Adult Native Speakers Of English Research Articles

Phrasal frequency and literacy as predictors of individual differences in on-line processing and comprehension of english complex NP subject-verb agreement

AbstractWe present experimental evidence suggesting that frequency and literacy predict online processing and comprehension of subject-verb agreement constructions by adult native speakers of English. We measured participants’ eye fixations, reaction times, and response accuracy in a forced-choice task using audio-visual eye-tracking paradigm. Participants completed a battery of tasks, inc. the Literacy Rating Scale (Tarone et al., Literacy and Second Language Oracy-Oxford Applied Linguistics, Oxford University Press, 2013), Agreement Judgement Task (e.g., Veenstra et al., Frontiers in Psychology 5:783, 2014). The AJT involved matching an auditorily presented subject phrase to one of two images of easily distinguishable colours presented on a computer screen (e.g., stars, circles). Participants heard 42 test sentences, counterbalanced across the three types: Type 1 (e.g., ‘The stars with the circles are blue’), Type 2 (e.g., ‘The star with the circles is blue’) and Type 3 (e.g., ‘The star with the circles are blue’*. Type 1 and Type 2 constructions are considerably more frequent in writing than in speech (Miller et al., Spontaneous spoken language: Syntax and discourse, Oxford University Press on Demand, 1998) with Type 2 producing more attraction errors (Bock et al., Cognitive Psychology 43:83–128, 2001; Becker, L., & Dąbrowska, E. (2020). Does experience with written language influence grammaticality intuitions? UK Cognitive Linguistics Conference: University of Birmingham [conference presentation].). Data were analysed with linear mixed effects models and generalised additive models. Results show lower literacy participants took longer to process sentential cues and made more attraction errors. These findings support usage-based research showing frequency and experience effects on online comprehension of canonical and non-canonical constructions (Farmer, T. A., Misyak, J. B., & Christiansen, M. H. (2012). Individual differences in sentence processing. In Cambridge handbook of psycholinguistics (pp. 353-364)., Street, Language Sciences 59:192–203, 2017), detection and production of agreement attraction errors (Becker, L., & Dąbrowska, E. (2020). Does experience with written language influence grammaticality intuitions? UK Cognitive Linguistics Conference: University of Birmingham [conference presentation].) and demonstrate how linguistic and attentional processes interact (Tomlin and Myachykov, Attention and salience, Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics, 2015). They also complement corpus-based studies by providing evidence that native speakers are sensitive to observed distributions (Miller et al., Spontaneous spoken language: Syntax and discourse, Oxford University Press on Demand, 1998).

DERCo: A Dataset for Human Behaviour in Reading Comprehension Using EEG

This paper introduces the DERCo (Dublin EEG-based Reading Experiment Corpus), a language resource combining electroencephalography (EEG) and next-word prediction data obtained from participants reading narrative texts. The dataset comprises behavioral data collected from 500 participants recruited through the Amazon Mechanical Turk online crowd-sourcing platform, along with EEG recordings from 22 healthy adult native English speakers. The online experiment was designed to examine the context-based word prediction by a large sample of participants, while the EEG-based experiment was developed to extend the validation of behavioral next-word predictability. Online participants were instructed to predict upcoming words and complete entire stories. Cloze probabilities were then calculated for each word so that this predictability measure could be used to support various analyses pertaining to semantic context effects in the EEG recordings. EEG-based analyses revealed significant differences between high and low predictable words, demonstrating one important type of potential analysis that necessitates close integration of these two datasets. This material is a valuable resource for researchers in neurolinguistics due to the word-level EEG recordings in context.

High variability phonetic training facilitates categorical perception of Mandarin lexical tones in L2 older adults: A link to auditory processing

The current study investigated the facilitatory effects of High Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT) in second language (L2) categorical perception (CP) of Mandarin lexical tones. It also explored whether and how individual differences in auditory processing predicted gains from such training. The participants were 32 native English-speaking adults aged over 60 years who were learning Mandarin Chinese as their L2. They were randomly divided into the HVPT group (HG) ( n = 16) and the control group (CG) ( n = 16). Their L2 CP performance was assessed through an identification task and discrimination task before training, immediately after training, and two months later. Auditory processing tests were also conducted to measure the participants’ ability to encode spectral and temporal details of sounds. Linear mixed-effects (LME) models showed that, compared to the CG, the HG exhibited a more pronounced improvement in tonal categorization. Furthermore, regression analysis confirmed that individual differences in perceptual acuity significantly predicted gains from training in L2 CP of Mandarin lexical tones.

