Can a microwave heat up coffee? How English- and Japanese-speaking children choose subjects in lexical causative sentences

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 993-1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUNKO KANERO ◽  
KATHY HIRSH-PASEK ◽  
ROBERTA MICHNICK GOLINKOFF
Keyword(s):  
Good Description ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Lexical Causative ◽  
Microwave Heat ◽  
Native Tongue

AbstractLanguages differ greatly in how they express causal events. In languages like Japanese, the subjects of causative sentences, or causers, are generally animate and intentional, whereas in other languages like English, causers range widely from animate beings to inanimate objects (e.g. Wolff, Jeon & Li, 2009). This paper explores when children learn to represent cause in their native tongue and how this learning occurs over the course of development. English- and Japanese-speaking preschoolers watched animations that were caused by (i) humans acting intentionally, (ii) humans acting accidentally, (iii) objects that generate energy (e.g. a machine), and (iv) objects that do not generate energy (e.g. a tool). Children were then asked to choose a good description of the event between two options. At age three, English- and Japanese-speaking children performed the task in similar ways, attending only to the intention of causal agents; however, at age four, speakers of the two languages diverged. English speakers were more likely to accept energy-generating objects such as machines as the subject of a lexical causative sentence than Japanese speakers.

English and Japanese interlanguage comprehension strategies: An analysis based on the competition model

1991 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshinori Sasaki
Keyword(s):  
First Language ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Word ◽  
Competition Model ◽  
Comprehension Strategies ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Response Patterns ◽  
Native Japanese Speakers ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Japanese Word

ABSTRACTIn an experiment based on the competition model, 12 native Japanese speakers (J1 group) and 12 native English speakers studying Japanese (JFL group) were requested to report sentence subjects after listening to Japanese word strings which consisted of one verb and two nouns each. Similarly, 12 native English speakers (E1 group) and 12 native Japanese speakers studying English (EFL group) reported the sentence subjects of English word strings. In each word string, syntactic (word order) cues and lexical-semantic (animacy/inanimacy) cues converged or diverged as to the assignment of the sentence subjects. The results show that JFL-Ss (experimental subjects) closely approximated the response patterns of J1-Ss, while EFL-Ss showed evidence of transfer from their first language, Japanese. The results are consistent with the developmental precedence of a meaning-based comprehension strategy over a grammar-based one.

scholarly journals THE PRODUCTION OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT AMONG SWEDISH AND CHINESE SECOND LANGUAGE SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 907-921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie N. Jackson ◽  
Elizabeth Mormer ◽  
Laurel Brehm
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Completion ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Second Language Speakers ◽  
L2 Production ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Verb Number ◽  
L1 English

AbstractThis study uses a sentence completion task with Swedish and Chinese L2 English speakers to investigate how L1 morphosyntax and L2 proficiency influence L2 English subject-verb agreement production. Chinese has limited nominal and verbal number morphology, while Swedish has robust noun phrase (NP) morphology but does not number-mark verbs. Results showed that like L1 English speakers, both L2 groups used grammatical and conceptual number to produce subject-verb agreement. However, only L1 Chinese speakers—and less-proficient speakers in both L2 groups—were similarly influenced by grammatical and conceptual number when producing the subject NP. These findings demonstrate how L2 proficiency, perhaps combined with cross-linguistic differences, influence L2 production and underscore that encoding of noun and verb number are not independent.

scholarly journals Age Estimation in Foreign-accented Speech by Native and Non-native Speakers

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-183
Author(s):  
Ksenia Gnevsheva ◽  
Daniel Bürkle
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Age Estimation ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
First Language ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Accented Speech ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Language Familiarity ◽  
Accented English

Current research shows that listeners are generally accurate at estimating speakers’ age from their speech. This study investigates the effect of speaker first language and the role played by such speaker characteristics as fundamental frequency and speech rate. In this study English and Japanese first language speakers listened to English- and Japanese-accented English speech and estimated the speaker’s age. We find the highest correlation between real and estimated speaker age for English listeners listening to English speakers, followed by Japanese listeners listening to both English and Japanese speakers, with English listeners listening to Japanese speakers coming last. We find that Japanese speakers are estimated to be younger than the English speakers by English listeners, and that both groups of listeners estimate male speakers and speakers with a lower mean fundamental frequency to be older. These results suggest that listeners rely on sociolinguistic information in their speaker age estimations and language familiarity plays a role in their success.

