The role of constituent order and level of embedding in cross-linguistic structural priming

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
GUNNAR JACOB ◽  
KALLIOPI KATSIKA ◽  
NEILOUFAR FAMILY ◽  
SHANLEY E. M. ALLEN
Keyword(s):  
Priming Effect ◽  
Target Sentence ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Structural Priming ◽  
Tree Representation ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Hierarchical Tree ◽  
Constituent Order

In two cross-linguistic priming experiments with native German speakers of L2 English, we investigated the role of constituent order and level of embedding in cross-linguistic structural priming. In both experiments, significant priming effects emerged only if prime and target were similar with regard to constituent order and also situated on the same level of embedding. We discuss our results on the basis of two current theoretical accounts of cross-linguistic priming, and conclude that neither an account based on combinatorial nodes nor an account assuming that constituent order is directly responsible for the priming effect can fully explain our data pattern. We suggest an account that explains cross-linguistic priming through a hierarchical tree representation. This representation is computed during processing of the prime, and can influence the formulation of a target sentence only when the structural features specified in it are grammatically correct in the target sentence.

scholarly journals Lingering misinterpretation in native and nonnative sentence processing: Evidence from structural priming

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Hiroki Fujita ◽  
Ian Cunnings
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Target Sentence ◽  
Structural Priming ◽  
Correct Interpretation ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Accuracy Rates ◽  
Comprehension Accuracy

Abstract Native (L1) and nonnative (L2) speakers sometimes misinterpret temporarily ambiguous sentences like “When Mary dressed the baby laughed happily.” Recent studies suggest that the initially assigned misinterpretation (“Mary dressed the baby”) may persist even after disambiguation, and that L2 speakers may have particular difficulty discarding initial misinterpretations. The present study investigated whether L2 speakers are more persistent with misinterpretation compared with L1 speakers during sentence processing, using the structural priming and eye tracking while reading tasks. In the experiment, participants read prime followed by target sentences. Reading times revealed that unambiguous but not ambiguous prime sentences facilitated processing of the globally correct interpretation of ambiguous target sentences. However, this priming effect was only observed when the prime and target sentence shared the same verb. Comprehension accuracy rates were not significantly influenced by priming effects but did provide evidence of lingering misinterpretation. We did not find significant L1/L2 differences in either priming effects or persistence of misinterpretation. Together, these results suggest that initially assigned misinterpretations linger in both L1 and L2 readers during sentence processing and that L1 and L2 comprehension priming is strongly lexically mediated.

Cross-Structural Priming

2011 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maaike Loncke ◽  
Sébastien M. J. Van Laere ◽  
Timothy Desmet
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Relative Clause ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Target Sentence ◽  
Prepositional Phrase ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Structural Priming ◽  
Syntactic Structures

In this paper we show that attachment height (high vs. low attachment) of a modifier to a complex noun phrase (CNP; e.g., “the servant of the actress”), can be primed between dissimilar syntactic structures. In a sentence completion experiment, we found that the attachment height of a prepositional phrase (PP) in the prime sentence primed the attachment height of a relative clause (RC) in the target sentence. This cross-structural priming effect cannot be explained in terms of the priming of specific phrase-structure rules or even sequences of specific phrase-structure rules ( Scheepers, 2003 ), because the attachment of a PP to a CNP is generated by a different phrase-structure rule than the attachment of an RC. However, the present data suggest that the location at which the RC is attached to the CNP is mentally represented, independent of the specific phrase-structure rule that is attached, or by extension, that the abstract hierarchical configuration of the full CNP and the attached RC is represented ( Desmet & Declercq, 2006 ). This is the first demonstration of a cross-structural priming effect that cannot be captured by phrase-structure rules.

