Scalar implicatures in a signed language

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Davidson
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Native Signers

This paper tests the calculation of scalar implicatures in American Sign Language (ASL) in one of the first experimental pragmatic studies in the manual/visual modality. Both native signers of ASL and native speakers of English participated in an automated Felicity Judgment Task to compare implicatures based on two traditional scales as well as “ad hoc” scales in their respective languages. Results show that native signers of ASL calculate scalar implicatures based on a prototypical scale <all, some> in ASL in the same pattern as native speakers of English, within the same experimental paradigm. There are similarly high rates of exact interpretations of numbers <three, two> in ASL as in English, despite the iconicity of the numerals in ASL. Finally, an ad hoc scale was tested showing fewer implicatures in English than on the conventionalized scales. In ASL, there was a trend toward increased implicatures on the ad hoc scale which made use of the unique ability of ASL to convey spatial information using the classifier system. Taken together, these results show that conventionalized scales in ASL have the same semantic/pragmatic scalar properties as in spoken languages, although in non-conventionalized scales the inclusion of additional information such as spatial location may affect pragmatic interpretation.

scholarly journals Emerging ASL Distinctions in Sign-Speech Bilinguals' Signs and Co-speech Gestures in Placement Descriptions

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Therese Frederiksen
Keyword(s):  
Adult Learners ◽  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Group Placement

Previous work on placement expressions (e.g., “she put the cup on the table”) has demonstrated cross-linguistic differences in the specificity of placement expressions in the native language (L1), with some languages preferring more general, widely applicable expressions and others preferring more specific expressions based on more fine-grained distinctions. Research on second language (L2) acquisition of an additional spoken language has shown that learning the appropriate L2 placement distinctions poses a challenge for adult learners whose L2 semantic representations can be non-target like and have fuzzy boundaries. Unknown is whether similar effects apply to learners acquiring a L2 in a different sensory-motor modality, e.g., hearing learners of a sign language. Placement verbs in signed languages tend to be highly iconic and to exhibit transparent semantic boundaries. This may facilitate acquisition of signed placement verbs. In addition, little is known about how exposure to different semantic boundaries in placement events in a typologically different language affects lexical semantic meaning in the L1. In this study, we examined placement event descriptions (in American Sign Language (ASL) and English) in hearing L2 learners of ASL who were native speakers of English. L2 signers' ASL placement descriptions looked similar to those of two Deaf, native ASL signer controls, suggesting that the iconicity and transparency of placement distinctions in the visual modality may facilitate L2 acquisition. Nevertheless, L2 signers used a wider range of handshapes in ASL and used them less appropriately, indicating that fuzzy semantic boundaries occur in cross-modal L2 acquisition as well. In addition, while the L2 signers' English verbal expressions were not different from those of a non-signing control group, placement distinctions expressed in co-speech gesture were marginally more ASL-like for L2 signers, suggesting that exposure to different semantic boundaries can cause changes to how placement is conceptualized in the L1 as well.

scholarly journals The unexplored role of handshape similarity in processing numbers on the hands

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-171
Author(s):  
Ilaria Berteletti ◽  
SaraBeth J. Sullivan ◽  
Lucas Lancaster
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
American Sign ◽  
Numerical Information ◽  
Finger Counting ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Native Signers ◽  
The Relationship

With two simple experiments we investigate the overlooked influence of handshape similarity for processing numerical information conveyed on the hands. In most finger-counting sequences there is a tight relationship between the number of fingers raised and the numerical value represented. This creates a possible confound where numbers closer to each other are also represented by handshapes that are more similar. By using the American Sign Language (ASL) number signs we are able to dissociate between the two variables orthogonally. First, we test the effect of handshape similarity in a same/different judgment task in a group of hearing non-signers and then test the interference of handshape in a number judgment task in a group of native ASL signers. Our results show an effect of handshape similarity and its interaction with numerical value even in the group of native signers for whom these handshapes are linguistic symbols and not a learning tool for acquiring numerical concepts. Because prior studies have never considered handshape similarity, these results open new directions for understanding the relationship between finger-based counting, internal hand representations and numerical proficiency.

