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1. Comparing Single-Word Insertions and Multi-Word Alternations in Bilingual Speech: Insights from Pupillometry

   https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7040267  

   Johns, Michael A.; Dussias, Paola E. (December 2022, Languages)

   Prominent sociolinguistic theories of language mixing have posited that single-word insertions of one language into the other are the result of a distinct process than multi-word alternations between two languages given that the former overwhelmingly surface morphosyntactically integrated into the surrounding language. To date, this distinction has not been tested in comprehension. The present study makes use of pupillometry to examine the online processing of single-word insertions and multi-word alternations by highly proficient Spanish-English bilinguals in Puerto Rico. Participants heard sentences containing target noun/adjective pairs (1) in unilingual Spanish, (2) where the Spanish noun was replaced with its English translation equivalent, followed by a Spanish post-nominal adjective, and (3) where both the noun and adjective appeared in English with the adjective occurring in the English pre-nominal position. Both types of language mixing elicit larger pupillary responses when compared to unilingual Spanish speech, though the magnitude of this difference depends on the grammatical gender of the target noun. Importantly, single-word insertions and multi-word alternations did not differ from one another. Taken together, these findings suggest that morphosyntactic integration is not the defining feature of single-word insertions, at least in comprehension, and that the comprehension system is tuned to the distributional properties of bilingual speech. 

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2. Noisy-Channel Processing in Standard Arabic Relative Clauses

   Dodd, N; Boush, F; Leung, T; Ferreira, F; Morgan, E (July 2024, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society)

   This study investigates sentence processing in Standard Arabic (SA) by examining subject- and object-extracted relative clauses (SRCs and ORCs) through eye tracking. We test memory- and expectation-based theories of processing difficulty, and whether good-enough or noisy-channel processing leads to misinterpretations in ORCs. Our results find increased processing difficulty in ORCs, supporting expectation-based theories; however, this processing difficulty is not localized to the disambiguating region (relative clause verb) as predicted, but rather at the integration of the second noun phrase (relative clause NP). The findings support goodenough/noisy-channel processing theories, suggesting that readers may accept a noisy SRC interpretation of an ORC, and thus bypass integration costs at the RC NP. 

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3. Noisy-Channel Processing in Standard Arabic Relative Clauses

   Dodd, N; Boush, F; Leung, T; Ferreira, F; Morgan, E (July 2024, Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society)

   This study investigates sentence processing in Standard Arabic (SA) by examining subject- and object-extracted relative clauses (SRCs and ORCs) through eye tracking. We test memory- and expectation-based theories of processing difficulty, and whether good-enough or noisy-channel processing leads to misinterpretations in ORCs. Our results find increased processing difficulty in ORCs, supporting expectation-based theories; however, this processing difficulty is not localized to the disambiguating region (relative clause verb) as predicted, but rather at the integration of the second noun phrase (relative clause NP). The findings support goodenough/noisy-channel processing theories, suggesting that readers may accept a noisy SRC interpretation of an ORC, and thus bypass integration costs at the RC NP. 

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4. Generalized perceptual adaptation to second-language speech: Variability, similarity, and intelligibility

   https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0020914  

   Bradlow, Ann_R; Bassard, Adrianna_M; Paller, Ken_A (September 2023, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America)

   Recent work on perceptual learning for speech has suggested that while high-variability training typically results in generalization, low-variability exposure can sometimes be sufficient for cross-talker generalization. We tested predictions of a similarity-based account, according to which, generalization depends on training-test talker similarity rather than on exposure to variability. We compared perceptual adaptation to second-language (L2) speech following single- or multiple-talker training with a round-robin design in which four L2 English talkers from four different first-language (L1) backgrounds served as both training and test talkers. After exposure to 60 L2 English sentences in one training session, cross-talker/cross-accent generalization was possible (but not guaranteed) following either multiple- or single-talker training with variation across training-test talker pairings. Contrary to predictions of the similarity-based account, adaptation was not consistently better for identical than for mismatched training-test talker pairings, and generalization patterns were asymmetrical across training-test talker pairs. Acoustic analyses also revealed a dissociation between phonetic similarity and cross-talker/cross-accent generalization. Notably, variation in adaptation and generalization related to variation in training phase intelligibility. Together with prior evidence, these data suggest that perceptual learning for speech may benefit from some combination of exposure to talker variability, training-test similarity, and high training phase intelligibility. 

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5. Individual Chunking Ability Predicts Efficient or Shallow L2 Processing: Eye-Tracking Evidence From Multiword Units in Relative Clauses

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.607621  

   Pulido, Manuel F. (January 2021, Frontiers in Psychology)

   null (Ed.)

   Behavioral studies on language processing rely on the eye-mind assumption, which states that the time spent looking at text is an index of the time spent processing it. In most cases, relatively shorter reading times are interpreted as evidence of greater processing efficiency. However, previous evidence from L2 research indicates that non-native participants who present fast reading times are not always more efficient readers, but rather shallow parsers. Because earlier studies did not identify a reliable predictor of variability in L2 processing, such uncertainty around the interpretation of reading times introduces a potential confound that undermines the credibility and the conclusions of online measures of processing. The present study proposes that a recently developed modulator of online processing efficiency, namely, chunking ability, may account for the observed variability in L2 online reading performance. L1 English – L2 Spanish learners’ eye movements were analyzed during natural reading. Chunking ability was predictive of overall reading speed. Target relative clauses contained L2 Verb-Noun multiword units, which were manipulated with regards to their L1-L2 congruency. The results indicated that processing of the L1-L2 incongruent units was modulated by an interaction of L2 chunking ability and level of knowledge of multiword units. Critically, the data revealed an inverse U-shaped pattern, with faster reading times in both learners with the highest and the lowest chunking ability scores, suggesting fast integration in the former, and lack of integration in the latter. Additionally, the presence of significant differences between conditions was correlated with individual chunking ability. The findings point at chunking ability as a significant modulator of general L2 processing efficiency, and of cross-language differences in particular, and add clarity to the interpretation of variability in the online reading performance of non-native speakers. 

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