Thai lexical tone perception in native speakers of Thai, English and Mandarin Chinese: An event-related potentials training study

Although anecdotally there appear to be differences in the way native speakers use and comprehend their native language, most empirical investigations of language processing study university students and none have studied differences in language proficiency, which may be independent of resource limitations such as working memory span. We examined differences in language proficiency in adult monolingual native speakers of English using an ERP paradigm. ERPs were recorded to insertion phrase structure violations in naturally spoken English sentences. Participants recruited from a wide spectrum of society were given standardized measures of English language proficiency, and two complementary ERP analyses were performed. In between-groups analyses, participants were divided on the basis of standardized proficiency scores into lower proficiency and higher proficiency groups. Compared with lower proficiency participants, higher proficiency participants showed an early anterior negativity that was more focal, both spatially and temporally, and a larger and more widely distributed positivity (P600) to violations. In correlational analyses, we used a wide spectrum of proficiency scores to examine the degree to which individual proficiency scores correlated with individual neural responses to syntactic violations in regions and time windows identified in the between-groups analyses. This approach also used partial correlation analyses to control for possible confounding variables. These analyses provided evidence for the effects of proficiency that converged with the between-groups analyses. These results suggest that adult monolingual native speakers of English who vary in language proficiency differ in the recruitment of syntactic processes that are hypothesized to be at least in part automatic as well as of those thought to be more controlled. These results also suggest that to fully characterize neural organization for language in native speakers it is necessary to include participants of varying proficiency.

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Prediction and integration in native and second-language processing of elliptical structures

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728914000844 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 1-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

EDITH KAAN ◽

JOSEPH KIRKHAM ◽

FRANK WIJNEN

Keyword(s):

Language Processing ◽

Sentence Processing ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Syntactic Analysis ◽

Second Language Processing ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Frontal Negativity ◽

Related Potentials

According to recent views of L2-sentence processing, L2-speakers do not predict upcoming information to the same extent as do native speakers. To investigate L2-speakers’ predictive use and integration of syntactic information across clauses, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) from advanced L2-learners and native speakers while they read sentences in which the syntactic context did or did not allow noun-ellipsis (Lau, E., Stroud, C., Plesch, S., & Phillips, C. (2006). The role of structural prediction in rapid syntactic analysis. Brain and Language, 98, 74–88.) Both native and L2-speakers were sensitive to the context when integrating words after the potential ellipsis-site. However, native, but not L2-speakers, anticipated the ellipsis, as suggested by an ERP difference between elliptical and non-elliptical contexts preceding the potential ellipsis-site. In addition, L2-learners displayed a late frontal negativity for ungrammaticalities, suggesting differences in repair strategies or resources compared with native speakers.

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Language background affects online word order processing in a second language but not offline

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728918000573 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 22 (04) ◽

pp. 802-825 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

ANNIKA ANDERSSON ◽

SUSAN SAYEHLI ◽

MARIANNE GULLBERG

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Word Order ◽

English Learners ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Language Background ◽

Order Processing ◽

Online Processing ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Crosslinguistic Influence

This study examines possible crosslinguistic influence on basic word order processing in a second language (L2). Targeting Swedish V2 word order we investigate adult German learners (+V2 in the L1) and English learners (-V2 in the L1) of Swedish who are matched for proficiency. We report results from two offline behavioural tasks (written production, metalinguistic judgements), and online processing as measured by event-related potentials (ERPs). All groups showed sensitivity to word order violations behaviourally and neurocognitively. Behaviourally, the learners differed from the native speakers only on judgements. Crucially, they did not differ from each other. Neurocognitively, all groups showed a similar increased centro-parietal P600 ERP-effect, but German learners (+V2) displayed more nativelike anterior ERP-effects than English learners (-V2). The results suggest crosslinguistic influence in that the presence of a similar word order in the L1 can facilitate online processing in an L2 – even if no offline behavioural effects are discerned.

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The investigation of lexical tone perception in Mandarin Chinese with different spectral resolution: An event-related potential (ERP) study

International Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.06.257 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 77 (3) ◽

pp. 328-328

Author(s):

Yu-ching Kuo ◽

Shih-kuen Cheng

Keyword(s):

Mandarin Chinese ◽

Spectral Resolution ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Lexical Tone ◽

Tone Perception

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Syntactic and semantic processing of passive BEI sentences in Mandarin Chinese: evidence from event-related potentials

Neuroreport ◽

10.1097/wnr.0000000000001507 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 (13) ◽

pp. 979-984

Author(s):

Tao Zeng ◽

Yuxi Li ◽

Mingjun Wu

Keyword(s):

