Morphological processing and individual frequency effects in L1 and L2 Spanish

Processing Route ◽

Decision Task ◽

Morphological Complexity ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Dual Route ◽

Complex Words ◽

Whole Word

Surface frequency and proficiency modulate visual morphological processing in second language (L2) learners, but less is known about auditory morphological processing. Moreover, working memory affects morphosyntactic processing, but it is unclear whether it also modulates word structure processing. In the present study, Spanish monolinguals and beginner and advanced L2 learners of Spanish completed an auditory lexical decision task in Spanish containing verbs varying in morphological complexity, an individual surface frequency task, and a working memory task. Beginner L2 learners needed more time to process infrequent morphologically complex words, but monolinguals and advanced L2 learners were unaffected by morphological complexity or surface frequency. Also, working memory did not modulate morphological processing. Taken together, the findings suggest a dual-route mechanism at initial stages of L2 acquisition and a whole-word route for Spanish monolinguals and advanced L2 learners. The findings also support the extension of dual-route models to L2 populations and suggest that the selection of a morphological processing route results from linguistic rather than cognitive reasons.

Second language processing of English past tense morphology: The role of working memory

IRAL - International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching ◽

10.1515/iral-2019-0005 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Filiz Rızaoğlu ◽

Ayşe Gürel

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Second Language ◽

Language Processing ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Masked Priming ◽

Target Language ◽

Past Tense ◽

L2 Learners

AbstractThis study examines, via a masked priming task, the processing of English regular and irregular past tense morphology in proficient second language (L2) learners and native speakers in relation to working memory capacity (WMC), as measured by the Automated Reading Span (ARSPAN) and Operation Span (AOSPAN) tasks. The findings revealed quantitative group differences in the form of slower reaction times (RTs) in the L2-English group. While no correlation was found between the morphological processing patterns and WMC in either group, there was a negative relationship between English and Turkish ARSPAN scores and the speed of word recognition in the L2 group. Overall, comparable decompositional processing patterns found in both groups suggest that, like native speakers, high-proficiency L2 learners are sensitive to the morphological structure of the target language.

Neurocognitive mechanisms for processing inflectional and derivational complexity in English

Psihologija ◽

10.2298/psi1304439b ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 46 (4) ◽

pp. 439-454 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mirjana Bozic ◽

William Marslen-Wilson

Keyword(s):

Lexical Access ◽

Language Processing ◽

Current Paper ◽

Present Evidence ◽

Morphological Complexity ◽

Fmri Study ◽

Complex Words ◽

Whole Word ◽

Processing Network

In the current paper we discuss the mechanisms that underlie the processing of inflectional and derivational complexity in English. We address this issue from a neurocognitive perspective and present evidence from a new fMRI study that the two types of morphological complexity engage the language processing network in different ways. The processing of inflectional complexity selectively activates a left-lateralised frontotemporal system, specialised for combinatorial grammatical computations, while derivational complexity primarily engages a distributed bilateral system, argued to support whole-word, stem based lexical access. We discuss the implications of our findings for theories of the processing and representation of morphologically complex words.

How word frequency affects morphological processing in monolinguals and bilinguals

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728903001147 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 213-225 ◽

Cited By ~ 64

Author(s):

MINNA LEHTONEN ◽

MATTI LAINE

Keyword(s):

High Frequency ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Decision Task ◽

Frequency Range ◽

Medium Frequency ◽

Word Forms ◽

Full Form ◽

Differential Pattern ◽

The present study investigated processing of morphologically complex words in three different frequency ranges in monolingual Finnish speakers and Finnish-Swedish bilinguals. By employing a visual lexical decision task, we found a differential pattern of results in monolinguals vs. bilinguals. Monolingual Finns seemed to process low frequency and medium frequency inflected Finnish nouns mostly by morpheme-based recognition but high frequency inflected nouns through full-form representations. In contrast, bilinguals demonstrated a processing delay for all inflections throughout the whole frequency range, suggesting decomposition for all inflected targets. This may reflect different amounts of exposure to the word forms in the two groups. Inflected word forms that are encountered very frequently will acquire full-form representations, which saves processing time. However, with the lower rates of exposure, which characterize bilingual individuals, full-form representations do not start to develop.

