1
|
Qian L, Cheng Y, Zhao Y. Use of Linguistic Complexity in Writing Among Chinese EFL Learners in High-Stakes Tests: Insights From a Corpus of TOEFL iBT. Front Psychol 2021; 12:765983. [PMID: 34777173 PMCID: PMC8585517 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.765983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In studies on second language writing, linguistic complexity exhibited by learners has long been regarded as being indicative of writing proficiency. However, there are relatively scant studies focusing on the diversity and structural elaboration of complexity in L2 production data that are extracted from high-stakes tests [such as Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and International English Language Testing System (IELTS)]. Using a large-scale learner corpus collected from a TOEFL (internet-based test (iBT), this study aims to explore the extent to which the three dimensions of linguistic complexity, syntactic, lexical, and morphological complexity, are associated with human scoring in high-stakes tests. In addition, we also tend to tap into within-genre topic effects on the production of complexity measures by learners. To this end, a total of 1,002 writing samples were collected from a TOEFL11 corpus, and six automated-coding instruments were used to investigate the variations of complexity among Chinese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. The results from the correlation analysis, multiple linear regression, and independent sample t-tests indicated that there was not a linear correlation between the majority of linguistic complexity and human-rated score levels and that proficiency among Chinese EFL learners did not signal a discriminative power in their language production. In the meantime, strong within-proficiency topic effects were found on the majority of measures in the syntactic, lexical, and morphological dimensions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Leyi Qian
- School of Foreign Studies, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
| | - Yan Cheng
- School of Foreign Studies, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
| | - Yali Zhao
- School of Foreign Studies, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Gleichgerrcht E, Roth R, Fridriksson J, den Ouden D, Delgaizo J, Stark B, Hickok G, Rorden C, Wilmskoetter J, Hillis A, Bonilha L. Neural bases of elements of syntax during speech production in patients with aphasia. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2021; 222:105025. [PMID: 34555689 PMCID: PMC8546356 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2021.105025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2020] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The ability to string together words into a structured arrangement capable of conveying nuanced information is key to speech production. The assessment of the neural bases for structuring sentences has been challenged by the need of experts to delineate the aberrant morphosyntactic structures in aphasic speech. Most studies have relied on focused tasks with limited ecological validity. We characterized syntactic complexity during connected speech produced by patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia. We automated this process by employing Natural Language Processing (NLP). We conducted voxel-based and connectome-based lesion-symptom mapping to identify brain regions crucially associated with sentence production and syntactic complexity. Posterior-inferior aspects of left frontal and parietal lobes, as well as white matter tracts connecting these areas, were essential for syntactic complexity, particularly the posterior inferior frontal gyrus. These findings suggest that sentence structuring during word production depends on the integrity of Broca's area and the dorsal stream of language processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Rebecca Roth
- Department of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Julius Fridriksson
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Dirk den Ouden
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - John Delgaizo
- Department of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Brielle Stark
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Gregory Hickok
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Chris Rorden
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Janina Wilmskoetter
- Department of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Argye Hillis
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Leonardo Bonilha
- Department of Neurology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Lopopolo A, van den Bosch A, Petersson KM, Willems RM. Distinguishing Syntactic Operations in the Brain: Dependency and Phrase-Structure Parsing. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2021; 2:152-175. [PMID: 37213416 PMCID: PMC10174354 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Finding the structure of a sentence-the way its words hold together to convey meaning-is a fundamental step in language comprehension. Several brain regions, including the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left posterior superior temporal gyrus, and the left anterior temporal pole, are supposed to support this operation. The exact role of these areas is nonetheless still debated. In this paper we investigate the hypothesis that different brain regions could be sensitive to different kinds of syntactic computations. We compare the fit of phrase-structure and dependency structure descriptors to activity in brain areas using fMRI. Our results show a division between areas with regard to the type of structure computed, with the left anterior temporal pole and left inferior frontal gyrus favouring dependency structures and left posterior superior temporal gyrus favouring phrase structures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Antal van den Bosch