Individual differences in the consistency of neural and behavioural responses to speech sounds

There are documented individual differences among adults in the consistency of speech sound processing, both at neural and behavioural levels. Some adults show more consistent neural responses to speech sounds than others, as measured by an event-related potential called the frequency-following response (FFR); similarly, some adults show more consistent behavioural responses to native speech sounds than others, as measured by two-alternative forced choice (2AFC) and visual analog scaling (VAS) tasks. Adults also differ in how successfully they can perceive non-native speech sounds. Interestingly, it remains unclear whether these differences are related within individuals. In the current study, native English-speaking adults completed native phonetic perception tasks (2AFC and VAS), a non-native (German) phonetic perception task, and an FFR recording session. From these tasks, we derived measures of the consistency of participants’ neural and behavioural responses to native speech as well as their non-native perception ability. We then examined the relationships among individual differences in these measures. Analysis of the behavioural measures revealed that more consistent responses to native sounds predicted more successful perception of unfamiliar German sounds. Analysis of neural and behavioural data did not reveal clear relationships between FFR consistency and our phonetic perception measures. This multimodal work furthers our understanding of individual differences in speech processing among adults, and may eventually lead to individualized approaches for enhancing non-native language acquisition in adulthood.

Using orthographic support to reduce the impact of noise on oral vocabulary learning in adults

BackgroundAlthough most prevalent in childhood, the acquisition of new words in oral vocabulary takes place right across the lifespan. Of the many factors that influence oral vocabulary learning, one extrinsic factor is the listening environment. The current study aimed to examine whether the presence of noise impacts oral vocabulary learning in adult native speakers of English and, if so, whether this can be alleviated by the incidental presence of orthography when introducing new words.MethodsSixty 18–35‐year‐old native speakers of English were divided into two groups: orthography present and orthography absent and were taught novel picture–word pairs either in quiet or in noise. Word learning was assessed using picture naming and picture–word‐matching tasks.ResultsThe results revealed that the presence of orthography during training reduced the negative impact of noise and supported word learning and retention in adults.ConclusionThese results are promising for vocabulary instruction practices in less‐than‐ideal listening environments where structural modifications are not a feasible option.

Redundancy can hinder adult L2 grammar learning: evidence from case markers of varying salience levels.

Grammatical redundancy is a widespread feature across languages. Although redundant cues can be seen to increase the complexity and processing burden of structures, it has been suggested that they can assist language acquisition. Here, we explored if this learning benefit can be observed from the very initial stages of second language (L2) acquisition and whether the effect of redundancy is modulated by the perceptual salience of the redundant linguistic cues. Across two experiments, three groups of adult native speakers of English were incidentally exposed to three different artificial languages; one that had a fixed word order, Verb-Object-Subject, and two in which thematic role assignment was additionally determined by a low-salient (Experiment 1) or a high-salient (Experiment 2) redundant case marker. While all groups managed to learn the novel language, our results pointed towards a hindering role of redundancy, with participants in the non-redundant condition achieving greater learning outcomes compared to those in both redundant conditions. Results also revealed that this impeding effect of redundancy on L2 learners can be attenuated by the salience of the redundant cue (Experiment 2). In conjunction with earlier findings, the present results suggest that the effect of redundancy on L2 acquisition can be differentially manifested depending on the stage of L2 development, learners' first language biases and age.

