TY  - JOUR
A1  - Jacob, Gunnar
A1  - Heyer, Vera
A1  - Verissimo, Joao Marques
T1  - Aiming at the same target
BT  - a masked priming study directly comparing derivation and inflection in the second language
JF  - International journal of bilingualism : cross-disciplinary, cross-linguistic studies of language behavior
N2  - Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: We compared the processing of morphologically complex derived vs. inflected forms in native speakers of German and highly proficient native Russian second language (L2) learners of German. Design/methodology/approach: We measured morphological priming effects for derived and inflected German words. To ensure that priming effects were genuinely morphological, the design also contained semantic and orthographic control conditions. Data and analysis: 40 native speakers of German and 36 native Russian learners of L2 German participated in a masked-priming lexical-decision experiment. For both participant groups, priming effects for derived vs. inflected words were compared using linear mixed effects models. Findings/conclusions: While first language (L1) speakers showed similar facilitation effects for both derived and inflected primes, L2 speakers showed a difference between the two prime types, with robust priming effects only for derived, but not for inflected forms. Originality: Unlike in previous studies investigating derivation and inflection in L2 processing, priming effects for derived and inflected prime-target pairs were determined on the basis of the same target word, allowing for a direct comparison between the two morphological phenomena. In this respect, this is the first study to directly compare the processing of derived vs. inflected forms in L2 speakers. Significance/implications: The results are inconsistent with accounts predicting general L1/L2 differences for all types of morphologically complex forms as well as accounts assuming that L1 and L2 processing are based on the same mechanisms. We discuss theoretical implications for L2 processing mechanisms, and propose an explanation which can account for the data pattern.
KW  - Morphological processing
KW  - derivation
KW  - inflection
KW  - second language (L2) learners
KW  - masked priming
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006916688333
SN  - 1367-0069
SN  - 1756-6878
VL  - 22
IS  - 6
SP  - 619
EP  - 637
PB  - Sage Publ.
CY  - London
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Clahsen, Harald
A1  - Verissimo, Joao Marques
T1  - Investigating grammatical processing in bilinguals The case of morphological priming
JF  - Linguistic approaches to bilingualism
N2  - In this article we discuss methods for investigating grammatical processing in bilinguals. We will present a methodological approach that relies on: (i) linguistic theory (in our case, morphology) for the construction of experimental materials; (ii) a design that allows for direct (within-experiment, within-participant, and within-item) comparisons of the critical conditions; and (iii) data analysis techniques that make both linear and non-linear gradient effects visible. We review recent studies of masked morphological priming in bilinguals in which the application of these methodological principles revealed highly selective interactions of age of acquisition (and the native/non-native contrast) with the linguistic distinction between inflection and derivation. We believe that such considerations are not only relevant for grammatical processing experiments, but also for studying bilingualism, and its potential cognitive advantages, more generally.
KW  - Morphological priming
KW  - inflection
KW  - derivation
KW  - age of acquisition
KW  - critical period
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1075/lab.15039.cla
SN  - 1879-9264
SN  - 1879-9272
VL  - 6
SP  - 685
EP  - 698
PB  - John Benjamins Publishing Co.
CY  - Amsterdam
ER  -