largest gains in reading development in terms of eye movement changes are observable between Grades 1 and 2. Together with the observed pattern of stable differences between slower and faster readers and a widening achievement gap between Grades 2 and 3 for reading rate, these results underline the importance of the first year(s) of formal reading instruction. The development of the perceptual span lags behind as it is most apparent between Grades 2 and 3. This suggests that efficient parafoveal processing presupposes a certain degree of foveal reading proficiency (e.g., word decoding). Finally, this dissertation demonstrates that intrinsic reading motivation—but not extrinsic motivation—effectively supports the development of skilled reading. N2 - In der vorliegenden Dissertation wurde die Entwicklung der Blickbewegungen und der perzeptuellen Lesespanne von deutschsprachigen Leseanfängern in den Klassenstufen 1–3 im Querschnitt (Studie 1) als auch im Längsschnitt innerhalb eines Jahres (Studie 2) sowie hinsichtlich des Zusammenhangs mit der intrinsischen und der extrinsischen Lesemotivation (Studie 3) untersucht. Die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit stellen einen bedeutsamen empirischen Beitrag zur ansonsten verhältnismäßig eher spärlichen empirisch-experimentellen Forschung zur frühen Leseentwicklung dar und liefern erste Erkenntnisse über die perzeptuelle Spanne von jungen deutschsprachigen Lesern. Des Weiteren wurde Neuland betreten, indem Blickdaten im Zusammenhang mit Lesemotivationsdaten ausgewertet wurden. Während es umfangreiche Forschungsarbeiten zum reziproken Zusammenhang zwischen Lesemotivation und dem Leserverstehen gibt, ist kaum etwas zu wechselseitigen Lesemotivationseffekten in Bezug auf basale kognitive Prozesse (z.B. die Wort-Dekodierung), wie sie durch verschiedene Blickbewegungsmaße indiziert werden, bekannt. Auf Grundlage eines längsschnittlichen Untersuchungsdesigns nahmen Kinder der Klassenstufen 1–3 in zwei aufeinanderfolgenden Jahren an einem Moving-Window-Leseexperiment mit manipuliertem Text teil. Alle Kinder waren Teilnehmer einer größeren Längsschnittstudie zur Untersuchung von intrapersonellen Risikofaktoren im Kindes- und Jugendalter (PIER-Studie). In individuellen Befragungen und Testungen in den Schulen wurden u.a. auch Lesemotivations- und andere psychometrische Lesedaten erhoben. Die im Labor erfassten Blickdaten wurden zusammen mit diesen psychometrischen Daten im Rahmen von drei separaten Studien ausgewertet, die jeweils verschiedene, jedoch miteinander in Bezug stehende Aspekte der Lese- und Lesespannen-Entwicklung untersuchen. Studie 1 präsentiert einen ersten querschnittlichen Bericht zur perzeptuellen Lesespanne von deutschsprachigen Leseanfängern. Hierbei lag der Fokus auf Veränderungen der Leserate in den Klassenstufen 1–3 und auf der Frage, wann die Entwicklung der perzeptuellen Spanne beginnt und inwiefern diese Entwicklung von basalen fovealen Leseprozessen abhängig ist. Studie 2 stellt eine Folgeuntersuchung dar, die erste Längsschnittdaten zur Entwicklung der perzeptuellen Lesespanne bei Grundschulkindern liefert. Untersucht wurden desweiteren die Stabilität der beobachteten und vorhergesagten Leserate als auch der perzeptuellen Lesespanne. In diesem Zusammenhang wird ein neues Spannenmaß vorgestellt, welches auf nicht-linearen gemischten Modellen basiert. Eine weitere Fragestellung der Studie ist der längsschnittliche Gruppenvergleich von langsameren und schnelleren Lesern, welcher auf die Entdeckung von Entwicklungsmustern abzielt. Studie 3 inkludiert längsschnittliche Lesemotivatonsdaten und untersucht die Beziehung zwischen verschiedenen Blickbewegungsmaßen einschließlich der perzeptuellen Lesespanne und der intrinsischen als auch extrinsischen Lesemotivation unter Berücksichtigung der Lesehäufigkeit. In Hinblick auf die Leseentwicklung in Klassenstufe 1–3 wurde ein zwischen den Klassenstufen abnehmender sukzessiver Anstieg in der Leserate beobachtet. Klassenstufeneffekte wurden außerdem berichtet für die Sakkadenlänge, die Refixationswahrscheinlichkeit und für verschiedene Fixationsdauermaße. Mit höherer Klassenstufe stieg die mittlere Sakkadenlänge, wohingegen die Refixationswahrscheinlichkeit, die