Mandarin Chinese ◽

Semantic Processing ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Related Potentials

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The Impact of Proficiency on Syntactic Second-language Processing of German and Italian: Evidence from Event-related Potentials

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn.2006.18.12.2030 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 18 (12) ◽

pp. 2030-2048 ◽

Cited By ~ 175

Author(s):

Sonja Rossi ◽

Manfred F. Gugler ◽

Angela D. Friederici ◽

Anja Hahne

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Language Processing ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Word Category ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Anterior Negativity ◽

The Impact

The present study investigated the role of proficiency in late second-language (L2) processing using comparable stimuli in German and Italian. Both sets of stimuli consisted of simple active sentences including a word category violation, a morphosyntactic agreement violation, or a combination of the two. Four experiments were conducted to study high- and low-proficiency L2 learners of German as well as high- and low-proficiency L2 learners of Italian. High-proficiency L2 learners in both languages showed the same event-related potential (ERP) components as native speakers for all syntactic violations. For the word category violation, they displayed an early anterior negativity (ELAN), an additional negativity reflecting reference-related processes, and a late P600 evidencing processes of reanalysis. For the processing of the morphosyntactic error, an anterior negativity (LAN) and a P600 were observed, whereas for the combined violation, the same ERP components were found as in the pure category violation. In high-proficiency L2 learners, the timing of the processing steps was equivalent to that of native speakers, although some amplitude differences were present. Low-proficiency L2 learners, however, showed qualitative differences in the agreement violation characterized by the absence of the LAN and quantitative differences reflected in a delayed P600 in every violation condition. These findings emphasize that with a high proficiency, late L2 learners can indeed show native-like neural responses with the timing approximating that of native speakers. This challenges the idea that there are fundamental differences in language processing in the brain between natives and late L2 learners.

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EXAMINING THE CONTRIBUTION OF MARKEDNESS TO THE L2 PROCESSING OF SPANISH PERSON AGREEMENT

Studies in Second Language Acquisition ◽

10.1017/s0272263120000479 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-30

Author(s):

José Alemán Bañón ◽

David Miller ◽

Jason Rothman

Keyword(s):

Native Speakers ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

First Person ◽

Top Down ◽

Advanced Learners ◽

L2 Processing ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Third Person ◽

English Speaking ◽

Person Agreement

Abstract We used event‑related potentials to investigate how markedness impacts person agreement in English‑speaking learners of L2‑Spanish. Markedness was examined by probing agreement with both first‑person (marked) and third‑person (unmarked) subjects. Agreement was manipulated by crossing first‑person subjects with third‑person verbs and vice versa. Native speakers showed a P600 for both errors, larger for “first‑person subject + third‑person verb” violations. This aligns with claims that, when the first element in the dependency is marked (first person), the parser generates stronger predictions regarding upcoming agreeing elements using feature activation. Twenty‑two upper‑intermediate/advanced learners elicited a P600 across both errors. Learners were equally accurate detecting both errors, but the P600 was marginally reduced for “first‑person subject + third‑person verb” violations, suggesting that learners overused unmarked forms (third person) online. However, this asymmetry mainly characterized lower‑proficiency learners. Results suggest that markedness impacts L2 agreement without constraining it, although learners are less likely to use marked features top‑down.

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Processing Aspectual Agreement in an Inflexionless Language: An ERP Study of Mandarin Chinese

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11091236 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 1236

Author(s):

Yuxin Hao ◽

Xun Duan ◽

Lu Zhang

Keyword(s):

Mandarin Chinese ◽

Semantic Processing ◽

Event Related Potentials ◽

Syntactic Processing ◽

Progressive Aspect ◽

Lexical Aspect ◽

Related Potentials ◽

Aspect Marker ◽

Aspect Markers

This is a study of the collocation of Chinese verbs with different lexical aspects and aspect markers. Using event-related potentials (ERPs), we explored the processing of aspect violation sentences. In the experiment, we combined verbs of various lexical aspect types with the progressive aspect marker zhe, and the combination of the achievement verbs and the progressive aspect marker zhe constituted the sentence’s aspect violation. The participants needed to judge whether a sentence was correct after it was presented. Finally, we observed and analyzed the components of ERPs. The results suggest that when the collocation of aspect markers and lexical aspect is ungrammatical, the N400-like and P600 are elicited on aspect markers, while the late AN is elicited by the word after the aspect marker. P600 and N400-like show that the collocation of Chinese verbs with various lexical aspects and aspect markers involve not only syntactic processing, but also the semantic processing; and the late AN may have been due to the syntax revision and the conclusion at the end of sentences.

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