High-constraint Sentences Research Articles

Parafoveal N400 effects reveal that word skipping is associated with deeper lexical processing in the presence of context-driven expectations.

Readers are able to begin processing upcoming words before directly fixating them, and in some cases skip words altogether (i.e., never fixated). However, the exact mechanisms and recognition thresholds underlying skipping decisions are not entirely clear. In the current study, we test whether skipping decisions reflect instances of more extensive lexical processing by recording neural language processing (via electroencephalography; EEG) and eye movements simultaneously, and we split trials based on target word-skipping behavior. To test lexical processing of the words, we manipulated the orthographic and phonological relationship between upcoming preview words and a semantically correct (and in some cases, expected) target word using the gaze-contingent display change paradigm. We also manipulated the constraint of the sentences to investigate the extent to which the identification of sublexical features of words depends on a reader's expectations. We extracted fixation-related brain potentials (FRPs) during the fixation on the preceding word (i.e., in response to parafoveal viewing of the manipulated previews). We found that word skipping is associated with larger neural responses (i.e., N400 amplitudes) to semantically incongruous words that did not share a phonological representation with the correct word, and this effect was only observed in high-constraint sentences. These findings suggest that word skipping can be reflective of more extensive linguistic processing, but in the absence of expectations, word skipping may occur based on less fine-grained linguistic processing and be more reflective of identification of plausible or expected sublexical features rather than higher-level lexical processing (e.g., semantic access).

Bilingualism and ageing independently impact on language processing: evidence from comprehension and production

AbstractTo examine the combined effects of ageing and bilingualism in language processing, we tested young and older mono- and bilingual speakers in L1 comprehension and production. In Experiment 1, bilinguals were slower to detect words than monolinguals in sentences with a low-constraint context, but not when a high-constraint context was provided. Older adults tended to outperform younger adults in high-constraint sentences. In Experiment 2, older speakers were slower than younger speakers to produce small-scope prepositional phrases (e.g., ‘the coneabovethe grape), suggesting more extensive planning. Bilingual disadvantages were observed in larger-scope complex phrases (e.g., ‘the coneandthe pink grape’). Individual differences in language proficiency did not modulate the effects. The results support bilingual disadvantages in syntactic processing and age-preserved syntax, alongside semantic processing unaffected by either bilingualism or age. We found no interactions between age and bilingualism, suggesting that these two factors independently impact language processing.

The electrophysiology of lexical prediction of emoji and text

As emoji often appear naturally alongside text in utterances, they provide a way to study how prediction unfolds in multimodal sentences in direct comparison to unimodal sentences. In this experiment, participants (N = 40) read sentences in which the sentence-final noun appeared in either word form or emoji form, a between-subjects manipulation. The experiment featured both high constraint sentences and low constraint sentences to examine how the lexical processing of emoji interacts with prediction processes in sentence comprehension. Two well-established ERP components linked to lexical processing and prediction – the N400 and the Late Frontal Positivity – are investigated for sentence-final words and emoji to assess whether, to what extent, and in what linguistic contexts emoji are processed like words. Results indicate that the expected effects, namely an N400 effect to an implausible lexical item compared to a plausible one and an LFP effect to an unexpected lexical item compared to an expected one, emerged for both words and emoji. This paper discusses the similarities and differences between the stimulus types and constraint conditions, contextualized within theories of linguistic prediction, ERP components, and a multimodal lexicon.

Do readers here what they sea?: Effects of lexicality, predictability, and individual differences on the phonological preview benefit

For decades, researchers have debated whether readers benefit from translating visual word forms into phonological codes. A focus of this debate has been on the earliest moments of processing when a word is perceived in parafoveal vision (i.e., phonological preview benefit). A recent meta-analysis (Vasilev et al., 2019) concluded that the phonological preview benefit may be small and unreliable but they did not take into account potentially important stimulus-level or participant-level factors that varied across the included studies. Therefore, we conducted two well-powered experiments that systematically investigated the effects of sentence constraint, preview lexicality, and participant language skills on the phonological preview benefit effect. We found phonological preview benefits that were larger in high versus low constraint sentences, larger for words than pseudowords, and larger for better spellers. We conclude that phonological codes do facilitate early word recognition during reading, but that the phonological preview benefit magnitude depends on subject- and stimulus-level factors.