The time course of morphological processing in a second language

Second language Research ◽

10.1177/0267658312464970 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 29 (1) ◽

pp. 7-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Harald Clahsen ◽

Loay Balkhair ◽

John-Sebastian Schutter ◽

Ian Cunnings

Keyword(s):

Eye Movement ◽

Time Course ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Masked Priming ◽

Judgment Task ◽

Online Processing ◽

Movement Data ◽

L2 Learners ◽

We report findings from psycholinguistic experiments investigating the detailed timing of processing morphologically complex words by proficient adult second (L2) language learners of English in comparison to adult native (L1) speakers of English. The first study employed the masked priming technique to investigate - ed forms with a group of advanced Arabic-speaking learners of English. The results replicate previously found L1/L2 differences in morphological priming, even though in the present experiment an extra temporal delay was offered after the presentation of the prime words. The second study examined the timing of constraints against inflected forms inside derived words in English using the eye-movement monitoring technique and an additional acceptability judgment task with highly advanced Dutch L2 learners of English in comparison to adult L1 English controls. Whilst offline the L2 learners performed native-like, the eye-movement data showed that their online processing was not affected by the morphological constraint against regular plurals inside derived words in the same way as in native speakers. Taken together, these findings indicate that L2 learners are not just slower than native speakers in processing morphologically complex words, but that the L2 comprehension system employs real-time grammatical analysis (in this case, morphological information) less than the L1 system.

How Simple Complex Words Can Be: Morphological Processing and Word Representations

The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A ◽

10.1080/14640748808402282 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 41-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Marijke W. Bergman ◽

Patrick T. W. Hudson ◽

Paul A. T. M. Eling

Keyword(s):

Word Recognition ◽

Morphological Structure ◽

Error Rates ◽

Affect Recognition ◽

Simple Complex ◽

Morphological Complexity ◽

Complex Words ◽

Prefixed Words ◽

Do So

In four lexical decision experiments we studied the effect of morphological complexity on word recognition. Some potentially relevant linguistic aspects of derived nouns were varied: the location of the affix (prefix vs. suffix); the genuineness of the affix (real vs. pseudo); the orthographic legality of pseudo-stems; semantic compositionality; the nature of the stem (free vs. bound); the origin of the complex word (Latinate vs. Germanic); the currency of the stem (current vs. moribund). Furthermore, in the first two experiments, we systematically varied the proportion of complex and simple words to see whether strategies influence morphological effects on recognition times. Consistent with Taft's notion of affix stripping, pseudoprefixed words show longer mean decision times and higher error rates than truly prefixed words. Further, the prefixed and nonprefixed (but not pseudoprefixed) words are processed equally rapidly, indicating that a decompositional process is efficient. No differences were found, however, for suffixed, pseudosuffixed, and nonsuffixed words. There was no effect of the proportion of simple and complex words. There are some indications that the etymological origin of words may affect recognition times, but no other linguistic aspects of derivations do so. The results of the four experiments are interpreted as supporting a left-to-right process for word recognition in which morphemes are extracted automatically. During this process information encoded by morphological structure becomes available for other processes.

Lexical access in L2

The Mental Lexicon ◽

10.1075/ml.10.2.04coo ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 247-270 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Svetlana V. Cook ◽

Kira Gor

Keyword(s):

Lexical Access ◽

Interstimulus Interval ◽

Priming Effect ◽

Decision Task ◽

Phonological Priming ◽

Lexical Competition ◽

Advanced Learners ◽

Lexical Representations ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Whole Word

Previous research on phonological priming in a Lexical Decision Task (LDT) has demonstrated that second language (L2) learners do not show inhibition typical for native (L1) speakers that results from lexical competition, but rather a reversed effect – facilitation (Gor, Cook, & Jackson, 2010). The present study investigates the source of the reversed priming effect and addresses two possible causes: a deficit in lexical representations and a processing constraint. Twenty-three advanced learners of Russian participated in two experiments. The monolingual Russian LDT task with priming addressed the processing constraint by manipulating the interstimulus interval (ISI, 350 ms and 500 ms). The translation task evaluated the robustness of lexical representations at both the phonolexical level (whole-word phonological representation) and the level of form-to-meaning mapping, thereby addressing the lexical deficit. L2 learners did not benefit from an increased ISI, indicating lack of support for the processing constraint. However, the study, found evidence for the representational deficit: when L2 familiarity with the words is controlled and L2 representations are robust, L2 learners demonstrate native-like processing accompanied by inhibition; however, when the words have fragmented (or fuzzy) representations, L2 lexical access is unfaithful and is accompanied by reduced lexical competition leading to facilitation effects.

Morphological processing in L2 Italian

Lingvisticae Investigationes ◽

10.1075/li.37.2.09mas ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 322-337 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Serena Dal Maso ◽

Hélène Giraudo

Keyword(s):

Learning Process ◽

Native Speakers ◽

High Surface ◽

Masked Priming ◽

Priming Effects ◽

Morphological Priming ◽

L2 Learners ◽

L2 Learning ◽

The present paper explores the processing of morphologically complex words in L2 Italian by means of as series of masked priming experiments associated with a LDT. We manipulated deadjectival nominalizations in -ità (e.g. velocità < veloce) and in -ezza (e.g. bellezza < bello), that differ in terms of numerosity, productivity (Rainer, 2004) and on surface frequency. Morphological priming effects were evaluated relative to both orthographic and identity conditions and the data revealed significant morphological priming effects emerging for words ending with the most productive suffix (-ità) and having a high surface frequency in Italian. Our data on derivation suggest that similarly to native speakers, L2 learners are sensitive to morphological information, but they integrate it progressively through L2 learning process.