- Meertens Institute, Royal Netherlands Academy of Science and Arts, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Roel M. Willems
- Center for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Alyahya RSW, Halai AD, Conroy P, Lambon Ralph MA. The behavioural patterns and neural correlates of concrete and abstract verb processing in aphasia: A novel verb semantic battery. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2017; 17:811-825. [PMID: 29619318 PMCID: PMC5883238 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2017] [Revised: 11/21/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Typically, processing is more accurate and efficient for concrete than abstract concepts in both healthy adults and individuals with aphasia. While, concreteness effects have been thoroughly documented with respect to noun processing, other words classes have received little attention despite tending to be less concrete than nouns. The aim of the current study was to explore concrete-abstract differences in verbs and identify their neural correlates in post-stroke aphasia. Given the dearth of comprehension tests for verbs, a battery of neuropsychological tests was developed in this study to assess the comprehension of concrete and abstract verbs. Specifically, a sensitive verb synonym judgment test was generated that varied both the items' imageability and frequency, and a picture-to-word matching test with numerous concrete verbs. Normative data were then collected and the tests were administered to a cohort of 48 individuals with chronic post-stroke aphasia to explore the behavioural patterns and neural correlates of verb processing. The results revealed significantly better comprehension of concrete than abstract verbs, aligning with the existing aphasiological literature on noun processing. In addition, the patients performed better during verb comprehension than verb production. Lesion-symptom correlational analyses revealed common areas that support processing of concrete and abstract verbs, including the left anterior temporal lobe, posterior supramarginal gyrus and superior lateral occipital cortex. A direct contrast between them revealed additional regions with graded differences. Specifically, the left frontal regions were associated with processing abstract verbs; whereas, the left posterior temporal and occipital regions were associated with processing concrete verbs. Moreover, overlapping and distinct neural correlates were identified in association with the comprehension and production of concrete verbs. These patient findings align with data from functional neuroimaging and neuro-stimulation, and existing models of language organisation. Developed new verb comprehension tests Processing of concrete verbs is more accurate than abstract verbs in aphasia Neural correlates of semantic verb processing distributed in left cortical regions Graded neural difference between processing concrete and abstract verbs Graded neural differences observed in production and comprehension modalities
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Reem S W Alyahya
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, United Kingdom; King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Ajay D Halai
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Paul Conroy
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew A Lambon Ralph
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, Division of Neuroscience & Experimental Psychology, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Fyndanis V, Lind M, Varlokosta S, Kambanaros M, Soroli E, Ceder K, Grohmann KK, Rofes A, Simonsen HG, Bjekić J, Gavarró A, Kuvač Kraljević J, Martínez-Ferreiro S, Munarriz A, Pourquie M, Vuksanović J, Zakariás L, Howard D. Cross-linguistic adaptations of The Comprehensive Aphasia Test: Challenges and solutions. CLINICAL LINGUISTICS & PHONETICS 2017; 31:697-710. [PMID: 28448766 DOI: 10.1080/02699206.2017.1310299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Comparative research on aphasia and aphasia rehabilitation is challenged by the lack of comparable assessment tools across different languages. In English, a large array of tools is available, while in most other languages, the selection is more limited. Importantly, assessment tools are often simple translations and do not take into consideration specific linguistic and psycholinguistic parameters of the target languages. As a first step in meeting the needs for comparable assessment tools, the Comprehensive Aphasia Test is currently being adapted into a number of languages spoken in Europe. In this article, some key challenges encountered in the adaptation process and the solutions to ensure that the resulting assessment tools are linguistically and culturally equivalent, are proposed. Specifically, we focus on challenges and solutions related to the use of imageability, frequency, word length, spelling-to-sound regularity and sentence length and complexity as underlying properties in the selection of the testing material.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Valantis Fyndanis
