L2 L1 Research Articles

Syntactic asymmetry and spillover effects in simultaneous interpreting with slides: an eye-tracking study on beginner interpreters

ABSTRACT Simultaneous interpreting with text or slides is a complex form of bilingual language processing due to its dual input. The present study seeks to explore the processing and rendering of asymmetrical structures in SI with slides. To achieve this, we first investigate asymmetrical structures in Chinese-English SI with slides in both directions. Then, we examine whether the processing of asymmetrical structures generates a spillover effect on the continuation segment, and how the spillover effect varies with the interpreting direction. Twenty interpreting students were invited to perform tasks of SI with slides in an eye-tracking experiment. The results show that (1) the processing of asymmetrical structures was more challenging in L2–L1 SI with slides than in L1–L2 SI with slides; (2) asymmetrical structures had a spillover effect on the processing of the subsequent segment; (3) the spillover effect was greater in L2–L1 than in L1–L2 SI with slides. The findings provide new insights into the processing of syntactic asymmetry in an interpreting mode with dual input. Our results also suggest that asymmetrical structures might be potential causes of the spillover effect.

Imaging of permeability defect distribution by electromagnetic tomography with hybrid L1 normand nuclear normpenalty terms.

Electromagnetic tomography (EMT), with the advantages of being non-contact, non-invasiveness, low cost, simple structure, and fast imaging speed, is a multi-functional tomography technique based on boundary measurement voltages to image the conductivity distribution within the sensing field. EMT is widely used in industrial and biomedical fields. Currently, there are few studies on the application of EMT in magnetic permeability materials, which makes it difficult to obtain high-quality reconstructed images due to its own properties that lead to obvious attenuation of electromagnetic waves during propagation, as well as the ill-posed and ill-conditioned characteristics of EMT. In this paper, a multi-feature objective function integrating L2 normregularization, L1 normregularization, and low-rank normregularization is proposed to solve the challenge of magnetic permeability material imaging. This approach emphasizes the smoothness and sparsity. The split Bregman algorithm is introduced to efficiently solve the proposed objective function by decomposing the complex optimization problem into several simple sub-task iterative schemes. In addition, a nine-coil planar array electromagnetic sensor was developed and a flexible modular EMT system was constructed. We use correlation coefficient and error coefficient as indicators to evaluate the performance of the proposed image reconstruction algorithm. The effectiveness of the proposed method in improving the reconstruction accuracy and robustness is verified through numerical simulations and experiments.

Two languages, two emotional minds in one brain: processing emotion-label and emotion-laden words by Chinese-English bilinguals

ABSTRACT The present study examined the neural correlates of emotion effects evoked by emotion-label and emotion-laden nouns in Chinese-English bilinguals’ two languages through the emotion categorization tasks. At the perceptual processing stage, only L2 emotion-label and emotion-laden nouns induced amplified N100 than neutral nouns. At the semantic processing stage, relative to neutral nouns, L2 negative emotion-laden nouns triggered heightened EEPN, and L1 emotion-laden nouns evoked marginally smaller EEPN; only L2 emotion-laden and positive emotion-label nouns exhibited augmented LEPN; L2 positive emotion-label and L1 emotion-label and emotion-laden nouns displayed reduced N400. At the integration processing stage, L2 positive nouns showed larger LPC and L1 positive nouns displayed smaller LPC than neutral nouns. These results verified emotion word type hypothesis across languages, and also implied that emotional attributes were encoded within both perceptual and semantic representations in L2, and predominantly within semantic representation in L1.

Lexico‐Semantic Attrition of Native Language: Evidence From Russian–Hebrew Bilinguals

AbstractNative language (L1) attrition is ubiquitous in modern globalized society, but its cognitive/psycholinguistic mechanisms are poorly understood. We investigated lexico‐semantic L1 attrition in L1 Russian immigrants in Israel, who predominantly use their second language (L2), Hebrew, in daily life. We included Russian monolinguals as a control group. We tested two potential causal mechanisms of attrition: L2 interference versus L1 disuse. Participants completed a fill‐the‐gap task in two conditions: accuracy (producing one exactly matching word) and scope (providing as many synonyms as possible). We expected L2 interference and L1 disuse to lead to the differential reduction of accuracy and scope features, respectively. Lower scores for attriters emerged in the accuracy but not in the scope condition. Moreover, attitude towards L1 influenced attriters’ accuracy—but not scope—performance, with higher L1 preference predicting higher accuracy. We provide evidence for lexico‐semantic attrition in adult immigrants, pointing to L2 interference as the primary cause of impaired lexical retrieval.