L1 transfer, proficiency, and the recognition of L2 verb-noun collocations: A perspective from three languages

2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Senyung Lee
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
English Only ◽  
Mixed Effects Modeling ◽  
L1 Influence ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This study investigated the effect of first language (L1) transfer in the recognition of second language (L2) collocations and unacceptable word combinations across low-intermediate to advanced learners of English, and the relationship between proficiency and the recognition of L2 collocations. The study targeted learners from two different L1 backgrounds and native speakers of English in order to disentangle the effect of L1 transfer from the effect of intralingual factors. Four types of English verb-noun combinations were included: English-Korean-Mandarin, English-only, Korean-only, and Mandarin-only phrases. A phrase acceptability judgment task and a phrase recognition report were used. The performances of 92 participants were analyzed using mixed effects modeling. The results from both Korean and Mandarin groups revealed no L1 influence in the recognition of unacceptable L2 word combinations, even at low levels of proficiency. The results also showed that L2 proficiency predicts learners’ ability to rule out grammatical-but-unacceptable L2 word combinations, but not the ability to recognize L2 collocations

Timed versus untimed recognition of L2 collocations: Does estimated proficiency modulate congruency effects?

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 1197-1222
Author(s):  
Suhad Sonbul ◽  
Dina El-Dakhs
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Translation ◽  
First Language ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Mixed Effects Modeling ◽  
Native Speakers Of English

AbstractCongruency (the availability of a direct first language translation) and level of proficiency have been reported among the most important determinants of second language collocation processing. However, only very few studies looked at the interaction between the two determinants, and none of these directly compared untimed collocation recognition assessed through traditional tests to timed recognition evident in psycholinguistic tasks. The current study administered both types of form recognition measures to 228 female Saudi English as a foreign language learners in two separate experiments: a traditional multiple-choice test (Experiment 1) and a timed acceptability judgment task (Experiment 2). Experiment 2 also tested 37 native speakers of English as a baseline for comparison. Congruency, estimated proficiency (vocabulary test scores), and the interaction between the two were evaluated as predictors of untimed and timed recognition through mixed-effects modeling. Results showed that congruency and estimated proficiency had a clear effect on untimed and timed recognition. More interesting, the effect of proficiency was clearer on timed recognition with a gradual decrease in the first language effect as proficiency increased getting closer to nativelike collocation processing. Results have implications for second language collocation learning and testing.

Native and non-native processing of English wh- questions: Parsing strategies and plausibility constraints

2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN N. WILLIAMS ◽  
PETER MÖBIUS ◽  
CHOONKYONG KIM
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Garden Path ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
On Line ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Pencil And Paper ◽  
Second Language Performance ◽  
Korean Learners

The two experiments reported here investigated the processing of English wh- questions by native speakers of English and advanced Chinese, German, and Korean learners of English as a second language. Performance was evaluated in relation to parsing strategies and sensitivity to plausibility constraints. In an on-line plausibility judgment task, both native and non-native speakers behaved in similar ways. All groups postulated a gap at the first position consistent with the grammar, as predicted by the filler-driven strategy and as shown by garden path or filled-gap effects that were induced when the hypothesized gap location turned out to be incorrect. In addition, all subjects interpreted the plausibility of the filler-gap dependency, as shown by a reduction in the garden path effect when the initial analysis was implausible. However, the native speakers' reading profiles showed evidence of a more immediate effect of plausibility than those of the non-native speakers, suggesting that they initiated reanalysis earlier when the first analysis was implausible. Experiment 2 showed that the non-native speakers had difficulty canceling a plausible gap hypothesis even in an off-line (pencil and paper) task, whereas for the native speakers there was no evidence that the sentences caused difficulty in this situation. The results suggest that native and non-native speakers employ similar strategies in immediate on-line processing and hence are garden-pathed in similar ways, but they differ in their ability to recover from misanalysis.

scholarly journals The Biology of Linguistic Expression Impacts Neural Correlates for Spatial Language

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Emmorey ◽  
Stephen McCullough ◽  
Sonya Mehta ◽  
Laura L. B. Ponto ◽  
Thomas J. Grabowski
Keyword(s):  
American Sign Language ◽  
Sign Language ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Spatial Language ◽  
Inferior Temporal Cortex ◽  
Object Type ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
Native Signers