Using structural priming to test links between constructions: English caused-motion and resultative sentences inhibit each other

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias Ungerer
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Structural Priming ◽  
Similar Magnitude ◽  
Grammatical Knowledge ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Subsequent Processing ◽  
Cognitive Linguistic

Abstract Cognitive-linguistic theories commonly model speakers’ grammatical knowledge as a network of constructions related by a variety of associative links. The present study proposes that structural priming can provide psycholinguistic evidence of such links, and crucially, that the method can be extended to non-alternating constructions (i.e., constructions that differ in both form and meaning). In a comprehension priming experiment using the “maze” variant of self-paced reading, English caused-motion sentences were found to have an inhibitory effect by slowing down participants’ subsequent processing of resultatives, and vice versa, providing evidence that speakers store distinct but related representations for the constructions. Priming effects of a similar magnitude emerged in both directions, suggesting that the constructions are bidirectionally related, while not supporting previous claims about a metaphorical asymmetry between the patterns. Moreover, priming was only marginally affected when prime and target contained the same rather than different verbs, demonstrating that cross-constructional priming in comprehension can be observed in the absence of a “lexical boost”. The results raise questions for follow-up research on the role of inhibition in the grammatical network and the extension of structural priming to other types of constructional links.

scholarly journals Role of structural priming in contact-induced change: Subject pronoun expression in L1 Turkish by Turkish-Dutch bilinguals

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hande Sodacı ◽  
Ad Backus ◽  
Gerrit Jan Kootstra
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Structural Priming ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Null Subject ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Pronoun Use ◽  
Subject Pronoun ◽  
Null Pronoun ◽  
Cross Language

Subject pronoun expression has been extensively studied for effects of language contact, but it is fairly recent that these studies started including cross-language structural priming paradigms. The earlier studies on subject pronoun use in Turkish spoken by Turkish-Dutch bilinguals did not find any difference from monolingual speakers of Turkish but reported a few instances of unconventional use of subject pronouns, indicating the influence of Dutch on Turkish. This study aimed to determine whether structural priming may have a part in the unconventional variation observed in subject pronoun use in Turkish in contact with Dutch. Twenty-eight Turkish-Dutch bilinguals listened to short stories and responded to subsequently presented instructive sentences. These sentences were prime sentences, which contained either an overt or a null subject pronoun. Priming effects were investigated in monolingual and bilingual settings by presenting the stories in Turkish in the former and in Dutch in the latter. Results yielded a higher likelihood of using overt subject pronouns in the bilingual than in the monolingual setting following a prime sentence with an overt rather than a null pronoun. Our findings, which are based on a structure and a language that have not yet been studied much in relation to structural priming (i.e., subject pronoun use in Turkish), strengthen the empirical basis of how structural priming influences syntactic choices in language contact settings.

Cross-script L2-L1 noncognate translation priming in lexical decision depends on L2 proficiency: Evidence from Japanese–English bilinguals

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 1001-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIKO NAKAYAMA ◽  
KEISUKE IDA ◽  
STEPHEN J. LUPKER
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
L2 Proficiency ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Null Results ◽  
Translation Priming ◽  
Japanese English ◽  
Masked Translation Priming ◽  
Sense Model

Previous research with unbalanced, different-script bilinguals has typically produced null L2-L1 noncognate masked translation priming effects in lexical decision tasks (LDT). Two novel models of the bilingual mental lexicon have emerged to account for these null results: the episodic L2 hypothesis and the Sense model. In contrast, the BIA+ model predicts significant priming whenever bilinguals are sufficiently proficient in L2. Using Japanese–English bilinguals, the role of L2 proficiency in L2-L1 noncognate translation priming in an LDT was examined. In Experiments 1 and 2, significant priming effects were observed for highly proficient bilinguals. In contrast, in Experiment 3, less-proficient bilinguals produced a null priming effect. This pattern demonstrates that L2-L1 priming effects do arise in an LDT and those effects are modulated by L2 proficiency, consistent with the BIA+ model's expectations. The pattern can be also explained by the episodic L2 hypothesis, provided that certain modifications are made to its assumptions.