Material and presentation condition effects on sentence interpretation task performance: methodological examinations of the competition experiment

1997 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshinori Sasaki
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Lexical Semantics ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
Competition Experiment ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Native Japanese Speakers ◽  
Presentation Condition ◽  
Japanese Word ◽  
The Subject

Ten native English learners of Japanese, ten intermediate native English learners of Japanese and ten native Japanese speakers of English each were requested to report what they thought was the subject or actor of a series of English NVN word strings, in which case marking and lexical-semantics cues were systematically manipulated. These NVN strings were aurally presented first alone, and subsequently the same strings were presented for the second time together with noncanonical NNV and VNN strings. Similarly, their counterpart Japanese NNV strings were first presented alone, and secondly with noncanonical VNN and NVN strings. The results revealed that 1) a greater animacy effect (‘animacy noun as a subject’ bias) was detected when the sentence verb was see rather than eat(or each of their Japanese counterparts); 2) English accusative pronouns generally created greater case biases than nominative ones; and 3) native English speakers interpreting Japanese word strings responded differently under the two presentation conditions.

Japanese learners’ acquisition of English manner-of-motion verbs with locational/directional PPs

2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shunji Inagaki
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Motion Verbs ◽  
Directed Motion ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Positive Evidence ◽  
Japanese Learners Of English ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Japanese Learners

This study investigated first language (L1) influence on second language (L2) argument structure in a situation where an L2 argument structure forms a superset of its L1 counterpart. In such a situation, a partial fit between the L1 and the L2 may trigger L1 transfer, whereas availability of positive evidence may allow the learner to arrive at the L2 grammar (White, 1991b). This study tested these predictions by investigating whether Japanese speakers can recognize the directional reading of English manner-of-motion verbs ( walk, swim) with locational/directional PPs ( under, behind), such as John swam under the bridge, where under the bridge can be either the goal of John’s swimming (directional) or the location of John’s swimming (locational). By contrast, their Japanese counterparts allow only a locational reading, as Japanese is more restricted than English in allowing only directed motion verbs ( go) to appear with a phrase expressing a goal. Thirty-five intermediate Japanese learners of English and 23 English speakers were tested using a picture-matching task. Results show that, unlike English speakers, Japanese speakers consistently failed to recognize a directional reading. I suggest that positive evidence need not only be available but also be frequent and clear in order to be used by L2 learners to broaden their interlanguage grammar.

scholarly journals The Effect of Chinese Proficiency on Determining Temporal Adverb Position by Native Japanese Speakers Learning Chinese

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katsuo Tamaoka ◽  
Jingyi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Judgment Task ◽  
Prepositional Phrase ◽  
Chinese Speakers ◽  
Native Japanese Speakers ◽  
Natural Position ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Entire Sentence ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Temporal Adverbs

The present study aimed to investigate how native Japanese speakers learning Chinese choose preferred positions for temporal adverbs depending on their level of Chinese proficiency. A naturalness judgment task conducted on native Chinese speakers showed that the most natural position for Chinese temporal adverbs was before the subject and that placement after the locative prepositional phrase was incorrect. The same task applied to native Japanese speakers found the most natural position for Japanese temporal adverbs was also before the subject. Further, when they appear at the beginning of a sentence, they provide the time for the entire sentence. Accordingly, temporal topicalization appears to influence naturalness decisions by both native Chinese and Japanese speakers. A point of difference was that in Japanese, a temporal adverb placed after a locative prepositional phrase was judged to be acceptable. When the same task was given to native Japanese speakers learning Chinese divided into three Chinese proficiency level groups, placement before the subject was the most preferred by the higher Chinese proficiency group. In addition, placement after the locative prepositional phrase was unfavored by them while the same position was frequently selected by the lower level group. As Chinese proficiency increases it appears that the preferred temporal adverb position is before the subject and the placement after the locative prepositional is judged to be unnatural. Thus, a sense of suitable temporal adverb positions in Chinese is influenced by the level of Chinese proficiency of native Japanese speakers.

scholarly journals Verbs of falling in English language: corpus data and typology

