Epistemic reasoning in pragmatic inferencing by non-native speakers: The case of scalar implicatures

Scalar implicatures involve inferring the use of a less informative term (e.g. some) to mean the negation of a more informative term (e.g. not all). A growing body of recent research on the derivation of scalar implicatures by adult second language (L2) learners shows that while they are successful in acquiring the knowledge of scalar implicatures, a property at the semantics–pragmatics interface, it remains controversial as to which mechanism, default or non-default, could account for L2 learners’ derivation of scalar implicatures. The present study used an online self-paced reading task to address this issue by examining the role of the speaker’s knowledge state in the interpretation of the existential quantifier some by Chinese-speaking learners of English in incremental sentence processing. Results showed that both L2 and native participants demonstrated comparable online sensitivity to the speaker’s knowledge state. Critically, when the scalar implicature was computed in situations where the speaker was more likely to know whether the statement with the stronger alternative was true, it gave rise to measurable reading latency, indicative of increased processing costs. We conclude by arguing that our findings are compatible with the context-driven models within the Gricean tradition.

Investigation of code-switching cost in conversation and self-paced reading tasks

Aims and objectives: Studies of code-switching (CS) in bilingual speakers using laboratory tasks have been equivocal on whether CS is cognitively demanding. The goal of this study was to examine time costs at the juncture of a CS in a more ecologically valid experimental paradigm. Methodology: English (L1)–French (L2) bilingual speakers performed two tasks. The primary experimental task was a novel paradigm that elicited voluntary code-switches in conversation with a bilingual interlocutor. A silent self-paced reading task was used to compare with a laboratory task with involuntary switches. Data and analysis: Intersyllabic durations (conversation task) and reading times (reading task) were analyzed. CS cost was the time difference between code-switches and matched non-switches. Cost-switching costs for each switch direction (English-to-French and French-to-English) and type of switch (alternations and insertions) were also compared. Findings: Code-switches in conversation were associated with a time cost, and the magnitude was comparable in both directions although speakers more frequently switched from French-to-English. In self-paced reading, switching costs were observed only for switches into the dominant language. Across both tasks, there were no differences in CS time cost between insertions and alternations. Originality: This study reports a novel measure of CS costs in conversation, intersyllabic duration, and provides a cross-task comparison in the same group of bilingual speakers to better inform theories of CS. Implications: Bilingual speakers experience a time cost when making voluntary switches in conversations. The symmetrical switch costs suggest that both languages have similar activation levels throughout the conversation, and the cognitive costs arise from the act of momentarily switching languages, irrespective of their dominance. In self-paced reading, cognitive costs arise from disturbing the status quo of relative activation-inhibition of each language adopted to perform the task. The comparable CS time cost for insertions and alternations suggests similar cognitive control and linguistic planning mechanisms for both types of switches.

EFL PHONOLOGY: A CASE STUDY OF ENGLISH FRICATIVE PRODUCTION BY INDONESIAN LEARNERS/FONOLOGI BAHASA INGGRIS SEBAGAI BAHASA ASING: STUDI KASUS PELAFALAN BUNYI GESER OLEH MAHASISWA INDONESIA