The processing of morphologically complex words in a specific speaker group

The Mental Lexicon ◽

10.1075/ml.11.2.06jac ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 308-328 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Gunnar Jacob ◽

Bilal Kırkıcı

Keyword(s):

Comparison Group ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Masked Priming ◽

Heritage Speakers ◽

Priming Effects ◽

Morphological Priming ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Complex Words ◽

Prime Target

The present study investigates to what extent morphological priming varies across different groups of native speakers of a language. In two masked-priming experiments, we investigate the processing of morphologically complex Turkish words in Turkish heritage speakers raised and living in Germany. Materials and experimental design were based on Kırkıcı and Clahsen’s (2013) study on morphological processing in Turkish native speakers and L2 learners, allowing for direct comparisons between the three groups. Experiment 1 investigated priming effects for morphologically related prime-target pairs. Heritage speakers showed a similar pattern of results as the L1 comparison group, with significant priming effects for prime-target pairs with inflected primes (e.g. ‘sorar-sor’ asks-ask) as well as for prime-target pairs with derived primes (e.g. ‘sağlık-sağ’ health-healthy). In Experiment 2, we measured priming effects for prime-target pairs which were semantically and morphologically unrelated, but only related with regard to orthographic overlap (e.g. ‘devre-dev’ period-giant). Unlike both L1 speakers raised in Turkey and highly proficient L2 learners, heritage speakers also showed significant priming effects in this condition. Our results suggest that heritage speakers differ from both native speakers and L2 learners in that they rely more on (orthographic) surface form properties of the stimulus during early stages of word recognition, at the expense of morphological decomposition.

Proficiency and working memory based explanations for nonnative speakers’ sensitivity to agreement in sentence processing

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s0142716411000890 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 615-646 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

CAITLIN E. COUGHLIN ◽

ANNIE TREMBLAY

Keyword(s):

Working Memory ◽

Sentence Processing ◽

Native English Speakers ◽

Judgment Task ◽

English Speakers ◽

Long Distance ◽

Number Agreement ◽

L2 Learners ◽

Acceptability Judgment

ABSTRACTThis study examines the roles of proficiency and working memory (WM) capacity in second-/foreign-language (L2) learners’ processing of agreement morphology. It investigates the processing of grammatical and ungrammatical short- and long-distance number agreement dependencies by native English speakers at two proficiencies in French, and the relationship between their proficiency and WM capacity in French and their sensitivity to agreement violations. Native English speakers at mid- and high proficiencies in French and native French speakers completed an acceptability judgment task, a self-paced reading task, and a WM task in French, and the English speakers also completed a WM task in English. The results showed that whereas all participants performed at ceiling on the acceptability judgment tasks, only the high-level L2 learners and native speakers showed some sensitivity to number agreement violations. For L2 learners, this sensitivity did not vary as a function of the length of the agreement dependency. The results also indicated that L2 learners tended to be more sensitive to agreement violations as their WM memory capacity in French increased. The implications of these results for theories of L2 morphological processing are discussed.

Effects of a morpheme-based training procedure on the literacy skills of readers with a reading disability

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s0142716420000120 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (5) ◽

pp. 1061-1082

Author(s):

Irit Bar-Kochva ◽

Sebastian Peter Korinth ◽

Marcus Hasselhorn

Keyword(s):

Word Processing ◽

Literacy Skills ◽

Decision Task ◽

Control Procedure ◽

Training Procedure ◽

Control Intervention ◽

General Improvement ◽

Written Word ◽

AbstractThe effect of a computerized morpheme-based training procedure on the reading and writing skills of reading-disabled participants (N = 30, mean age = 11.23 years, SD = 0.935) was examined. Considering that fast morphological analysis has been found to have a central role in written word processing of skilled readers, the following training was designed to enhance this process: it consisted of a visual lexical-decision task in which morphologically complex words were visually presented while the duration of the word-stems’ presentation was gradually restricted. A control intervention consisted of the same task, except that the duration of a nonmorphological unit’s presentation was manipulated. The children were divided into two groups: one underwent the morpheme-based intervention, and the other underwent the control intervention. The morpheme-based training procedure had a positive effect beyond that of the control procedure on the spelling of untrained word stems embedded in trained prefixes and suffixes. These results suggest a general improvement in retrieval of orthographic–morphological representations in spelling. Improvements in other measures could, however, not be ascribed to the morphological manipulation alone. These results emphasize the link between morphological processing and spelling. However, the morpheme-based training procedure appears to be less relevant to the improvement of reading.