Readers scrutinize lexical familiarity only in the absence of expectations: Evidence from lexicality effects on event-related potentials

Readers generate predictions about the meaning of upcoming words while reading constraining sentences. These predictions feed down to predictions about orthographic form. For example, orthographic neighbors of predicted words yield reduced N400 amplitudes compared to non-neighbors regardless of lexical status (Laszlo & Federmeier, 2009). We investigated whether readers are sensitive to lexicality in low constraint sentences when they must scrutinize the perceptual input more closely for word recognition. In a replication and extension of Laszlo and Federmeier (2009), we observed similar patterns as the original study in high constraint sentences, but found a lexicality effect in low constraint sentences that was not present when the sentence was highly constraining. This suggests that, in the absence of strong expectations, readers adopt a different reading strategy to scrutinize the structure of words more in depth to make sense of what they have read compared to when they encounter a supportive sentence context.

Semantic preview effect of relatedness and plausibility in reading Chinese: evidence from high constraint sentences

Semantic preview effect of relatedness and plausibility in reading Chinese: evidence from high constraint sentences

Word's Predictability Can Modulate Semantic Preview Effect in High-Constraint Sentences.

The processing of words in sentence reading is influenced by both information from sentential context (the effect of predictability) and information from previewing upcoming words (the preview effect), but how both effects interact during online reading is not clear. In this study, we tested the interaction of predictability effect and the preview effect in predicting reading processing. In the experiment, sentence constraint was controlled using all high-constraint sentences as materials. We manipulated both the predictability of the target word in the sentence and the semantic relationship between the preview word and the target word as predictors of the semantic preview effect. The results showed that the semantic preview effect was present only when the target word had low-predictability in the sentence but was not observed when the target word had high-predictability in the sentence. The results suggest that contextual information in reading can modulate the pre-activation of words and thus influence whether the preview word has a priming effect. The results of this study provide further evidence that reading comprehension involves an interactive system of processing multiple sources of information at multiple levels.

Hands Down: Cognate Effects Persist During Written Word Production.

Words that share form and meaning across two or more languages (i.e., cognates) are generally processed faster than control words (non-cognates) by bilinguals speaking these languages. This so-called cognate effect is considered to be a demonstration of language non-selectivity during bilingual lexical access. Still, research up till now has focused mainly on visual and auditory comprehension. For production, research is almost exclusively limited to speech, leaving written production out of the equation. Hence, the goal of the current study was to examine whether bilinguals activate representations from both languages during typewriting. Dutch-English bilinguals completed second-language written sentences with names of displayed pictures. Low-constraint sentences yielded a cognate facilitation effect, whereas high-constraint sentences did not. These findings suggest that co-activation of similar words across languages also occurs during written production, just as in reading and speaking. Also, the interaction effect with sentence constraint shows that grammatical and semantic sentence restrictions may overrule interlingual facilitation effects.

From pre-activation to pre-updating: A threshold mechanism for commitment to strong predictions.

Ample evidence suggests that during sentence processing comprehenders can "pre-activate" lexical/semantic knowledge stored in long-term memory. A relatively recent development suggests that in some cases a stronger form of prediction is employed, involving "pre-updating" the predicted content into the sentence's representation being built in working memory. The current study argues for an activation threshold mechanism by which pre-updating is initiated, within the routine processing stages of a word in a context. By combining a speeded cloze task with event-related potentials, we were able to analyze electrophysiological data measured prior to when participants were prompted to produce a completion, based on the participant's cloze response, reflecting their strongest prediction at that specific moment in time. A P600 effect reflecting pre-updating was observed in high (relative to low) constraint sentences, even in trials where the participant predicted a low cloze word. The results support a mechanism in which multiple predictions accumulate activations, "racing" toward a retrieval threshold. Once the activation level of a certain word passes the threshold, the word is integrated into the sentence representation in working memory. Pre-updating occurs if a certain prediction passes the retrieval threshold prior to its realization in the input.

