The Neurophysiology of Language Processing Shapes the Evolution of Grammar: Evidence from Case Marking

Previous research on event-related potentials (ERPs) on second language processing has revealed a great degree of plasticity in brain mechanisms of adult language learners. Studies with natural and artificial languages show that the N400 as well as the P600 component appear in learners after sufficient training. The present experiment tests if and which ERP components in response to syntactic and thematic processes generalize to unfamiliar lexical material in adult language learners. Learners of a miniature version of Japanese were presented with correct and incorrect sentences, half of which contained an unfamiliar word in the crucial sentence position. Incorrect sentences were either case-marking violations or word category violations. When all words were familiar, case-marking violations elicited a biphasic N400—P600 pattern and word category violations led to an early negativity that was followed by a P600. When the case violation occurred on an unfamiliar noun, only a P600 was seen. Word category violations that involved unknown verbs led to an early negativity and only to a reduced P600. The results suggest a high degree of nativelikeness for the learners during processing of familiar sentences. Unfamiliar words seem to entail additional processing costs and specifically lead to difficulties in the domain of case processing.

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On the Difficulty of Translating Free-Order Case-Marking Languages

Transactions of the Association for Computational Linguistics ◽

10.1162/tacl_a_00424 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

pp. 1233-1248

Author(s):

Arianna Bisazza ◽

Ahmet Üstün ◽

Stephan Sportel

Keyword(s):

Language Processing ◽

Processing Technologies ◽

Neural Machine Translation ◽

Semantic Cues ◽

Verb Agreement ◽

Case Marking ◽

Order Case ◽

Fixed Order ◽

Free Order

Abstract Identifying factors that make certain languages harder to model than others is essential to reach language equality in future Natural Language Processing technologies. Free-order case-marking languages, such as Russian, Latin, or Tamil, have proved more challenging than fixed-order languages for the tasks of syntactic parsing and subject-verb agreement prediction. In this work, we investigate whether this class of languages is also more difficult to translate by state-of-the-art Neural Machine Translation (NMT) models. Using a variety of synthetic languages and a newly introduced translation challenge set, we find that word order flexibility in the source language only leads to a very small loss of NMT quality, even though the core verb arguments become impossible to disambiguate in sentences without semantic cues. The latter issue is indeed solved by the addition of case marking. However, in medium- and low-resource settings, the overall NMT quality of fixed-order languages remains unmatched.

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Language processing is not a race against time

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x15000692 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Giosuè Baggio ◽

Carmelo M. Vicario

Keyword(s):

Information Processing ◽

Human Brain ◽

Language Processing ◽

Cognitive Functions ◽

Memory Systems ◽

Language System ◽

Moderating Factors

AbstractWe agree with Christiansen & Chater (C&C) that language processing and acquisition are tightly constrained by the limits of sensory and memory systems. However, the human brain supports a range of cognitive functions that mitigate the effects of information processing bottlenecks. The language system is partly organised around these moderating factors, not just around restrictions on storage and computation.

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Cognitive Processing of Miscommunication in Interactive Listening: An Evaluation of Listener Indecision and Cognitive Effort

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00128 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-17

Author(s):

Jennifer M. Roche ◽

Arkady Zgonnikov ◽

Laura M. Morett

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Cognitive Processing ◽

Language Processing ◽

Cognitive Effort ◽

Mouse Tracking ◽

Computer Mouse ◽

Decision Making Processes ◽

Computer Mouse Tracking ◽

Listening Task ◽

Processing Effort

Purpose The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the social and cognitive underpinnings of miscommunication during an interactive listening task. Method An eye and computer mouse–tracking visual-world paradigm was used to investigate how a listener's cognitive effort (local and global) and decision-making processes were affected by a speaker's use of ambiguity that led to a miscommunication. Results Experiments 1 and 2 found that an environmental cue that made a miscommunication more or less salient impacted listener language processing effort (eye-tracking). Experiment 2 also indicated that listeners may develop different processing heuristics dependent upon the speaker's use of ambiguity that led to a miscommunication, exerting a significant impact on cognition and decision making. We also found that perspective-taking effort and decision-making complexity metrics (computer mouse tracking) predict language processing effort, indicating that instances of miscommunication produced cognitive consequences of indecision, thinking, and cognitive pull. Conclusion Together, these results indicate that listeners behave both reciprocally and adaptively when miscommunications occur, but the way they respond is largely dependent upon the type of ambiguity and how often it is produced by the speaker.

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