The role of awareness in implicit and explicit knowledge

Abstract This study investigates the initial incidental acquisition of two L2 morphosyntactic rules and their immediate usage in production. Using a miniature artificial language paradigm, multiple exposure sessions, realistic exposure, non-salient linguistic features, as well as multiple outcome measures, we demonstrate that adult learners can learn animacy with low levels of awareness, but not case. Forty adult native speakers of English participated in the experiment. Participants were exposed to audio sentences in the artificial language paired with pictures on the computer screen for three sessions. Knowledge of animacy and case was measured with production and grammaticality judgment tests. Results demonstrated that concrete, contiguous and easily trackable L2 properties that lend themselves to distributional learning, such as animacy marking, can benefit from incidental exposure. However, more abstract L2 properties, like the morphological paradigm of case, seem not to be learnable by incidental means, and opportunities for explicit learning must be provided.

White matter associations with spelling performance.

Multiple neurocognitive processes are involved in the highly complex task of producing written words. Yet, little is known about the neural pathways that support spelling in healthy adults. We assessed the associations between performance on a difficult spelling-to-dictation task and microstructural properties of language-related white matter pathways, in a sample of 73 native English-speaking neurotypical adults. Participants completed a diffusion magnetic resonance imaging scan and a cognitive assessment battery. Using constrained spherical deconvolution modeling and probabilistic tractography, we reconstructed dorsal and ventral white matter tracts of interest, bilaterally, in individual participants. Spelling associations were found in both dorsal and ventral stream pathways. In high-performing spellers, spelling scores significantly correlated with fractional anisotropy (FA) within the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus, a ventral stream pathway. In low-performing spellers, spelling scores significantly correlated with FA within the third branch of the right superior longitudinal fasciculus, a dorsal pathway. An automated analysis of spelling errors revealed that high- and low- performing spellers also differed in their error patterns, diverging primarily in terms of the orthographic distance between their errors and the correct spelling, compared to the phonological plausibility of their spelling responses. The results demonstrate the complexity of the neurocognitive architecture of spelling. The distinct white matter associations and error patterns detected in low- and high- performing spellers suggest that they rely on different cognitive processes, such that high-performing spellers rely more on lexical-orthographic representations, while low-performing spellers rely more on phoneme-to-grapheme conversion.

Neurophysiological correlates of the perceptual magnet effect in speech perception

This study investigated the Perceptual Magnet Effect (PME) in speech perception using behavioral and Event-Related Potentials (ERP) measures. There were two primary research questions: (1) whether category goodness rating influences speech discrimination with reduced sensitivity near the prototype and increased sensitivity in the vicinity of a poor exemplar, (2) whether the PME is domain-specific to speech sounds. Twenty adult native English speakers participated in identification, goodness rating, and discrimination tasks. The stimuli were synthesized vowels for /a/ and their nonspeech analogs by systematically varying the first two formants. ERP oddball conditions included four conditions presented in a counter-balanced order with the prototypical /a/ as the standard stimuli and its variants as deviants, and a non-prototypical /a/ as the standard and its variants as deviants, as well as the nonspeech matches. Results indicated that participants rated vowel category goodness based on the F2/F1 ratio for the /a/ sounds. Mismatch negativity amplitudes in the two speech conditions aligned with PME predictions, but similar patterns were also observed in the nonspeech conditions. The findings collectively demonstrated neurophysiological evidence for the perceptual organization of within-category variations in line with PME, which may transfer to auditory processing of similar acoustic patterns in nonspeech.

Lexical knowledge, memory and experience

Abstract Knowing a language involves knowing a large number of idiosyncratic units such as individual words and collocations which must be learned from the input. This study explores the role of implicit and explicit memory, as well as language experience, and specifically print exposure, with regard to adult native English speakers’ knowledge of vocabulary and collocations. Consistent with prior research, our findings reveal a strong correlation between print exposure and performance on both language tasks. However, contrary to predictions, there were no significant effects of either implicit or explicit memory on either task. We argue that this is most likely due to the fact that language learning relies primarily on memory for associations between form and meaning and between words rather than memory sequences of meaningless phonological forms.