Effects of pair work and individual work on paired‐associate vocabulary learning in an EFL context

AbstractThis study investigates how different modes of a memorization activity in paired‐associate learning (PAL), namely pair work and individual work, can affect learners’ short‐ and long‐term retention of newly learned vocabulary items. In the aforementioned activity, two groups of Japanese college students studying English as a foreign language (EFL) learned 20 novel English vocabulary items using a second language–first language (L2–L1) list. First, the pair group worked in pairs; one member asked the other to state the L1 equivalent of the target items aloud for 2.5 min, and vice versa. Second, the members of the individual group memorized the L1 meanings of the target words for 5 minutes using their own methods. Subsequently, an immediate posttest and questionnaire survey regarding their preferred learning styles and strategies were conducted after the study session. Furthermore, a surprise delayed posttest was administered 3 weeks after the session. The results revealed that the individual group outperformed in the immediate posttest. However, the pair group scored significantly better in the delayed posttest. These results suggest that individual work is superior for memorizing a larger number of words in a short time but that memory can decay relatively quickly. Conversely, pair work may be superior for long‐term retention.

The role of differential cross-linguistic influence and other constraints in predictive L2 gender processing

Previous studies on the use of morphosyntactic gender cues for linguistic prediction show that non-native speakers’ use of grammatical gender information is influenced by various factors. In the present study, we examined the influence of differential cross-linguistic influence (DCLI), knowledge of L2 lexical gender, gender congruency, and L2 fluency. To this end, we investigated L1 Oromo L2 Amharic speakers as well as L1 Amharic speakers, using the Visual World Paradigm (VWP) and supplementary offline experiments. We investigated two groups of L2 Amharic speakers, i.e., L1 Eastern Oromo L2 Amharic and L1 Western Oromo L2 Amharic speakers. The Eastern Oromo dialect patterns with Amharic in terms of gender agreement unlike the Western Oromo dialect which does not have grammatical gender. Analyses of the participants’ proportion of eye fixations show that early exposure to the gendered Eastern Oromo dialect facilitates predictive L2 gender processing. L2 fluency, the speakers’ knowledge of L2 lexical gender, and specific properties of the gender cues modulate predictive L2 gender processing. However, there is no significant influence of lexical gender congruency. The study has ecological significance as it presents empirical data from understudied languages.

Visual processing during computer-assisted consecutive interpreting

Abstract This study investigates the visual processing patterns during computer-assisted consecutive interpreting (CACI). In phase I of the proposed CACI workflow, the interpreter listens to the source speech and respeaks it into speech recognition (SR) software. In phase II, the interpreter produces target speech supported by the SR text and its machine translation (MT) output. A group of students performed CACI with their eye movements tracked. In phase I, the participants devoted the majority of their attention to listening and respeaking, with very limited attention distributed to the SR text. However, a positive correlation was found between the percentage of dwell time on the SR text and the quality of respeaking, which suggests that active monitoring could be important. In phase II, the participants devoted more visual attention to the MT text than to the SR text and engaged in deeper and more effortful processing when reading the MT text. We identified a positive correlation between the percentage of dwell time on the MT text and interpreting quality in the L2–L1 direction but not in the L1–L2 direction. These results contribute to our understanding of computer-assisted interpreting and can provide insights for future research and training in this area.

Seismic wavelet shape-oriented reflectivity inversion method

Abstract Reflectivity inversion plays a pivotal role in reservoir prediction. Conventional sparse-spike deconvolution assumes that the reflectivity (reflection coefficient) is sparse, which is solved based on the l1 norm. However, the restricted isometry property (RIP) of wavelet matrix and seismic effective bandwidth limits the accuracy of the sparse-spike reflectivity inversion. Consequently, we investigate the connection between seismic amplitude shape and reflectivity. When the reflectivity contains more non-zero values, the wavelet bandwidth within the effective seismic data bandwidth approaches a limit corresponding to the Sinc wavelet, where the main-lobe amplitude closely approximates the reflectivity. Conversely, when the reflectivity has fewer non-zero values, a wavelet with a smaller sidelobe provides a more accurate approximation of the reflectivity. In this paper, we propose a high-resolution inversion optimization method based on joint l2 norm and l1 norm constraints. By parameter tuning, we construct the Sinc wavelet or the wavelet with a weak-sidelobe corresponding to the seismic spectrum. Subsequently, we determine the extremum to approximate the reflectivity. To mitigate the RIP condition's constraints, we employ the l2 norm to balance the l1 norm (joint constraint) by introducing l2 norm with low-pass filtering characteristics. This approach yields more accurate reflectivity estimates. By taking the extremum, this approach yields more accurate reflectivity estimates. The synthetic test demonstrates that our method achieves better reflectivity inversion accuracy compared to sparse-spike inversion with l1–l2 norm constraint. Furthermore, field tests indicate that the proposed reflectivity inversion method not only can better match the well curve, but also exhibits excellent resolution.