Mechanism of Action of C2H4 in Promoting the Germination of Cocklebur Seeds. II. The Role of C2H4 in the Enhancement of Priming Effects

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Yoshiyama ◽  
H Yajima ◽  
T Atsumi ◽  
Y Esashi
Keyword(s):  
Water Stress ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Seed Priming ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Acid Accumulation ◽  
Amino Acid Levels ◽  
Amino Acid Contents ◽  
Amino Acid Accumulation

In cocklebur (Xanthium pennsylvanicum Wallr.) seeds, the pre-exposure to water stress imposed by polyethylene glycol or mannitol (seed priming) increased osmotic pressure (OP) in cell saps and water extracts. Carbohydrates were the major components and soluble proteins also played a partial role as an osmoregulator in the primed seeds. C2H4, which was effective in stimulating the growth of both axial and cotyledonary tissues even under water-stressed conditions, changed the amino acid pool size regardless of water stress. This C2H4-induced amino acid accumulation also occurred under anoxic conditions. CO2 was capable of stimulating growth of axial tissues but it did not increase OP values or carbohydrate and amino acid contents. The effectiveness of seed primlng gradually declined with increasing duration of presoaking, but C2H4 prevented the reduction of the priming effect by effectively maintaining the amino acid levels. Thus, it is likely that C2H4 contributes to the enhancement of the priming effect by abundantly supplying amino acids.

scholarly journals The Nature of Affective Priming in Music and Speech

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1725-1741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Sophia Goerlich ◽  
Jurriaan Witteman ◽  
Niels O. Schiller ◽  
Vincent J. Van Heuven ◽  
André Aleman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Priming Effect ◽  
Time Window ◽  
Response Competition ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Affective Priming ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Visual Words ◽  
Speech Prosody ◽  
Response Dimension

The phenomenon of affective priming has caught scientific interest for over 30 years, yet the nature of the affective priming effect remains elusive. This study investigated the underlying mechanism of cross-modal affective priming and the influence of affective incongruence in music and speech on negativities in the N400 time-window. In Experiment 1, participants judged the valence of affective targets (affective categorization). We found that music and speech targets were evaluated faster when preceded by affectively congruent visual word primes, and vice versa. This affective priming effect was accompanied by a significantly larger N400-like effect following incongruent targets. In this experiment, both spreading of activation and response competition could underlie the affective priming effect. In Experiment 2, participants categorized the same affective targets based on nonaffective characteristics. However, as prime valence was irrelevant to the response dimension, affective priming effects could no longer be attributable to response competition. In Experiment 2, affective priming effects were observed neither at the behavioral nor electrophysiological level. The results of this study indicate that both affective music and speech prosody can prime the processing of visual words with emotional connotations, and vice versa. Affective incongruence seems to be associated with N400-like effects during evaluative categorization. The present data further suggest a role of response competition during the affective categorization of music, prosody, and words with emotional connotations.

Masked Translation Priming Effects With Highly Proficient Simultaneous Bilinguals

2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia ◽  
Manuel Perea ◽  
Manuel Carreiras
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Decision ◽  
Hierarchical Model ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Masked Priming ◽  
The Other ◽  
Memory Organization ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Bilingual Memory ◽  
Translation Priming ◽  
Masked Translation Priming

One essential issue for models of bilingual memory organization is to what degree the representation from one of the languages is shared with the other language. In this study, we examine whether there is a symmetrical translation priming effect with highly proficient, simultaneous bilinguals. We conducted a masked priming lexical decision experiment with cognate and noncognate translation equivalents. Results showed a significant masked translation priming effect for both cognates and noncognates, with a greater priming effect for cognates. Furthermore, the magnitude of the translation priming was similar in the two directions. Thus, highly fluent bilinguals do develop symmetrical between-language links, as predicted by the Revised Hierarchical model and the BIA+ model. We examine the implications of these results for models of bilingual memory.

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