Identification and Analysis Of The Existence of Word Stress Variation Between The Pronunciation Of Certain English Words Of Native English Speakers and Native Telugu Speakers

Since the decline of the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration as a whole has been on the rise especially to the United States. The newly released census report for the years 2021-22 has reported an increase of over 1 million legal immigrants to the U.S. substantially comprised of Telugu speaking individuals. This research uses 8 native Telugu speaking adults and 8 native English-speaking adults to identify, analyze, and understand the existence of word stress variation between the pronunciation of the English language between the two groups. The results indicate that there indeed exists a significant difference in the position of word stress in the Telugu speakers’ pronunciations with word stress predominantly applied to the last or second-to-last/penultimate syllable. The main cause for this shift in position was due to L1 interference from the mother tongue. These results have a plethora of implications for future research on sentences with and without punctuation marks, other major English stress rules, and different parts of speech that are commonly used in everyday language.

Sensory processing of native and non-native phonotactic patterns in the alpha and beta frequency bands

The phonotactic patterns of one's native language are established within cortical network processing during development. Sensory processing of native language phonotactic patterns established in memory may be modulated by top-down signals within the alpha and beta frequency bands. To explore sensory processing of phonotactic patterns in the alpha and beta frequency bands, electroencephalograms (EEGs) were recorded from native Polish and native English-speaking adults as they listened to spoken nonwords within same and different nonword pairs. The nonwords contained three phonological sequence onsets that occur in the Polish and English languages (/pət/, /st/, /sət/) and one onset sequence /pt/, which occurs in Polish but not in English onsets. Source localization modeling was used to transform 64-channel EEGs into brain source-level channels. Spectral power values in the low frequencies (2–29 Hz) were analyzed in response to the first nonword in nonword pairs within the context of counterbalanced listening-task conditions, which were presented on separate testing days. For the with-task listening condition, participants performed a behavioral task to the second nonword in the pairs. For the without-task condition participants were only instructed to listen to the stimuli. Thus, in the with-task condition, the first nonword served as a cue for the second nonword, the target stimulus. The results revealed decreased spectral power in the beta frequency band for the with-task condition compared to the without-task condition in response to native language phonotactic patterns. In contrast, the task-related suppression effects in response to the non-native phonotactic pattern /pt/ for the English listeners extended into the alpha frequency band. These effects were localized to source channels in left auditory cortex, the left anterior temporal cortex and the occipital pole. This exploratory study revealed a pattern of results that, if replicated, suggests that native language speech perception is supported by modulations in the alpha and beta frequency bands.

The Impact of Grammar on the Construal of Discourse Alternatives in German and English

This paper investigates additive links to discourse alternatives in picture comparison dialogues produced by adult native speakers of English and German. Additive relations are established across turns when participants are confirming the presence of matching objects on both pictures (A: “I have X”. B: “I also have X”). Speakers thereby describe their own picture and construe the interlocutor (or rather: the interlocutor’s picture) as a discourse alternative. Whereas the vast majority of the confirming descriptions in German contain an additive particle (auch), less than half of the corresponding confirmations in the English data do (“also”, “too”, etc.). Numbers differ even more drastically in polarity questions (“Do you (also) have X?”) that are equally typical for the dialogue task. Such frequency differences are at odds with recent accounts treating additive particles as being quasi obligatory when their presupposition is satisfied. An in-depth contrastive analysis of lexical, syntactic and information structural properties reveals that the default mapping of information units on syntactic functions (subject) in conjunction with the SVO word order of English leads to a structure in which subject, initial (topic) position and the particle’s associated constituent coincide. This would make the relation to its discourse alternative more prominent than warranted by the dialogue task and speakers of English leave this relation unmarked or resort to alternative constructions instead. The V2 syntax of German, on the other hand, allows for a dissociation of discourse topic and associated constituent. It allows the speaker to topicalize reference to the matching object, to highlight the confirmation of its presence on the speaker’s picture, and to relate the changing information to its discourse alternative in a non-contrastive way.

Automatic morpheme identification across development: Magnetoencephalography (MEG) evidence from fast periodic visual stimulation.