The Effect of Word Predictability on Phonological Activation in Cantonese Reading: A Study of Eye-Fixations and Pupillary Response.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of contextual predictability on orthographic and phonological activation during Chinese sentence reading by Cantonese-speaking readers using the error disruption paradigm. Participants' eye fixations and pupil sizes were recorded while they silently read Chinese sentences containing homophonic, orthographic, and unrelated errors. Sentences had varying amounts of contextual information leading up to target words such that some targets were more predictable than others. Results of the fixation time analysis indicated that orthographic effects were significant in first fixation and gaze duration, while phonological effects emerged later in total reading time. However, interactions between predictability and the homophonic condition were found in gaze duration. These results suggest that, while Cantonese readers activate word meanings primarily through orthography in early processing, early phonological activation can occur when facilitated by semantics in high-constraint sentence contexts. Analysis of pupillary response measurements revealed that participants' pupil sizes became larger when they read words containing orthographic errors, suggesting that orthographic error recovery processes significantly increase cognitive load.

Context Effect on L2 Word Recognition: Visual Versus Auditory Modalities.

This study tested the effect of constraining sentence context on word recognition time (RT) in the first and second language. Native (L1) and nonnative (L2) speakers of English performed self-paced reading and listening tasks to see whether a semantically-rich preceding context would lead to the activation of a probable upcoming word prior to encountering it. The pre-access prediction model (e.g., Altmann and Kamide in Cognition 73(3):247-264, 1999; McClelland and Rumelhart in Psychol Rev 88:375-407, 1981) posits that when the preceding context is semantically high-constraining, the perceptual system anticipates a probable upcoming word prior to encountering it. In contrast, the post-access model (e.g., Fodor in The modularity of mind, MIT Press, Cambridge, 1983; Forster in Q J Exp Psychol Sect A 33(4):465-495, 1981; Traxler et al. in J Psycholinguist Res 29(6):581-595, 2000; Van Petten and Luka in Int J Psychophysiol 83(2): 176-190, 2012) suggests that it is only after a word is encountered that a subsequent process integrates it into the preceding context. The integration process is easier and faster when the word is more congruent with the preceding context. In line with these two models of visual word recognition, auditory word recognition is modeled by the TRACE model (McClelland and Elman in Cogn Psychol 18(1):1-86, 1986), which suggests that a spoken word is influenced by the preceding sentence context, whereas models such as the cohort model (Marslen-Wilson in Cognition 25(1-2):71-102, 1987) support a post-access integration process. Some studies observe a facilitative effect of sentence context on L2 word recognition (e.g., Kamide et al. in J Mem Lang 49(1):133-156, 2003), while others find no effect of sentence context in L2 (e.g., Ito et al. in Lang Cogn Neurosci 32(8):954-965, 2017; Martin et al. in J Mem Lang 69(4):574-588, 2013). In the present experiments, the RTs of native English speakers (L1) and non-native English speakers (L2) were collected in both visual and auditory word recognition in semantically high-constraint sentences and semantically low-constraint sentences. A linear, mixed-effects model shows that both groups of participants are faster to recognize a word when it is preceded by a semantically high-constraining context. This result is observed in both the visual and the auditory modalities, lending some support for a mechanism facilitating the access of target words based on sentence context in both L1 and L2.

Mechanisms of word concreteness effects in explicit memory: Does context availability play a role?

One explanation for why concrete words are recalled better than abstract words is systematic differences across these word types in the availability of context information. In contrast, explanations for the concrete-word advantage in recognition memory do not consider a possible role for context availability. We investigated the extent to which context availability can explain the effects of word concreteness in both free recall (Exp. 1) and item recognition (Exp. 2) by presenting each target word in isolation, in a low-constraint sentence context, or in a high-constraint sentence context at study. Concreteness effects were consistent with those from previous research, with concrete-word advantages in both tasks. Embedding words in sentence contexts with low semantic constraint hurt recall performance but helped recognition performance, relative to presenting words in isolation. Embedding words in sentence contexts with high semantic constraint hurt both recall and recognition performance, relative to words in low-constraint sentences. The effects of concreteness and semantic constraint were consistent for both high- and low-frequency words. Embedding words in high-constraint sentence contexts neither reduced nor eliminated the concreteness effect in recall or recognition, indicating that differences in context availability cannot explain concreteness effects in explicit memory.

Rapid L2 Word Learning through High Constraint Sentence Context: An Event-Related Potential Study.

