Agreement and reflexives in non-native sentence processing

• Shatha Alaskar ^[1] ; Ian Cunnings ^[2]
  1. [1] Majmaah University

     Majmaah University

     Arabia Saudí

     
  2. [2] University of Reading

     University of Reading

     Reino Unido

     
• Localización: Bilingualism: Language and cognition, ISSN 1366-7289, Vol. 28, Nº 4, 2025, págs. 897-910
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1017/S136672892400049X
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • How native (L1) and non-native (L2) readers utilise syntactic constraints on linguistic dependency resolution during language comprehension is debated, with previous research yielding mixed findings. To address this discrepancy, we report two large-scale studies, using self-paced reading and grammaticality judgements, investigating subject-verb agreement and reflexives in L1 English speakers and Arabic learners of L2 English. We manipulated sentence grammaticality and the properties of ‘distractor’ constituents (The key(s) to the cabinet(s) were rusty) in two studies testing number in agreement and gender/number in reflexives. Study 1 showed that L2ers’ performance largely patterned with L1ers’. Although grammaticality effects were smaller for agreement in L2ers than in L1ers, proficiency modulated L2 performance. Study 2 revealed no significant between-group differences. Contrasting some L1 studies, significant distractor effects were only detected for reflexives in Study 1. Together, these results imply that L2ers compute syntactic dependencies similarly to L1ers, and potential differences might be driven by L2 proficiency.