- a Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies/MultiLing (CoE) , University of Oslo , Oslo , Norway
| | - Marianne Lind
- a Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies/MultiLing (CoE) , University of Oslo , Oslo , Norway
- b Department of Speech and Language Disorders , Statped , Oslo , Norway
| | - Spyridoula Varlokosta
- c Department of Linguistics, School of Philology , National and Kapodistrian University of Athens , Athens , Greece
| | - Maria Kambanaros
- d Department of Rehabilitation Sciences , Cyprus University of Technology , Limassol , Cyprus
| | - Efstathia Soroli
- e Département Sciences du Langage , University of Lille 3 , Lille , France
| | - Klaudia Ceder
- f Institutionen för Neurovetenskap, Uppsala University , Uppsala , Sweden
| | | | - Adrià Rofes
- h Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin , Dublin , Ireland
| | - Hanne Gram Simonsen
- a Department of Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies/MultiLing (CoE) , University of Oslo , Oslo , Norway
| | - Jovana Bjekić
- i Institute for Medical Research , University of Belgrade , Belgrade , Serbia
| | - Anna Gavarró
- j Departament de Filologia Catalana , Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona , Bellaterra , Spain
| | | | - Silvia Martínez-Ferreiro
- l Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark
| | - Amaia Munarriz
- m Department of Linguistics and Basque Studies , University of the Basque Country , Vitoria-Gasteiz , Spain
| | - Marie Pourquie
- n Basque Center on Cognition , Brain and Language , Donostia-San Sebastián , Spain
| | - Jasmina Vuksanović
- o Department of Philosophy Sciences , State University of Novi Pazar , Novi Pazar , Serbia
| | - Lilla Zakariás
- p Department of Linguistics , University of Potsdam , Potsdam , Germany
| | - David Howard
- q School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences , Newcastle University , Newcastle upon Tyne , United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Losing track of time? Processing of time reference inflection in agrammatic and healthy speakers of German. Neuropsychologia 2014; 65:180-90. [PMID: 25447377 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.10.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2014] [Revised: 10/03/2014] [Accepted: 10/07/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with agrammatic aphasia (IWAs) have problems with grammatical decoding of tense inflection. However, these difficulties depend on the time frame that the tense refers to. Verb morphology with reference to the past is more difficult than with reference to the non-past, because a link needs to be made to the past event in discourse, as captured in the PAst DIscourse LInking Hypothesis (PADILIH; Bastiaanse, R., Bamyaci, E., Hsu, C., Lee, J., Yarbay Duman, T., Thompson, C. K., 2011. Time reference in agrammatic aphasia: A cross-linguistic study. J. Neurolinguist. 24, 652-673). With respect to reference to the (non-discourse-linked) future, data so far indicate that IWAs experience less difficulties as compared to past time reference (Bastiaanse, R., Bamyaci, E., Hsu, C., Lee, J., Yarbay Duman, T., Thompson, C. K., 2011. Time reference in agrammatic aphasia: A cross-linguistic study. J. Neurolinguist. 24, 652-673), supporting the assumptions of the PADILIH. Previous online studies of time reference in aphasia used methods such as reaction times analysis (e.g., Faroqi-Shah, Y., Dickey, M. W., 2009. On-line processing of tense and temporality in agrammatic aphasia. Brain Lang. 108, 97-111). So far, no such study used eye-tracking, even though this technique can bring additional insights (Burchert, F., Hanne, S., Vasishth, S., 2013. Sentence comprehension disorders in aphasia: the concept of chance performance revisited. Aphasiology 27, 112-125, doi:10.1080/02687038.2012.730603). AIMS This study investigated (1) whether processing of future and past time reference inflection differs between non-brain-damaged individuals (NBDs) and IWAs, and (2) underlying mechanisms of time reference comprehension failure by IWAs. METHODS AND PROCEDURES A visual-world experiment combining sentence-picture matching and eye-tracking was administered to 12 NBDs and 6 IWAs, all native speakers of German. Participants heard German sentences with periphrastic future ('will+V') or periphrastic past ('has+V-d') verb forms while they were presented with corresponding pictures on a computer screen. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION NBDs scored at ceiling and significantly higher than the IWAs. IWAs had below-ceiling performance on the future condition, and both participant groups were faster to respond to the past than to the future condition. These differences are attributed to a pre-existing preference to look at a past picture, which has to be overcome. Eye movement patterns suggest that both groups interpret future time reference similarly, while IWAs show a delay relative to NBDs in interpreting past time reference inflection. The eye tracking results support the PADILIH, because processing reference to the past in discourse syntax requires additional resources and thus, is problematic and delayed for people with aphasia.