Previous studies have found quantity of exposure, i.e., frequency of exposure (Horst et al., 1998; Webb, 2008; Pellicer-Sánchez and Schmitt, 2010), is important for second language (L2) contextual word learning. Besides this factor, context constraint and L2 proficiency level have also been found to affect contextual word learning (Pulido, 2003; Tekmen and Daloglu, 2006; Elgort et al., 2015; Ma et al., 2015). In the present study, we adopted the event-related potential (ERP) technique and chose high constraint sentences as reading materials to further explore the effects of quantity of exposure and proficiency on L2 contextual word learning. Participants were Chinese learners of English with different English proficiency levels. For each novel word, there were four high constraint sentences with the critical word at the end of the sentence. Learners read sentences and made semantic relatedness judgment afterwards, with ERPs recorded. Results showed that in the high constraint condition where each pseudoword was embedded in four sentences with consistent meaning, N400 amplitude upon this pseudoword decreased significantly as learners read the first two sentences. High proficiency learners responded faster in the semantic relatedness judgment task. These results suggest that in high quality sentence contexts, L2 learners could rapidly acquire word meaning without multiple exposures, and L2 proficiency facilitated this learning process.

Understanding environmental sounds in sentence context

There is debate about how individuals use context to successfully predict and recognize words. One view argues that context supports neural predictions that make use of the speech motor system, whereas other views argue for a sensory or conceptual level of prediction. While environmental sounds can convey clear referential meaning, they are not linguistic signals, and are thus neither produced with the vocal tract nor typically encountered in sentence context. We compared the effect of spoken sentence context on recognition and comprehension of spoken words versus nonspeech, environmental sounds. In Experiment 1, sentence context decreased the amount of signal needed for recognition of spoken words and environmental sounds in similar fashion. In Experiment 2, listeners judged sentence meaning in both high and low contextually constraining sentence frames, when the final word was present or replaced with a matching environmental sound. Results showed that sentence constraint affected decision time similarly for speech and nonspeech, such that high constraint sentences (i.e., frame plus completion) were processed faster than low constraint sentences for speech and nonspeech. Linguistic context facilitates the recognition and understanding of nonspeech sounds in much the same way as for spoken words. This argues against a simple form of a speech-motor explanation of predictive coding in spoken language understanding, and suggests support for conceptual-level predictions.

Preliminary Investigation of the Passively Evoked N400 as a Tool for Estimating Speech-in-Noise Thresholds.

Speech-in-noise testing relies on a number of factors beyond the auditory system, such as cognitive function, compliance, and motor function. It may be possible to avoid these limitations by using electroencephalography. The present study explored this possibility using the N400. Eleven adults with typical hearing heard high-constraint sentences with congruent and incongruent terminal words in the presence of speech-shaped noise. Participants ignored all auditory stimulation and watched a video. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was varied around each participant's behavioral threshold during electroencephalography recording. Speech was also heard in quiet. The amplitude of the N400 effect exhibited a nonlinear relationship with SNR. In the presence of background noise, amplitude decreased from high (+4 dB) to low (+1 dB) SNR but increased dramatically at threshold before decreasing again at subthreshold SNR (-2 dB). The SNR of speech in noise modulates the amplitude of the N400 effect to semantic anomalies in a nonlinear fashion. These results are the first to demonstrate modulation of the passively evoked N400 by SNR in speech-shaped noise and represent a first step toward the end goal of developing an N400-based physiological metric for speech-in-noise testing.

The Effect of Number and Presentation Order of High-Constraint Sentences on Second Language Word Learning.

This paper presents the results of an experiment that investigated the effects of number and presentation order of high-constraint sentences on semantic processing of unknown second language (L2) words (pseudowords) through reading. All participants were Chinese native speakers who learned English as a foreign language. In the experiment, sentence constraint and order of different constraint sentences were manipulated in English sentences, as well as L2 proficiency level of participants. We found that the number of high-constraint sentences was supportive for L2 word learning except in the condition in which high-constraint exposure was presented first. Moreover, when the number of high-constraint sentences was the same, learning was significantly better when the first exposure was a high-constraint exposure. And no proficiency level effects were found. Our results provided direct evidence that L2 word learning benefited from high quality language input and first presentations of high quality language input.