• Referencias bibliográficas
  • Baayen, R. H., Davidson, D. J., & Bates, D. M. (2008). Mixed-effects modeling with crossed random effects for subjects and items. Journal...
  • Barr, D. J., Levy, R., Scheepers, C., & Tily, H. J. (2013). Random effects structure for confirmatory hypothesis testing: Keep it maximal....
  • Bates, D., Mächler, M., Bolker, B. M., & Walker, S. C. (2015). Fitting linear mixed-effects Models using lme4. Journal of Statistical...
  • Benmamoun, E. (1992). Functional and inflectional morphology problems of projection, representation and derivation (PhD Thesis, University...
  • Chen, L., Shu, H., Liu, Y., Zhao, J., & Li, P. (2007). ERP signatures of subject – verb agreement in L2 learning∗. Bilingualism: Language...
  • Chomsky, N. (1981). Lectures on government and binding. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Fori.Google Scholar
  • Chomsky, N. (1986). Knowledge of Language: Its Nature, Origin, and Use. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.Google Scholar
  • Clahsen, H., & Felser, C. (2006). Grammatical processing in language learners. Applied Psycholinguistics, 27(1), 3–42. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716406060024CrossRefGoogle...
  • Clahsen, H., & Felser, C. (2018). Some notes on the shallow structure hypothesis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 40(3), 693–706....
  • Cunnings, I. (2017). Parsing and working memory in bilingual sentence processing. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 20(4), 659–678. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728916000675CrossRefGoogle...
  • Cunnings, I., & Sturt, P. (2014). Coargumenthood and the processing of reflexives. Journal of Memory and Language, 75, 117–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2014.05.006CrossRefGoogle...
  • Cunnings, I., & Sturt, P. (2018). Coargumenthood and the processing of pronouns. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 33(10), 1235–1251....
  • Dallas, A., & Kaan, E. (2008). Second language processing of filler-gap dependencies by late learners. Linguistics and Language Compass,...
  • Dillon, B., Mishler, A., Sloggett, S., & Phillips, C. (2013). Contrasting intrusion profiles for agreement and anaphora: Experimental...
  • Drummond, A. (2013). Ibex Farm. http://spellout.net/ibexfarm/.Google Scholar
  • Eberhard, K. M. (1997). The marked effect of number on subject-verb agreement. Journal of Memory and Language, 36(2), 147–164. https://doi.org/10.1006/JMLA.1996.2484CrossRefGoogle...
  • Felser, C. (2015). Native vs. Non-native processing of discontinuous dependencies. Second Language, 14, 5–19. https://doi.org/10.11431/secondlanguage.14.0_5Google...
  • Felser, C. (2019). Structure-sensitive constraints in non-native sentence processing. Journal of the European Second Language Association,...
  • Felser, C., & Cunnings, I. (2012). Processing reflexives in a second language: The timing of structural and discourse-level constraints....
  • Felser, C., Sato, M., & Bertenshaw, N. (2009). The on-line application of binding principle A in english as a second language. Bilingualism:...
  • Foertsch, J., & Gernsbacher, M. A. (1997). In search of gender nertrality: Is singular they a cognitively efficient substitute for generic...
  • Hammerly, C., Staub, A., & Dillon, B. (2019). The grammaticality asymmetry in agreement attraction reflects response bias: Experimental...
  • Hopp, H. (2006). Syntactic features and reanalysis in near-native processing. Second Language Research, 22(3), 369–397. https://doi.org/10.1191/0267658306sr272oaCrossRefGoogle...
  • Hopp, H. (2014). Working memory effects in the L2 processing of ambiguous relative clauses. Language Acquisition, 21(3), 250–278. https://doi.org/10.1080/10489223.2014.892943CrossRefGoogle...
  • Jäger, L. A., Engelmann, F., & Vasishth, S. (2017). Similarity-based interference in sentence comprehension: Literature review and Bayesian...
  • Jäger, L. A., Mertzen, D., Van Dyke, J. A., & Vasishth, S. (2020). Interference patterns in subject-verb agreement and reflexives revisited:...
  • Jiang, N. (2004). Morphological insensitivity in second language processing. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25(4), 603–634. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0142716404001298CrossRefGoogle...
  • Konnelly, L., & Cowper, E. (2020). Gender diversity and morphosyntax: An account of singular they. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics,...
  • Kuznetsova, A., Brockhoff, P. B., & Christensen, R. H. B. (2017). lmerTest package: Tests in linear mixed effects models. Journal of Statistical...
  • Kush, D. (2013). Respecting Relations: Memory Access and Antecedent Retrieval in Incremental Sentence Processing. Unpublished doctoral thesis,...
  • Lee, E.-K. R., & Phillips, C. (2022). Why non-native speakers sometimes outperform native speakers in agreement processing. Bilingualism:...
  • Lewis, R. L., Vasishth, S., & Van Dyke, J. A. (2006). Computational principles of working memory in sentence comprehension. Trends in...
  • Lewis, S., & Phillips, C. (2014). Aligning grammatical theories and language processing models. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research,...
  • Lim, J. H., & Christianson, K. (2015). Second language sensitivity to agreement errors: Evidence from eye movements during comprehension...
  • McDonald, J. L. (2006). Beyond the critical period: Processing-based explanations for poor grammaticality judgment performance by late second...
  • McElree, B. (2000). Sentence comprehension is mediated by content-addressable memory structures. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 29(2),...
  • Musabhien, M. (2008). Case, Agreement and Movement in Arabic: A Minimalist Approach (PhD Thesis, Newcastle University). Retrieved from https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/2046Google...
  • Nicenboim, B., Vasishth, S., Engelmann, F., & Suckow, K. (2018). Exploratory and confirmatory analyses in sentence processing: A case...
  • Parker, D., & An, A. (2018). Not all phrases are equally attractive: Experimental evidence for selective agreement attraction effects....
  • Parker, D., & Phillips, C. (2017). Reflexive attraction in comprehension is selective. Journal of Memory and Language, 94, 272–290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2017.01.002CrossRefGoogle...
  • Pearlmutter, N. J., Garnsey, S. M., & Bock, K. (1999). Agreement processes in sentence comprehension. Journal of Memory and Language,...
  • Quick Placement Test:Version1. (2004). Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  • R Development Core Team. (2019). R: A Language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.r-project.org/Google...
  • Reifegerste, J., Jarvis, R., & Felser, C. (2020). Effects of chronological age on native and nonnative sentence processing: Evidence from...
  • Roberts, L. 2013). Sentence processing in bilinguals. In Roger, P. G. Gompel, van (Ed.), Sentence processing (pp. 221–246). London, UK: Psychology...
  • Schlueter, Z. (2017). Memory retrieval in parsing and interference. The University of Maryland.Google Scholar
  • Schlueter, Z. (2019). No grammatical illusions with L2-specific memory retrieval cues in agreement processing. Manuscript Sumbitted for Publication.Google...
  • Speyer, L. G., & Schleef, E. (2019). Processing ‘Gender-neutral’ pronouns: A Self-paced reading study of learners of english. Applied...
  • Sturt, P. (2003). The time-course of the application of binding constraints in reference resolution. Journal of Memory and Language, 48(3),...
  • Tanner, D., Nicol, J., Herschensohn, J., & Osterhout, L. (2012). Electrophysiological markers of interference and structural facilitation...
  • Vasishth, S., & Gelman, A. (2021). How to embrace variation and accept uncertainty in linguistic and psycholinguistic data analysis. Linguistics,...
  • Vasishth, S., Nicenboim, B., Engelmann, F., & Burchert, F. (2019). Computational models of retrieval processes in sentence processing....
  • Wagers, M. W., Lau, E. F., & Phillips, C. (2009). Agreement attraction in comprehension: Representations and processes. Journal of Memory...
  • Zehr, J., & Schwarz, F. (2018). PennController for internet based experiments (IBEX).