This study reports the difficulties 40 first-year Indonesian college students, majoring in English, had in pronouncing the English fricatives. The aim of this paper is, first, to reveal how these Indonesian EFL learners produced English fricatives, the order of difficulties, and the pronunciation constraints they experienced. The second aim is to identify the possible causes of the pronunciation difficulties. In collecting the data, two types of tasks were administered: a word-list-reading task (Task 1) and a sentence-list-reading task (Task 2). By using Wilcoxon based T-Test, it was revealed that there was a significant difference in the number of errors in Task 1 and Task 2. There was also an increase in errors in Task 2. The results show that the order of difficulties Indonesian learners had in producing fricative sounds (from the most to the least problematic) were: /v/, /ʃ/, /ð/, /θ/, /z/, /ʒ/, /f/, and /s/. It is likely that the influence of the challenging English spelling system played the most important role in the students’ errors. Other factors such as transfer of L1 and the developmental process also contributed to the errors. This research implies that teachers need to apply certain strategies to meet students’ needs. Keywords: English, fricative, Indonesian students, errors AbstrakPenelitian ini melaporkan kesulitan yang dialami mahasiswa tahun pertama Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris dalam melafalkan bunyi geser , urutan kesulitan dan kendala dalam pelafalan bunyi tersebut. Tujuan kedua penelitian ini adalah mengidentifikasi kemungkian sebab-sebab dari kesulitan ini. Dua jenis tugas diberikan kepada siswa untuk mengumpulkan data yaitu tugas membaca daftar kata (Tugas 1) dan tugas membaca daftar kalimat (Tugas 2). Berdasarkan hasil Uji T Wilcoxon terungkap bahwa terdapat perbedaan yang signifikan dari segi jumlah kesalahan dalam mengerjakan tugas I dan tugas 2. Juga terdapat peningkatan kesalahan dalam Tugas 2. Hasil-hasil ini memperlihatkan bahwa urutan kesulitan yang dialami mahasiswa Indonesia dalam melafalkan bunyi frikatif ( dari yang paling bermasalah hingga yang kurang bermasalah ) adalah : /v/, /ʃ/, /ð/, /θ/, /z/, /ʒ/, /f/, dan /s/. Ada kecenderungan bahwa sistem ejaan Bahasa Inggris yang rumit sangat besar pengaruhnya terhadap kesalahan-kesalahan yang dibuat oleh mahasiswa. Faktor-faktor lain seperti transfer dari BI dan proses perkembangan juga berkontribusi terhadap kesalahan-kesalahan tersebut. Implikasi penelitian ini adalah dosen atau guru dapat menerapkan strategi-srategi tertentu untuk memenuhi kebutuhan mahasiswa atau siswa. Kata kunci: bahasa Inggris, bunyi geser, mahasiswa Indonesia, kesalahan

Influence of road traffic noise peaks on reading task performance and disturbance in a laboratory context

The influence of fluctuating road traffic noise on perceived disturbance during a reading task as well as on performance, inside a living room with closed windows, is presented in this paper. Sixteen 2-min sound sequences were created combining two variables: the number of events (four levels varying from one to four car pass-bys) and the peak emergence above the background noise (four levels with a 5 dB(A) step) keeping limited variations of LAmax, 1s. The noise impact was evaluated through a reading task of texts synchronized with the sound sequences, for participants classified into fast or slow readers, and sensitive or non-sensitive to noise. The comprehension rate of the texts decreases as the background sound level increases. The reading speed decreases during the rising front of a peak, and goes back to its former regular reading speed during the descending front of the peak. This slowdown during the rising front reaches 14% for slow readers. The declared disturbance is higher for slow readers compared to fast readers, and higher for noise sensitive persons compared to non-sensitive persons. The influence of the acoustic indicators on the reading disturbance is very small compared to the influence of personal factors. There is even no influence of the number of events on this disturbance.

Holistic processing of faces and words predicts reading accuracy and speed in dyslexic readers

We compared the performance of dyslexic and typical readers on two perceptual tasks, the Vanderbilt Holistic Face Processing Task and the Holistic Word Processing Task. Both yield a metric of holistic processing that captures the extent to which participants automatically attend to information that is spatially nearby but irrelevant to the task at hand. Our results show, for the first time, that holistic processing of faces is comparable in dyslexic and typical readers but that dyslexic readers show greater holistic processing of words. Remarkably, we show that these metrics predict the performance of dyslexic readers on a standardized reading task, with more holistic processing in both tasks associated with higher accuracy and speed. In contrast, a more holistic style on the words task predicts less accurate reading of both words and pseudowords for typical readers. We discuss how these findings may guide our conceptualization of the visual deficit in dyslexia.