Biological differences between signed and spoken languages may be most evident in the expression of spatial information. PET was used to investigate the neural substrates supporting the production of spatial language in American Sign Language as expressed by classifier constructions, in which handshape indicates object type and the location/motion of the hand iconically depicts the location/motion of a referent object. Deaf native signers performed a picture description task in which they overtly named objects or produced classifier constructions that varied in location, motion, or object type. In contrast to the expression of location and motion, the production of both lexical signs and object type classifier morphemes engaged left inferior frontal cortex and left inferior temporal cortex, supporting the hypothesis that unlike the location and motion components of a classifier construction, classifier handshapes are categorical morphemes that are retrieved via left hemisphere language regions. In addition, lexical signs engaged the anterior temporal lobes to a greater extent than classifier constructions, which we suggest reflects increased semantic processing required to name individual objects compared with simply indicating the type of object. Both location and motion classifier constructions engaged bilateral superior parietal cortex, with some evidence that the expression of static locations differentially engaged the left intraparietal sulcus. We argue that bilateral parietal activation reflects the biological underpinnings of sign language. To express spatial information, signers must transform visual–spatial representations into a body-centered reference frame and reach toward target locations within signing space.

Scalar and ad-hoc pragmatic inferences in children: guess which one is easier

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Francesca FOPPOLO ◽  
Greta MAZZAGGIO ◽  
Francesca PANZERI ◽  
Luca SURIAN
Keyword(s):  
Mental State ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Selection Task ◽  
Scalar Implicatures ◽  
Value Judgment ◽  
Truth Value

Abstract Several studies investigated preschoolers’ ability to compute scalar and ad-hoc implicatures, but only one compared children's performance with both kinds of implicature with the same task, a picture selection task. In Experiment 1 (N = 58, age: 4;2-6;0), we first show that the truth value judgment task, traditionally employed to investigate children's pragmatic ability, prompts a rate of pragmatic responses comparable to the picture selection task. In Experiment 2 (N = 141, age: 3;8-9;2) we used the picture selection task to compare scalar and ad-hoc implicatures and linked the ability to derive these implicatures to some cognitive and linguistic measures. We found that four- and five-year-olds children performed better on ad-hoc than on scalar implicatures. Furthermore, we found that morphosyntactic competence was associated with success in both kinds of implicatures, while performance on mental state reasoning was positively associated with success on scalar but not ad-hoc implicatures.

scholarly journals Wh-Islands in L2 Spanish and L2 English: A Poverty of the Stimulus and Data Assessment

2018 ◽  
pp. 435-471
Author(s):  
Iván Ortega-Santos ◽  
Lara Reglero ◽  
Jon Andoni Franco Elorza
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Replication Studies ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Data Assessment ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
L2 Spanish ◽  
L1 And L2

This paper sheds light on the acquisition of wh-islands in L2 English spoken by native speakers of Spanish and L2 Spanish spoken by native speakers of English as well as on the distribution of wh-islands in L1 Spanish. A grammaticality judgment task with a 7-point Likert scale provides evidence that wh-island effects are present in L1 and L2 Spanish as well as L1 and L2 English. The L1 Spanish facts challenge the received view of wh-islands in this language, in keeping with recent developments which show that islands are more widely attested across languages than previously thought. These facts also highlight the dialogue between L2 research and replication studies thanks to the use of native control groups.

scholarly journals Selective transfer in the acquisition of English double object constructions by Brazilian learners

2013 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 519-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Júlia Vidigal Zara ◽  
Fernando Luiz Pereira de Oliveira ◽  
Ricardo Augusto de Souza
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
Brazilian Portuguese ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Double Object ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Acceptability Judgment ◽  
Do So

The present study investigates the acquisition of the English double object constructions (GOLDBERG, 1995) by Brazilian learners. We hypothesize that, due to first language (L1) influences, the prepositional ditransitive construction (John gave a book to Mary) will be acquired earlier, while the ditransitive construction (John gave Mary a book) will be part of the learner's interlanguages (SELINKER, 1972) only at the advanced level of proficiency. We also hypothesize that learners may transfer (ODLIN, 1989) the placement of the object pronoun in pre-verbal position from their L1 to their interlanguage in early stages of acquisition (João me deu um livro / *John me gave a book). We test our hypotheses by comparing the performance of three groups of learners (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) and native speakers of English on an acceptability judgment task used as a measure of learnability and generalization. Results confirm the order of acquisition of the English double object constructions predicted for native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese. Moreover, results suggest that, although mother tongue influences may have taken place, they do not do so pervasively, but rather selectively, corroborating the proposal by Kellerman (1983).

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