Collapse
|
7
|
Schönberger E, Heim S, Meffert E, Pieperhoff P, da Costa Avelar P, Huber W, Binkofski F, Grande M. The neural correlates of agrammatism: Evidence from aphasic and healthy speakers performing an overt picture description task. Front Psychol 2014; 5:246. [PMID: 24711802 PMCID: PMC3968764 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2013] [Accepted: 03/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional brain imaging studies have improved our knowledge of the neural localization of language functions and the functional reorganization after a lesion. However, the neural correlates of agrammatic symptoms in aphasia remain largely unknown. The present fMRI study examined the neural correlates of morpho-syntactic encoding and agrammatic errors in continuous language production by combining three approaches. First, the neural mechanisms underlying natural morpho-syntactic processing in a picture description task were analyzed in 15 healthy speakers. Second, agrammatic-like speech behavior was induced in the same group of healthy speakers to study the underlying functional processes by limiting the utterance length. In a third approach, five agrammatic participants performed the picture description task to gain insights in the neural correlates of agrammatism and the functional reorganization of language processing after stroke. In all approaches, utterances were analyzed for syntactic completeness, complexity, and morphology. Event-related data analysis was conducted by defining every clause-like unit (CLU) as an event with its onset-time and duration. Agrammatic and correct CLUs were contrasted. Due to the small sample size as well as heterogeneous lesion sizes and sites with lesion foci in the insula lobe, inferior frontal, superior temporal and inferior parietal areas the activation patterns in the agrammatic speakers were analyzed on a single subject level. In the group of healthy speakers, posterior temporal and inferior parietal areas were associated with greater morpho-syntactic demands in complete and complex CLUs. The intentional manipulation of morpho-syntactic structures and the omission of function words were associated with additional inferior frontal activation. Overall, the results revealed that the investigation of the neural correlates of agrammatic language production can be reasonably conducted with an overt language production paradigm.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eva Schönberger
- Section Neurological Cognition Research, Department of Neurology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen Aachen, Germany
| | - Stefan Heim
- Section Neurological Cognition Research, Department of Neurology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen Aachen, Germany ; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen Aachen, Germany ; Research Centre Juelich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1) Juelich, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Meffert
- Section Neurological Cognition Research, Department of Neurology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen Aachen, Germany ; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen Aachen, Germany
| | - Peter Pieperhoff
- Research Centre Juelich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1) Juelich, Germany
| | - Patricia da Costa Avelar
- Section Neurological Cognition Research, Department of Neurology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen Aachen, Germany
| | - Walter Huber
- Section Neurological Cognition Research, Department of Neurology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen Aachen, Germany
| | - Ferdinand Binkofski
- Section Neurological Cognition Research, Department of Neurology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen Aachen, Germany
| | - Marion Grande
- Section Neurological Cognition Research, Department of Neurology, Uniklinik RWTH Aachen Aachen, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Menn L, Duffield CJ. Aphasias and theories of linguistic representation: representing frequency, hierarchy, constructions, and sequential structure. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2013; 4:651-663. [PMID: 26304270 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2012] [Revised: 08/12/2013] [Accepted: 08/18/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Error and preservation patterns in aphasic speech show that the brain makes use of the frequencies of words, constructions, and collocations, as well as category membership and hierarchical structure, during language processing. Frequency effects are evident along two quasi-independent axes: syntagmatic (the sequential context, e.g., deploying correct functors, categories, and utterance-level intonation) and paradigmatic (the choice at any given linguistic level, e.g., selecting content words and modifying structures). Frequency along the syntagmatic axis is shown to play a role in errors involving idioms, constructions, and