Bilingual non-selective lexical access in sentence contexts: A meta-analytic review

Abstract Research on bilingual sentence processing demonstrates effects of cross-language activation during lexical access. However, there are mixed findings regarding the ability of semantically-constraining sentences to eliminate non-selective effects. In a quantitative meta-analysis the magnitude of cognate facilitation was examined as a function of sentence constraint, task and language of the sentence [native language (L1) versus second (L2)] as moderator variables. Twenty-six studies met criteria for measuring cognate facilitation in low-constraint sentence contexts and 18 experiments for high-constraint sentence contexts. The weighted average effect size for both contexts was significant, but significantly smaller for high-constraint contexts. This provides evidence that semantic information from a sentence constrains cross-language lexical activation. Effect sizes were moderated by task and language of the sentence. Findings are discussed in terms of models of bilingual lexical access and a new framework for understanding the mechanism of sentence context effects is proposed.

When does a strategy intervention overcome a failure of inhibition? Evidence from two left frontal brain tumour cases

IntroductionInitiation and inhibition of responses are crucial for appropriate behaviour across different settings. Initiation and inhibition difficulties are well documented following frontal damage, although task differences have limited our understanding. The Hayling Sentence Completion Test was designed to assess verbal initiation and inhibition within the same task. This study investigates the ability of two patients with left frontal tumours (KI: high grade glioma; PM: meningioma) to use a strategy to overcome profound suppression failures on the Hayling Test. MethodKI and PM completed the Hayling Test and two experimental tasks. The Selection Investigation assessed verbal initiation on a sentence completion task that varied selection demands (high/low). The Suppression and Strategy Investigation assessed ability to implement four strategies aimed to override a suppression failure and facilitate production of an unconnected word. ResultsOn the Hayling Test, KI and PM initiated responses to complete high constraint sentences, in contrast to impaired suppression. KI benefitted minimally from strategies to overcome suppression failure although one strategy (object naming) was partially successful. KI's errors revealed fast suppression errors, in contrast to slow no responses, and selection ability was also impaired for verbal initiation. PM, however, implemented each strategy 100% to overcome a suppression failure and had no difficulty completing sentences meaningfully, regardless of selection demands. ConclusionThis first investigation of strategy implementation to overcome profound suppression impairments provides insights into verbal initiation, inhibition, selection and strategy mechanisms, which has implications for neurorehabilitation. Specifically, both patients had profound inhibition deficits but KI also presented with a selection deficit and was unable to implement a strategy. By contrast, PM's selection ability was intact but she was unable to generate, rather than implement, a strategy. We suggest that KI has both fast, uncontrolled semantic output and response inhibition difficulty, whereas PM's difficulty is underpinned by motivational factors.

Directionality and context effects in word translation tasks performed by conference interpreters

AbstractProfessional interpreters employed by international institutions usually work into their L1 from their L2, while freelance interpreters tend to work both into and from their L1. A study was devised to see if the long-term interpreting unidirectional practice (in the L2–L1 direction only), in contrast to bidirectional practice (in the L2–L1 and L1–L2 direction), influences the speed of lexical retrieval manifested through shorter translation latencies. Forty-eight professional conference interpreters produced oral translations of nouns presented in isolation, in high context constraint sentences and in low context constraint sentences. Contrary to predictions, unidirectional interpreters did not manifest directionality asymmetry and their L2–L1 translation latencies were not shorter than L1–L2 translation latencies. Surprisingly, the L2–L1 direction advantage was found in the group of bidirectional interpreters. The data suggest that the dominant directionality in interpreting practice has little impact on the strength of interlingual lexical links in the interpreter’s mental lexicon or that other factors (such as language use, exposure and immersion) might offset any such impact. The study also revealed an expected context effect, which shows that interpreters use semantic constraint to anticipate sentence-final words.

Proficiency and sentence constraint effects on second language word learning

This paper presents an experiment that investigated the effects of L2 proficiency and sentence constraint on semantic processing of unknown L2 words (pseudowords). All participants were Chinese native speakers who learned English as a second language. In the experiment, we used a whole sentence presentation paradigm with a delayed semantic relatedness judgment task. Both higher and lower-proficiency L2 learners could make use of the high-constraint sentence context to judge the meaning of novel pseudowords, and higher-proficiency L2 learners outperformed lower-proficiency L2 learners in all conditions. These results demonstrate that both L2 proficiency and sentence constraint affect subsequent word learning among second language learners. We extended L2 word learning into a sentence context, replicated the sentence constraint effects previously found among native speakers, and found proficiency effects in L2 word learning.