Investigating variability in morphological processing with Bayesian distributional models

Time Variability ◽

Response Distribution ◽

Large Variability ◽

Morphological Priming ◽

We investigated the processing of morphologically complex words adopting an approach that goes beyond estimating average effects and allows testing predictions about variability in performance. We tested masked morphological priming effects with English derived (‘printer’) and inflected (‘printed’) forms priming their stems (‘print’) in non-native speakers, a population that is characterized by large variability. We modelled reaction times with a shifted-lognormal distribution using Bayesian distributional models, which allow assessing effects of experimental manipulations on both the mean of the response distribution (‘mu’) and its standard deviation (‘sigma’). Our results show similar effects on mean response times for inflected and derived primes, but a difference between the two on the sigma of the distribution, with inflectional priming increasing response time variability to a significantly larger extent than derivational priming. This is in line with previous research on non-native processing, which shows more variable results across studies for the processing of inflected forms than for derived forms. More generally, our study shows that treating variability in performance as a direct object of investigation can crucially inform models of language processing, by disentangling effects which would otherwise be indistinguishable. We therefore emphasise the importance of looking beyond average performance and testing predictions on other parameters of the distribution rather than just its central tendency.

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.

Preserved morphological processing in heritage speakers: A masked priming study on Turkish

Second language Research ◽

10.1177/0267658318764535 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 173-194 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Gunnar Jacob ◽

Duygu Fatma Şafak ◽

Orhan Demir ◽

Bilal Kırkıcı

Keyword(s):

Native Speakers ◽

Masked Priming ◽

Control Group ◽

Heritage Speakers ◽

Priming Effects ◽

Orthographic Similarity ◽

Morphological Priming ◽

Complex Words ◽

Processing Mechanisms

In a masked morphological priming experiment, we compared the processing of derived and inflected morphologically complex Turkish words in heritage speakers of Turkish living in Berlin and in native speakers of Turkish raised and living in Turkey. The results show significant derivational and inflectional priming effects of a similar magnitude in the heritage group and the control group. For both participant groups, semantic and orthographic control conditions indicate that these priming effects are genuinely morphological in nature, and cannot be due to semantic or orthographic similarity between prime and target. These results suggest that morphological processing in heritage speakers is based on the same fundamental processing mechanisms as in prototypical native speakers. We conclude that heritage speakers, despite the fact that they have acquired the language in a particular setting and were exposed to a relatively limited amount of input, can nevertheless develop native-like processing mechanisms for complex words.

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.

Letter transpositions and morphemic boundaries in the second language processing of derived words: An exploratory study of individual differences

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s0142716420000673 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

pp. 417-446

Author(s):

Hasibe Kahraman ◽

Bilal Kırkıcı

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Language Processing ◽

Exploratory Study ◽

Reading Proficiency ◽

Individual Variability ◽

Group Level ◽

Priming Effects ◽

Second Language Processing ◽

Morphological Priming

AbstractResearch into nonnative (L2) morphological processing has produced largely conflicting findings. To contribute to the discussions surrounding the contradictory findings in the literature, we examined L2 morphological priming effects along with a transposed-letter (TL) methodology. Critically, we also explored the potential effects of individual differences in the reading networks of L2 speakers using a test battery of reading proficiency. A masked primed lexical decision experiment was carried out in which the same target (e.g., ALLOW) was preceded by a morphological prime (allowable), a TL-within prime (allwoable), an substituted letter (SL)-within prime (allveable), a TL-across prime (alloawble), an SL-across prime (alloimble), or an unrelated prime (believable). The average data yielded morphological priming but no significant TL priming. However, the results of an exploratory analysis of the potential effects of individual differences suggested that individual variability mediated the group-level priming patterns in L2 speakers. TL-within and TL-across priming effects were obtained only when the performance of participants on nonword reading was considered, while the magnitude of the morphological priming effects diminished as the knowledge of vocabulary expanded. The results highlight the importance of considering individual differences while testing L2 populations.

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.

Processing of inflected nouns in late bilinguals

Applied Psycholinguistics ◽

10.1017/s014271640607007x ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 135-156 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

MARJA PORTIN ◽

MINNA LEHTONEN ◽

MATTI LAINE

Keyword(s):

Language Proficiency ◽

High Frequency ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Error Rates ◽

Decision Task ◽

Full Form ◽

Late Exposure ◽

This study investigated the recognition of Swedish inflected nouns in two participant groups. Both groups were Finnish-speaking late learners of Swedish, but the groups differed in regard to their Swedish language proficiency. In a visual lexical decision task, inflected Swedish nouns from three frequency ranges were contrasted with corresponding monomorphemic nouns. The reaction times and error rates suggested morphological decomposition for low-frequency inflected words. Yet, both medium- and high-frequency inflected words appeared to possess full-form representations. Despite an overall advantage for the more proficient participants, this pattern was present in both groups. The results indicate that even late exposure to a language can yield such input representations for morphologically complex words that are typical of native speakers.