collocations that cross major phrasal boundaries. Along the paradigmatic axis, frequency affects errors involving lexical selection, competing functors and inflected forms (e.g., using plural where singular is required). An account of language representation and processing that encompasses frequency as well as categorization and structure is compatible with what we know about how the brain works: increased experience with a linguistic structure results in increased activation-and strengthening-of the neural networks involved in processing that structure. These claims are supported by the literature on experimental work in normal speakers. Parsimony, plus the unexamined assumption that mental representation is like a written record (entries either present or absent, structure displayable in two dimensions), has been a misleading guide to modeling language representation. The substantial redundancy in representations and processing that is introduced by incorporating both frequency-based and hierarchy-based information is in fact appropriate for the brain as a fast, reliable, massively parallel error-correcting network with very large storage capacity and gradient representation strength. WIREs Cogn Sci 2013, 4:651-663. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1257 CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article. For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lise Menn
- Department of Linguistics, Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Cecily Jill Duffield
- Department of Linguistics, Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Christensen KR, Kizach J, Nyvad AM. Escape from the island: grammaticality and (reduced) acceptability of wh-island violations in Danish. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2013; 42:51-70. [PMID: 22434560 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-012-9210-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
In the syntax literature, it is commonly assumed that a constraint on linguistic competence blocks extraction of wh-expressions (e.g. what or which book) from embedded questions, referred to as wh-islands. Furthermore, it is assumed that there is an argument/adjunct asymmetry in extraction from wh-islands. We report results from two acceptability judgment experiments on long and short wh-movement and wh-extraction from wh-islands in Danish. The results revealed four main findings: (1) No adjunct/argument asymmetry in extraction from wh-islands. (2) Long adjunct wh-movement is less acceptable than long argument wh-movement, and this difference is attributable to matrix verb compatibility and factivity, not D-linking. (3) Long movement reduces acceptability, but is more acceptable than island violations. (4) Training effects reveal that island violations, though degraded, are grammatical in Danish. Since the standard assumptions cannot account for the range of results, we argue in favor of a processing account referring to locality (processing domains) and working memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ken Ramshøj Christensen
- Center for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus C, Denmark.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
den Ouden DB, Bastiaanse R. The electrophysiological manifestation of Dutch Verb Second violations. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2009; 38:201-219. [PMID: 19330528 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-009-9106-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2009] [Accepted: 03/13/2009] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the processing of violations of the verb position in Dutch, in a group of healthy subjects, by measuring event-related potentials (ERPs) through electroencephalography (EEG). In Dutch, the base position of the verb is clause final, but in matrix clauses, the finite verb is in second position, a construction known as Verb Second. In embedded clauses, the finite verb remains in its clause-final base position. The results show that ungrammatical placement of finite verbs in second position in embedded clauses yields a P600 response, which suggests that the parser treats this type of violation as a clear syntactic anomaly. This is in contrast to accounts by which a general preference for subject-verb-object word order in languages like Dutch is reflected by an absence of P600 effects in response to violations of Verb Second.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dirk-Bart den Ouden
- Aphasia and Neurolinguistics Research Laboratory, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208-3066, USA.
| | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Bastiaanse R, Leenders KL. Language and Parkinson's disease. Cortex 2009; 45:912-4. [PMID: 19447385 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2009.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2008] [Revised: 03/10/2009] [Accepted: 03/13/2009] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
|