TY - JOUR A1 - Cunnings, Ian A1 - Patterson, Clare A1 - Felser, Claudia T1 - Variable binding and coreference in sentence comprehension: Evidence from eye movements JF - Journal of memory and language KW - Pronoun resolution KW - Eye movements KW - Reading KW - Memory retrieval Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2013.10.001 SN - 0749-596X SN - 1096-0821 VL - 71 SP - 39 EP - 56 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Felser, Claudia A1 - Cunnings, Ian A1 - Batterham, Claire A1 - Clahsen, Harald T1 - The timing of Island effects in nonnative sentence processing JF - Studies in second language acquisition N2 - Using the eye-movement monitoring technique in two reading comprehension experiments, this study investigated the timing of constraints on wh-dependencies (so-called island constraints) in first- and second-language (L1 and L2) sentence processing. The results show that both L1 and L2 speakers of English are sensitive to extraction islands during processing, suggesting that memory storage limitations affect L1 and L2 comprehenders in essentially the same way. Furthermore, these results show that the timing of island effects in L1 compared to L2 sentence comprehension is affected differently by the type of cue (semantic fit versus filled gaps) signaling whether dependency formation is possible at a potential gap site. Even though L1 English speakers showed immediate sensitivity to filled gaps but not to lack of semantic fit, proficient German-speaking learners of English as a L2 showed the opposite sensitivity pattern. This indicates that initial wh-dependency formation in L2 processing is based on semantic feature matching rather than being structurally mediated as in L1 comprehension. KW - trace positions KW - empty categories KW - garden-paths KW - 2nd-language KW - grammar KW - dependencies KW - plausibility KW - constraints KW - english KW - comprehension Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263111000507 SN - 0272-2631 VL - 34 IS - 1 SP - 67 EP - 98 PB - Cambridge University Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - GEN A1 - Felser, Claudia A1 - Cunnings, Ian A1 - Batterham, Claire A1 - Clahsen, Harald T1 - The timing of island effects in nonnative sentence processing T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Using the eye-movement monitoring technique in two reading comprehension experiments, this study investigated the timing of constraints on wh-dependencies (so-called island constraints) in first- and second-language (L1 and L2) sentence processing. The results show that both L1 and L2 speakers of English are sensitive to extraction islands during processing, suggesting that memory storage limitations affect L1 and L2 comprehenders in essentially the same way. Furthermore, these results show that the timing of island effects in L1 compared to L2 sentence comprehension is affected differently by the type of cue (semantic fit versus filled gaps) signaling whether dependency formation is possible at a potential gap site. Even though L1 English speakers showed immediate sensitivity to filled gaps but not to lack of semantic fit, proficient German-speaking learners of English as a L2 showed the opposite sensitivity pattern. This indicates that initial wh-dependency formation in L2 processing is based on semantic feature matching rather than being structurally mediated as in L1 comprehension. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 526 KW - trace positions KW - empty categories KW - garden-paths KW - 2nd-language KW - grammar KW - dependencies KW - plausibility KW - constraints KW - english KW - comprehension Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-415179 SN - 1866-8364 EP - 526 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lago, Sol A1 - Garcia, Anna Stutter A1 - Felser, Claudia T1 - The role of native and non-native grammars in the comprehension of possessive pronouns JF - Second language research N2 - Previous studies have shown that multilingual speakers are influenced by their native (L1) and non-native (L2) grammars when learning a new language. But, so far, these studies have mostly used untimed metalinguistic tasks. Here we examine whether multilinguals’ prior grammars also affect their sensitivity to morphosyntactic constraints during processing. We use speeded judgment and self-paced reading tasks to examine the comprehension of German possessive pronouns. To investigate whether native and non-native grammars differentially affect participants’ performance, we compare two groups of non-native German speakers with inverse L1–L2 distributions: a group with L1 Spanish – L2 English, and a group with L1 English – L2 Spanish. We show that the reading profiles of both groups are modulated by their L1 grammar, with L2 proficiency selectively affecting participants’ judgment accuracy but not their reading times. We propose that reading comprehension is mainly influenced by multilinguals’ native grammar, but that knowledge of an L2 grammar can further increase sensitivity to morphosyntactic violations in an additional language. KW - comprehension KW - English KW - gender agreement KW - German KW - multilingualism KW - Spanish Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658318770491 