Semantic transparency affects morphological priming . . . eventually

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1080/17470218.2017.1310915 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 71 (5) ◽

pp. 1112-1124 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Vera Heyer ◽

Dana Kornishova

Keyword(s):

Time Course ◽

Semantic Information ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Masked Priming ◽

Stimulus Onset ◽

Semantic Transparency ◽

Psycholinguistic Research ◽

Priming Effects ◽

Morphological Priming ◽

Semantic transparency has been in the focus of psycholinguistic research for decades, with the controversy about the time course of the application of morpho-semantic information during the processing of morphologically complex words not yet resolved. This study reports two masked priming studies with English - ness and Russian - ost’ nominalisations, investigating how semantic transparency modulates native speakers’ morphological priming effects at short and long stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). In both languages, we found increased morphological priming for nominalisations at the transparent end of the scale (e.g. paleness – pale) in comparison to items at the opaque end of the scale (e.g. business – busy) but only at longer prime durations. The present findings are in line with models that posit an initial phase of morpho-orthographic (semantically blind) decomposition.

Processing of Spanish Preterite Regular and Irregular Verbs: The Role of Neighborhood Density

The Spanish Journal of Psychology ◽

10.5209/rev_sjop.2012.v15.n1.37282 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 35-47 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Eva Rodríguez-González

Keyword(s):

Language Processing ◽

Word Processing ◽

Native Speakers ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Naming Task ◽

Phonological Similarity ◽

Neighborhood Density ◽

Inflectional Morphology ◽

Irregular Verbs

Research into lexical processes shows that frequency and phonological similarity (neighborhood density) affect word processing and retrieval. Previous studies on inflectional morphology have examined the influence of frequency of occurrence in speech production on the inflectional verb paradigm in English. Limited work has been done to examine the influence of phonological similarity in languages with a more complex morphological system than English. The present study examined the influence of neighborhood density on the processing of Spanish Preterite regular and irregular verbs as produced by thirty native speakers of Spanish. The results of a naming task showed that regular verbs were processed faster and more accurately than irregular ones. Similar to what has been observed in English, a facilitative effect of neighborhood density for –ir verbs was observed in both regular and irregular verbs, such that –ir verbs with dense neighborhoods were produced faster and more accurately than –ir verbs with sparse neighborhoods. However, no neighborhood density effects were observed for –ar verbs (regular and irregular) in reaction times and accuracy rates. Thus, the activation of a specific –ir verb was facilitated by similar sounding verbs regardless of being regular and irregular. Implications for models of morphology language processing are discussed.

Dissociating morphological and form priming with novel complex word primes

The Mental Lexicon ◽

10.1075/ml.10.3.05fio ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 413-434 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Robert Fiorentino ◽

Stephen Politzer-Ahles ◽

Natalie S. Pak ◽

María Teresa Martínez-García ◽

Caitlin Coughlin

Keyword(s):

Critical Role ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Masked Priming ◽

Priming Effects ◽

Lexical Status ◽

Morphological Priming ◽

Novel Complex ◽

Complex Words ◽

Orthographic Priming

Recent research suggests that visually-presented words are initially morphologically segmented whenever the letter-string can be exhaustively assigned to existing morphological representations, but not when an exhaustive parse is unavailable; e.g., priming is observed for both hunter → HUNT and brother → BROTH, but not for brothel → BROTH. Few studies have investigated whether this pattern extends to novel complex words, and the results to date (all from novel suffixed words) are mixed. In the current study, we examine whether novel compounds (drugrack → RACK) yield morphological priming which is dissociable from that in novel pseudoembedded words (slegrack → RACK). Using masked priming, we find significant and comparable priming in reaction times for word-final elements of both novel compounds and novel pseudoembedded words. Using overt priming, however, we find greater priming effects (in both reaction times and N400 amplitudes) for novel compounds compared to novel pseudoembedded words. These results are consistent with models assuming across-the-board activation of putative constituents, while also suggesting that morpheme activation may persevere despite the lack of an exhaustive morpheme-based parse when an exhaustive monomorphemic analysis is also unavailable. These findings highlight the critical role of the lexical status of the pseudoembedded prime in dissociating morphological and orthographic priming.