Abstract
The ability to detect non-adjacent dependencies (i.e. between a and b in aXb) in spoken input may support the acquisition of morpho-syntactic dependencies (e.g. The princess is kiss ing the frog). Functional morphemes in morpho-syntactic dependencies are often marked by perceptual cues that render them distinct from lexical elements. We use an artificial grammar learning experiment with adults to investigate the role of perceptual cues in non-adjacent dependency learning, by manipulating the perceptual/prosodic properties of the a / b elements in aXb strings and testing participants’ incidental learning of these dependencies. Our results show that non-adjacent dependencies are learned both when the dependent elements are perceptually prominent, and when they are perceptually reduced compared to the intervening material (in the same way that functional words are reduced compared to lexical words), but only if integrated into a natural prosodic contour. This result supports the idea that the prosodic properties of natural languages facilitate non-adjacent dependency learning.
Highlights
IntroductionIt is a core property of human languages that they exhibit dependencies: patterns of cooccurrence between linguistic units or classes of units (if a occurs, b usually occurs too) which indicate underlying rules/regularities (a selects for b)
It is a core property of human languages that they exhibit dependencies: patterns of cooccurrence between linguistic units or classes of units which indicate underlying rules/regularities
In this study we investigate whether perceptual cues affect the detection of non-adjacent dependencies (NADs), and if so, how
Summary
It is a core property of human languages that they exhibit dependencies: patterns of cooccurrence between linguistic units or classes of units (if a occurs, b usually occurs too) which indicate underlying rules/regularities (a selects for b). Dependencies between adjacent (classes of) morphemes indicate subcategorization properties, such as the article the selecting only nouns or noun phrases as its complements. Several studies have demonstrated learners’ ability to pick up co-occurrence patterns between adjacent units (Saffran et al 1996; Aslin et al 1998) or classes of units (Gómez and Lakusta 2004; Gerken et al 2005; Reeder et al 2013) from artificial grammars that they are exposed to in controlled lab settings
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.