2020 ◽  
Vol XVI (1) ◽  
pp. 115-151
Author(s):  
O. Vinogradova ◽  
◽  
A. Viklova ◽  
K. Pospelova ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Written Production ◽  
Scope Of Application ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Corpus Data ◽  
Language Corpus

The paper presents the results of the studies carried over the group of English verbs with the meaning of falling. The research goals included classification of the lexical meanings, both direct and metaphorical, rendered by those verbs, on the basis of the analysis of the components of the situations put together in the special questionnaire. This was carried out together with native speakers of English, after which the collected set of examples was verified and expanded with searches in the big corpora of English speakers’ oral and written production available at the SketchEngine platform. Besides being a great source of extracting lexical meanings, Sketch Engine also provided the data and the statistics for the analysis of collocational behaviour of the verbs in question used with different subjects of falling. The scope of application of the umbrella verb fall and the distribution between it and its two rivals — drop and fall down — was in focus of the three corresponding sections in the paper, while the range of peripheral verbs of falling with all the comparative analysis of their lexical features formed one more section. Separately from the verbs conveying the direct meanings of falling, metaphoric shifts in the meanings of these verbs made up the content of section 6. Based on the findings presented in the previous sections, the conclusions regarding the concept of falling in English are discussed in the last part of the paper. The research confirmed that the verb fall is by far the most widely used in various contexts of falling. Whether used alone or combined with adverbial or prepositional particles, it covers the overwhelming majority of meanings of falling, both literal and metaphorical. Although drop proved to be the most frequent synonym of fall, there is a distribution of meanings between the two related to the nature of the subject and the intentionality of the action. As shown in the paper, the choice between fall and fall down appears to be determined by the trajectory of the fall and whether the typical position of the subject is vertical or not. Likewise, the distribution between fall off and fall down is conditioned by the trajectory, with the surface mentioned with the latter. Among the various peripheral verbs of falling, come and go — the most general verbs of movement — are also used in combination with down in specific cases of falling.

Expressing evolution in Pokémon names: Experimental explorations

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigeto Kawahara ◽  
Gakuji Kumagai
Keyword(s):  
Sound Symbolism ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Natural Languages ◽  
Japanese Speakers ◽  
Phonological Length ◽  
The Way

AbstractThere has been a growing interest in sound symbolic patterns in natural languages, in which some sounds are associated with particular meanings. Previous corpus-based research identified some specific sound symbolic relationships in Pokémon naming patterns in Japanese (Kawahara et al. 2018b). One of the main findings was that the names of Pokémon characters are more likely to contain voiced obstruents, and are longer in terms of mora count, when the Pokémon characters undergo evolution (e.g.nyoromo→nyorozo; poppo→pijotto). The current study reports three experiments that test whether (i) these patterns are productive in the minds of general Japanese speakers, and whether (ii) the same tendency holds with English speakers. The results show that the effect of phonological length was clearly observed both with Japanese and English speakers; the effects of voiced obstruents were observed clearly with Japanese speakers, but less clearly with English speakers. Along the way, we address other general issues related to sound symbolism: (iii) to what extent the sound symbolic effects identified in Kawahara et al. (2018b) rely on familiarity with Pokémon, and (iv) whether word-initial segments invoke stronger images than word-internal segments. In addition to its research value, we emphasize that this general project on Pokémon names can be useful for undergraduate phonetics education.

Engaging Students Through Connection to Individual Experience

2020 ◽  
pp. 223-234
Author(s):  
Betsy Dasenko
Keyword(s):  
Life Experiences ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Individual Experience ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Student Trust ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Student Competencies

Connecting English speakers of other language (ESOL) learning to individual experiences leads to increased student competencies. Through the building of teacher/student trust and relationships by valuing individual life experiences, competencies increase. When students feel that they are valued members of the academic community, they become vested in their learning process leading to increased attendance, scores on assignments, and higher overall grades. This is accomplished by intentional professional separation. In addition, coaching students to use inclusive non-judgmental language will also help to increase competencies. The research question (Will students who have prior experience with a topic have a greater increase in competencies?) attempts to shine light on these thoughts. Students reflecting on the subject matter and attempting to make connections to topics or curriculum also increases competencies. Also, students whose individual experiences connect with the curriculum will have increased competencies.

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