The present study combined magnetoencephalography (MEG) recordings with fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) to investigate automatic neural responses to morphemes in developing and skilled readers. Native English-speaking children (N = 17, grade 5–6) and adults (N = 28) were presented with rapid streams of base stimuli (6 Hz) interleaved periodically with oddballs (i.e., every fifth item, oddball stimulation frequency: 1.2 Hz). In a manipulation-check condition, tapping into word recognition, oddballs featured familiar words (e.g., roll) embedded in a stream of consonant strings (e.g., ktlq). In the experimental conditions, the contrast between oddball and base stimuli was manipulated in order to probe selective stem and suffix identification in morphologically structured pseudowords (e.g., stem + suffix pseudowords such as softity embedded in nonstem + suffix pseudowords such as trumess). Neural responses at the oddball frequency and harmonics were analyzed at the sensor level using non-parametric cluster-based permutation tests. As expected, results in the manipulation-check condition revealed a word-selective response reflected by a predominantly left-lateralized cluster that emerged over temporal, parietal, and occipital sensors in both children and adults. However, across the experimental conditions, results yielded a differential pattern of oddball responses in developing and skilled readers. Children displayed a significant response that emerged in a mostly central occipital cluster for the condition tracking stem identification in the presence of suffixes (e.g., softity vs. trumess). In contrast, adult participants showed a significant response that emerged in a cluster located in central and left occipital sensors for the condition tracking suffix identification in the presence of stems (e.g., softity vs. stopust). The present results suggest that while the morpheme identification system in Grade 5–6 children is not yet adult-like, it is sufficiently mature to automatically analyze the morphemic structure of novel letter strings. These findings are discussed in the context of theoretical accounts of morphological processing across reading development.

The acquisition of L2 allophonic variants: The role of phonological distribution and lexical cues

Adult learners acquire second language (L2) allophones with experience. We examine two mechanisms which may support the acquisition of allophonic variants in second language acquisition. One of the mechanisms is based on the distribution of phones with respect to their phonological context (i.e. phonological distribution). The other is based on the role the phones play in contrasting words (i.e. lexical contrast). Experiment 1 established adult native English speakers’ baseline sensitivity to the novel [b]–[β] auditory contrast. In Experiment 2 we examined whether adult native English speakers infer the phonological status of [b] and [β] in an artificial language based only on their distributions to phonological contexts. We observed no evidence that these participants were able to do so. In Experiment 3 we investigated whether learners infer the phonological status of [b] and [β] from the role they play in lexical contrast and observed both perceptual and lexical processing evidence to suggest that adults may use meaning-based cues to the lack of contrast to learn that two phones are allophones of the same phoneme. Together our findings suggest that adult L2 learners may prioritize information about function (in this case, lexical contrast) over the phonological distribution of phones as they determine the phonological status of L2 sounds.

Effect of cumulative distance in motor space on segment-sized slips in 3-word phrases

Slips, or speech errors (e.g., “teep a cape” for “keep a tape”), have been described as the disordered arrangement of discrete elements, giving rise to the hypothesis that these arise from misordering during phonological encoding. An alternative hypothesis is that slips are articulatory timing errors, conditioned by the same motor factors that underlie coarticulation. This hypothesis motivates the present study, which used a modified slip procedure to elicit errors from 40 native English-speaking adults. Participants spoke 3-word phrases that were constructed as mini tongue twisters, with alternating word onsets and repeating rhymes. These phrases were designed to condition slips to a greater or less extent according to coarticulatory-adjacent processes (e.g., palatalization). A metric of cumulative distance-traveled in motor space during phrase production was also calculated: the degree of change in vocal tract shapes across the phrase, estimated using data generated within the tubesounds model in ArtiSynth. Phrases designed to more strongly condition slips were expected to cover less cumulative distance in motor space than phrases designed to less strongly condition slips. The distance-traveled metric did not always align with this expectation, but was nonetheless a better predictor of presence/absence of slips than phrase condition in analyses on preliminary data.