SN - 0267-6583 SN - 1477-0326 VL - 35 IS - 3 SP - 319 EP - 349 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Patterson, Clare A1 - Trompelt, Helena A1 - Felser, Claudia T1 - The online application of binding condition B in native and non-native pronoun resolution JF - Frontiers in psychology KW - pronoun resolution KW - binding KW - sentence processing KW - eye-movement monitoring KW - bilingualism KW - English Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00147 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 5 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Patterson, Clare A1 - Esaulova, Yulia A1 - Felser, Claudia T1 - The impact of focus on pronoun resolution in native and non-native sentence comprehension JF - Second language research KW - clefts KW - discourse-level cues KW - focus KW - focus-sensitive particles KW - information structure KW - non-native speakers KW - pronoun resolution Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/0267658317697786 SN - 0267-6583 SN - 1477-0326 VL - 33 SP - 403 EP - 429 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cunnings, Ian A1 - Patterson, Clare A1 - Felser, Claudia T1 - Structural constraints on pronoun binding and coreference: evidence from eye movements during reading JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - 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. KW - pronoun resolution KW - memory retrieval KW - quantification KW - eye movements KW - reading KW - English Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00840 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 6 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Felser, Claudia A1 - Patterson, Clare A1 - Cunnings, Ian T1 - Structural constraints on pronoun binding and coreference: Evidence from eye movements during reading JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - 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. KW - pronoun resolution KW - memory retrieval KW - quantification KW - eye movements KW - reading KW - English Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00840 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 6 IS - 840 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Felser, Claudia A1 - Patterson, Clare A1 - Cunnings, Ian T1 - Structural constraints on pronoun binding and coreference: Evidence from eye movements during reading T2 - Frontiers in psychology N2 - 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. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 277 KW - pronoun resolution KW - memory retrieval KW - quantification KW - eye movements KW - reading KW - English Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78650 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gerth, Sabrina A1 - Otto, Constanze A1 - Felser, Claudia A1 - Nam, Yunju T1 - Strength of garden-path effects in native and non-native speakers’ processing of object-subject ambiguities JF - International journal of bilingualism : cross-disciplinary, cross-linguistic studies of language behavior N2 - Aims and objectives: Our study addresses the following research questions: To what extent is L2 comprehenders’ online sensitivity to morphosyntactic disambiguation cues affected by L1 background? Does noticing the error signal trigger successful reanalysis in both L1 and L2 comprehension? Can previous findings suggesting that case is a better reanalysis cue than agreement be replicated and extended to L2 processing when using closely matched materials? Design/methodology/approach: We carried out a self-paced reading study using temporarily ambiguous object-initial sentences in German. These were disambiguated either by number marking on the verb or by nominative case marking on the subject. End-of-trial comprehension questions probed whether or not our participants ultimately succeeded in computing the correct interpretation. Data and analysis: We tested a total of 121 participants (25 Italian, 32 Russian, 32 Korean and 32 native German speakers), measuring their word-by-word reading times and comprehension accuracy. The data were analysed using linear mixed-effects and logistic regression modelling. Findings/conclusions: All three learner groups showed online sensitivity to both case and agreement disambiguation cues. Noticing case disambiguations did not necessarily lead to a correct interpretation, whereas noticing agreement disambiguations did. We conclude that intermediate to advanced learners are sensitive to morphosyntactic interpretation cues during online processing regardless of whether or not corresponding grammatical distinctions exist in their L1. Our results also suggest that case is not generally a better reanalysis cue than agreement. Significance/implications: L1 influence on L2 processing is more limited than might be expected. Contra previous findings, even intermediate learners show sensitivity to both agreement and case information during processing. KW - Ambiguity resolution KW - second language processing KW - self-paced-reading KW - case KW - agreement KW - German Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006915604401 SN - 1367-0069 SN - 1756-6878 VL - 21 SP - 125 EP - 144 PB - Sage Publ. CY - London ER -