Dauer der ersten Fixation auf einem Wort, die Blickdauer im sogenannten First-Pass und die Gesamtlesedauer von Worten abnahmen. Die Entwicklung der perzeptuellen Lesespanne wurde ersichtlich durch einen Anstieg von Fenstergrößen-Effekten mit steigender Klassenstufe. Der Unterschied zwischen den Klassenstufen im Hinblick auf Fenstergrößen-Effekte war größer zwischen Klasse 2 und 3 als zwischen den Klassen 1 und 2. Diese Ergebnisse wurden längsschnittlich repliziert in Studie 2. Wieder zeigte sich ein signifikanter Unterschied in der perzeptuellen Lesespanne zwischen Klassenstufe 2 und 3, jedoch nicht zwischen Klassenstufe 1 und 2 oder Klassenstufe 3 und 4. Die beobachtete und die vorhergesagte Leserate waren hoch stabil jenseits der ersten Klasse, wohingegen für die perzeptuelle Lesespanne für alle Klassenstufen nur eine moderate Stabilität gefunden wurde. Gruppenunterschiede zwischen langsameren und schnelleren Lesern im ersten Untersuchungsjahr wurden auch im zweiten Untersuchungsjahr beobachtet. Dabei zeichnete sich ein Muster eher stabiler anstatt kompensatorischer Leistungsunterschiede ab. Zwischen Klassenstufe 2 und 3 gab es sogar einen Anstieg der Disparität zwischen den Gruppen für die Leserate. Es zeichnete sich also ein sogenannter Matthäus-Effekt ab. Ein ähnlicher Effekt wurde für die perzeptuelle Lesespanne zwischen Klassenstufe 3 und 4 beobachtet. Abschließend wurde in Studie 3 ein signifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen den Blickbewegungen von Leseanfängern und ihrer Lesemotivation gefunden. In beiden Erhebungsjahren, korrelierte eine höhere intrinsische Lesemotivation mit geübteren Blickbewegungsmustern, was sich in kürzeren Fixationen, längeren Sakkaden und höheren Leseraten zeigte sowie im zweiten Erhebungsjahr auch in kleineren Refixationswahrscheinlichkeiten. In querschnittlichen linearen Modellen erwies sich die intrinsiche Lesemotivation als signifikanter Prädiktor für die oben genannten Blickmaße, selbst wenn für Klassenstufe und Lesehäufigkeit kontrolliert wurde und beide Motivationsmaße, die intrinische und die extrinsische Motivation, gleichzeitig ins Modell aufgenommen wurden. Die extrinsische Lesemotivation erwies sich hingegen nur im zweiten Erhebungsjahr als signifikanter Prädiktor der verschiedenen Fixationsdauern und der Leserate, wobei das Effektmuster durchweg entgegengesetzt zu dem für die intrinsische Lesemotivation beobachteten war. Schließlich wurden in kreuzverzögerten Autoregressionsmodellen längsschnittliche Effekte der intrinisichen Lesemotivation auf verschiedene Blickbewegungsmaße (Blickdauer im First-Pass, Gesamtlesezeit, Refixationswahrscheinlichkeit und perzeptuelle Lesespanne) beobachet. Diese Effekte waren reziprok, da alle Blickbewegungsmaße auch signifikant Varianz in der intrinsischen Lesemotivation vorhergesagt haben. Im Gegensatz dazu gab es weder signifikante längsschnittliche Effekte der extrinsichen Lesemotivation auf das Blickverhalten noch in die Gegenrichtung signifikante Effekte von Blickbewegungsmaßen auf die extrinsische Lesemotivation, mit Ausnahme einer signifikanten negativen Beziehung zwischen der extrinsischen Lesemotivation und der Lesespanne. Zusammenfassend lassen sich folgende Erkenntnisse festhalten: Die aktuelle Dissertation zeigt auf, dass der größte Zuwachs bei der Leseentwicklung im Sinne von Blickbewegungsänderungen zwischen den Klassenstufen 1 und 2 zu beobachten ist. Zusammen mit dem beobachteten Muster zeitlich stabiler Gruppenunterschiede zwischen langsameren und schnelleren Lesern und dem größer werdenden Leistungsabstand zwischen Klassenstufe 2 und 3 für das Maß der Leserate unterstreichen die Ergebnisse die Bedeutsamkeit des (der) ersten Jahre(s) formaler Leseinstruktion. Die Entwicklung der perzeptuellen Lesespanne ist verzögert, da sie am deutlichsten zwischen den Klassenstufen 2 und 3 sichtbar wird. Dies legt die Schlussfolgerung nah, dass effiziente parafoveale Verarbeitung einen gewissen Grad an fovealer Lesefertigkeit (d.h. basale Wortdekodierfähigkeiten) erfordert. Schließlich liefert die aktuelle Dissertation auch empirische Belege dafür, dass die intrinsische—aber nicht die extrinsische—Lesemotivation effektiv die Leseentwicklung unterstützt. T2 - Lesen