COLOUR FIDELITY AND ILLUMINANCE TRADE-OFF: TESTING LIGHTING VALUES

The higher the colour fidelity of a light source, the lower its luminous efficacy of radiation because the light source spectrum must deviate from V(λ) to deliver the higher fidelity. Two experiments probed the trade-off between energy efficiency and colour quality. Experiment 1 required participants to simultaneously view pairs of light sources differing in colour fidelity, at either a higher (346 lx) or lower (277 lx) illuminance. Participants performed a timed reading task and judged the colour appearance of the pair. There were no effects of illuminance, but larger colour fidelity differences between the light sources in the pair correlated with lower appearance judgements. Experiment 2 simulated the effect of light sources on defined reflectance spectra. The results showed that improvements of colour fidelity above what is often considered satisfactory can yield more satisfying illumination while using the same amount of power.

Learning positive social information reduces racial bias as indexed by N400 response

The present study used EEG/ERPs to detect the activation of implicit stereotypical representations associated to other-race (OR) people and the modulation of such activation through the previous presentation of positive vs. neutral social information. Electrophysiological signals were recorded in 40 Italian Caucasian participants, unaware of the overall study’s purpose. They were presented with 285 sentences that could either violate, non-violate (e.g., “the Roma girl was involved in a robbery) or be neutral with regard to stereotypical concepts concerning other-race people (e.g. Asians, Africans, Arabic). ERPs were time-locked to the terminal words. Prior to the sentence reading task, participants were exposed to a 10 minutes colourful video documentary. While the experimental group was presented a video containing images picturing other-race characters involved in “prestigious” activities that violated stereotypical negative assumptions (e.g. a black neurosurgeon leading a surgery team), the control group viewed a neutral documentary about flora and fauna. EEG signals were then recorded during the sentence reading task to explore whether the previous exposure to the experimental video could modulate the detection of incongruence in the sentences violating stereotypes, as marked by the N400 response. A fictitious task was adopted, consisted in detecting rare animal names. Indeed, only the control group showed a greater N400 response (350–550 ms) to words incongruent with ethnic stereotypes compared to congruent and neutral ones, thus suggesting the presence of a racial bias. No N400 response was found for the experimental group, suggesting a lack of negative expectation for OR individuals. The swLORETA inverse solution, performed on the prejudice-related N400 showed that the Inferior Temporal and the Superior and Middle Frontal Gyri were the strongest N400 intra-cortical sources. Regardless of the experimental manipulation, Congruent terminal words evoked a greater P300 response (500–600 ms) compared to incongruent and neutral ones and a late frontal positivity (650–800 ms) was found to be larger to sentences involving OR than own-race characters (either congruent or incongruent with the prejudice) thus possibly indicating bias-free perceptual in-group/out-group categorization processes. The data showed how it is possible to modulate a pre-existing racial prejudice (as reflected by N400 effect) through exposure to positive media-driven information about OR people. Further follow-up studies should determine the duration in time, and across contexts, of this modulatory effect.

Coping with syntactic complexity in English–Chinese sight translation by translation and interpreting students.

This study approaches syntactic complexity from a relative point of view and examines how translation and interpreting students cope with relative clauses and passive constructions, two exemplifications of syntactic complexity in English–Chinese sight translation. A group of students (N = 23) took part in the study. The study consisted of three parts: an English reading span test, a sight translation task, and a baseline reading task. During the sight translation task, the participants sight translated English sentences with different degrees of structural asymmetry into Chinese in the single sentence context and the discourse context. During the baseline reading task, they silently read the English sentences and answered the comprehension questions. The participants' eye movements in the sight translation and baseline reading tasks were recorded as indicators of cognitive load. Three major findings were generated: (1) Syntactic complexity resulted in a significant increase in cognitive load during the sight translation task. The syntactic aspects of the target language were activated during the initial stage of comprehension, which favoured the parallel view of translation. (2) Although sight translation became more time efficient due to wider contexts, a larger amount of contextual information did not make word-based processing less effortful, as indicated by more fixations and the longer regression path duration in the discourse context. (3) No correlations were found between reading span and cognitive load in addressing syntactical complexity.