Distinct neural sources underlying visual word form processing as revealed by steady state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP)

EEG has been central to investigations of the time course of various neural functions underpinning visual word recognition. Recently the steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) paradigm has been increasingly adopted for word recognition studies due to its high signal-to-noise ratio. Such studies, however, have been typically framed around a single source in the left ventral occipitotemporal cortex (vOT). Here, we combine SSVEP recorded from 16 adult native English speakers with a data-driven spatial filtering approach—Reliable Components Analysis (RCA)—to elucidate distinct functional sources with overlapping yet separable time courses and topographies that emerge when contrasting words with pseudofont visual controls. The first component topography was maximal over left vOT regions with a shorter latency (approximately 180 ms). A second component was maximal over more dorsal parietal regions with a longer latency (approximately 260 ms). Both components consistently emerged across a range of parameter manipulations including changes in the spatial overlap between successive stimuli, and changes in both base and deviation frequency. We then contrasted word-in-nonword and word-in-pseudoword to test the hierarchical processing mechanisms underlying visual word recognition. Results suggest that these hierarchical contrasts fail to evoke a unitary component that might be reasonably associated with lexical access.

Look at that: Spatial deixis reveals experience-related differences in prediction

ABSTRACT Prediction-based theories posit that interlocutors use prediction to process language efficiently and to coordinate dialogue. The present study evaluated whether listeners can use spatial deixis (i.e., this, that, these, and those) to predict the plurality and proximity of a speaker’s upcoming referent. In two eye-tracking experiments with varying referential complexity (N = 168), native English-speaking adults, native English-learning 5-year-olds, and nonnative English-learning adults viewed images while listening to sentences with or without informative deictic determiners, e.g., Look at the/this/that/these/those wonderful cookie(s). Results showed that all groups successfully exploited plurality information. However, they varied in using deixis to anticipate the proximity of the referent; specifically, L1 adults showed more robust prediction than L2 adults, and L1 children did not show evidence of prediction. By evaluating listeners with varied language experiences, this investigation helps refine proposed mechanisms of prediction and suggests that linguistic experience is key to the development of such mechanisms.

Short Vowels and Context Effects: The Case of English Speakers Reading Arabic

The present study examines the impact of both short vowels and context on adult native English speakers’ reading accuracy of Arabic orthography. To this end, two groups of adult Arabic learners with different proficiency levels were recruited: 30 second-year, and 30 third-year learners. Subjects were instructed to read 50 isolated words, 20 sentences and 10 paragraphs in two different reading conditions: vocalized and unvocalized. Findings demonstrated a significant positive influence of both short vowels and context on second-year learners’ word recognition of the target stimuli. That is, second year Arabic learners had better accuracy when reading vocalized texts compared to unvocalized ones and were significantly more accurate at reading paragraphs and sentences than isolated words. However, third-year students’ reading accuracy was only significantly affected by the reading context.

Diagnostic Accuracy of the AzBio Speech Recognition in Noise Test.

Purpose The goal of this study was to determine the ability of the AzBio speech recognition in noise (SRN) test to distinguish between groups of participants with and without a self-reported SRN disorder and a self-reported signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) loss. Method Fifty-four native English-speaking young adults with normal pure-tone thresholds (≤ 25 dB HL, 0.25-6.0 kHz) participated. Individuals who reported hearing difficulty in a noisy restaurant (Reference Standard 1) were placed in the SRN disorder group. SNR loss groups were created based on the self-report of the ability to hear Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) sentences in steady-state speech-shaped noise, four-talker babble, and 20-talker babble in a controlled listening environment (Reference Standard 2). Participants with HINT thresholds poorer than or equal to the median were assigned to the SNR loss group. Results The area under the curve from the receiver operating characteristics curves revealed that the AzBio test was not a significant predictor of an SRN disorder, or an SNR loss using the steady-state noise Reference Standard 2 condition. However, the AzBio was a significant predictor of an SNR loss using the four-talker babble and 20-talker babble Reference Standard 2 conditions (p < .05). The AzBio was a significant predictor of an SNR loss when using the average HINT thresholds across the three Reference Standard 2 masker conditions (area under the curve = .79, p = .001). Conclusions The AzBio test was not a significant predictor of a self-reported SRN disorder or a self-reported SNR loss in steady-state noise. However, it was a significant predictor of a self-reported SNR loss in babble noise and the average across all noise conditions. A battery of reference standard tests with a range of maskers in a controlled listening environment is recommended for diagnostic accuracy evaluations of SRN tests.