Lernen im Deutschen KW - eye movements KW - perceptual span KW - reading development KW - beginning readers KW - German KW - moving window KW - longitudinal study KW - reading motivation KW - Blickbewegungen KW - perzentuelle Lesespanne KW - Leseentwicklung KW - Leseanfänger KW - Deutsch KW - Moving Window KW - Längsschnittstudie KW - Lesemotivation Y1 - 2021 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Puebla Antunes, Cecilia A1 - Felser, Claudia T1 - Discourse Prominence and Antecedent MisRetrieval during Native and Non-Native Pronoun Resolution JF - Discours : revue de linguistique, psycholinguistique et informatique N2 - Previous studies on non-native (L2) anaphor resolution suggest that L2 comprehenders are guided more strongly by discourse-level cues compared to native (L1) comprehenders. Here we examine whether and how a grammatically inappropriate antecedent’s discourse status affects the likelihood of it being considered during L1 and L2 pronoun resolution. We used an interference paradigm to examine how the extrasentential discourse impacts the resolution of German object pronouns. In an eye-tracking-during-reading experiment we examined whether an elaborated local antecedent ruled out by binding Condition B would be mis-retrieved during pronoun resolution, and whether initially introducing this antecedent as the discourse topic would affect the chances of it being mis-retrieved. While both participant groups rejected the inappropriate antecedent in an offline questionnaire irrespective of its discourse prominence, their real-time processing patterns differed. L1 speakers initially mis-retrieved the inappropriate antecedent regardless of its contextual prominence. L1 Russian/L2 German speakers, in contrast, were affected by the antecedent’s discourse status, considering it only when it was discourse-new but not when it had previously been introduced as the discourse topic. Our findings show that L2 comprehenders are highly sensitive to discourse dynamics such as topic shifts, supporting the claim that discourse-level cues are more strongly weighted during L2 compared to L1 processing. KW - pronoun resolution KW - non-native sentence processing KW - discourse KW - prominence KW - interference KW - German KW - eye-movement monitoring Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4000/discours.11720 SN - 1963-1723 IS - 29 PB - Université de Paris-Sorbonne, Maion Recherche CY - Paris ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Petrone, Caterina A1 - Truckenbrodt, Hubert A1 - Wellmann, Caroline A1 - Holzgrefe-Lang, Julia A1 - Wartenburger, Isabell A1 - Höhle, Barbara T1 - Prosodic boundary cues in German BT - evidence from the production and perception of bracketed lists JF - Journal of phonetics N2 - This study investigates prosodic phrasing of bracketed lists in German. We analyze variation in pauses, phrase-final lengthening and f0 in speech production and how these cues affect boundary perception. In line with the literature, it was found that pauses are often used to signal intonation phrase boundaries, while final lengthening and f0 are employed across different levels of the prosodic hierarchy. Deviations from expectations based on the standard syntax-prosody mapping are interpreted in terms of task-specific effects. That is, we argue that speakers add/delete prosodic boundaries to enhance the phonological contrast between different bracketings in the experimental task. In perception, three experiments were run, in which we tested only single cues (but temporally distributed at different locations of the sentences). Results from identification tasks and reaction time measurements indicate that pauses lead to a more abrupt shift in listeners׳ prosodic judgments, while f0 and final lengthening are exploited in a more gradient manner. Hence, pauses, final lengthening and f0 have an impact on boundary perception, though listeners show different sensitivity to the three acoustic cues. KW - Prosodic boundary KW - Phrase-final lengthening KW - Pause KW - f0 peaks KW - Production KW - Perception KW - German Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wocn.2017.01.002 SN - 0095-4470 VL - 61 SP - 71 EP - 92 PB - Elsevier CY - London ER -