Vocabulary card learning: Testing multilingual translations and increased semantic processing

Vocabulary card learning stands out as one of the most efficient methods for memorizing a large number of words in a short period of time. Multilinguals have the possibility to use their multilingual repertoire to their advantage when learning new words, for example in the acquisition of formally overlapping words. This study aims to answer the as-yet unexplored question of whether the use of bilingual translations in vocabulary cards can provide advantages for multilinguals when learning vocabulary even in a linguistically distant language. Furthermore, predictions based on the ‘type of processing – resource allocation’ (TOPRA) model regarding trade-offs through semantic processing are taken into consideration. In this study, traditional vocabulary card learning is compared to two further elaborated learning tasks which included multilingual translations. In a 3 × 3-within-participant design, 72 participants learned 60 Estonian nouns in three conditions: (1) monolingual: one translation in the participant’s dominant language, (2) bilingual: two translations in the participant’s two strongest languages, and (3) multilingual semantic+: one translation in the dominant language including the instruction to retrieve the meaning of the Estonian word in any other known language. The dependent measures were immediate and delayed L2–L1 cued-recall post-tests and efficiency (ratio of learning performance to learning time). The results show that the monolingual condition significantly outperforms the two other conditions in all recall tests. In terms of efficiency, however, the monolingual condition only significantly outperforms the multilingual semantic+ condition. The comparison between the bilingual and the multilingual semantic+ condition shows descriptively (but not statistically significant) better performance for the bilingual condition.

Comparative analysis of interactional metadiscursive resources in academic writing by L2 and L1 English writers

Interactional Metadicursive Resources (IMRs) are established as the most common rhetorical features that assist writers in achieving interaction with the discourse community. The purpose of this study was to compare the use of IMRs in research articles (RAs) authored by Yemeni L2 writers and L1 English writers, while also examining the extent to which both groups employ these resources to achieve persuasive purposes. Based on Hyland’s (2019) model, AntConc was used as an analytical tool in a corpus-based methodology to analyze the use of IMRs in their context of use, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Moreover, Swales’ models were adapted to identify rhetorical moves in the different sections of RAs. The findings indicate that L1 writers tended to use IMRs more frequently and effectively to pursue ethos and pathos. However, Yemeni L2 writers tended to use IMRs sparingly, lacking familiarity with their persuasive role. L1 writers tended to express epistemic and affective stances and used these resources throughout their research, while Yemeni L2 writers tended to focus more on propositional content, using limited IMRs in their writing. Furthermore, unlike L1 English writers, who tended to negotiate their claims in the RA introduction and engage their audience in the RA conclusion, Yemeni L2 writers almost exclusively strengthened their line of argument when initiating and concluding their research. The study concludes by discussing the pedagogical implications of the effective use of IMRs in L2 academic writing.

Robust Algorithms for the Analysis of Fast-Field-Cycling Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Dispersion Curves

Fast-Field-Cycling (FFC) Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) relaxometry is a powerful, non-destructive magnetic resonance technique that enables, among other things, the investigation of slow molecular dynamics at low magnetic field intensities. FFC-NMR relaxometry measurements provide insight into molecular motion across various timescales within a single experiment. This study focuses on a model-free approach, representing the NMRD profile R1 as a linear combination of Lorentzian functions, thereby addressing the challenges of fitting data within an ill-conditioned linear least-squares framework. Tackling this problem, we present a comprehensive review and experimental validation of three regularization approaches to implement the model-free approach to analyzing NMRD profiles. These include (1) MF-UPen, utilizing locally adapted L2 regularization; (2) MF-L1, based on L1 penalties; and (3) a hybrid approach combining locally adapted L2 and global L1 penalties. Each method’s regularization parameters are determined automatically according to the Balancing and Uniform Penalty principles. Our contributions include the implementation and experimental validation of the MF-UPen and MF-MUPen algorithms, and the development of a “dispersion analysis” technique to assess the existence range of the estimated parameters. The objective of this work is to delineate the variance in fit quality and correlation time distribution yielded by each algorithm, thus broadening the set of software tools for the analysis of sample structures in FFC-NMR studies. The findings underline the efficacy and applicability of these algorithms in the analysis of NMRD profiles from samples representing different potential scenarios.

Are subtitles useful for language learners?

Despite the seemingly commonsensical view that captions or subtitles aid comprehension, empirical research is less certain about their recommendation for all language learners. This review article introduces some of the theoretical foundations of multimedia learning before examining recent studies investigating the facilitative effect of L2 captions, L1 subtitles and dual-language subtitles. Qualitative insights from research are then presented, with implications for both research and teaching practice further discussed. The article concludes by underlining the importance of learner perspectives due to the complexity of factors affecting the pedagogical value of captions and subtitles.

L1 Japanese Perceptual Drift in Late Learners of L2 English

This study presents evidence of second language (L2) influence on first language (L1) perception of alveolar stops. Sixty-one L1 Japanese late learners of L2 English (onset ~12 years old) in Japan (N = 31) and in the US (N = 30) participated. We examined late L2 learners’ L2 perceptual ability and L1 perception drift by administering three perception tasks (AX discrimination, forced categorization, and goodness rating) on word-initial stop consonants. The L2 learners’ L1 Japanese and L2 English data were compared to those of Japanese and English monolinguals, respectively (N = 21, N = 16). All participants’ production data were also gathered to examine potential perception-production relationships. Late learners’ sensitivity patterns along a synthesized /da–ta/ continuum differed significantly from those of monolingual speakers, with a sensitivity peak location between the monolingual Japanese and English groups. This suggests that late learners’ voicing category boundaries may have been influenced by L2 English learning. The L2 learners’ goodness rating patterns of L1 Japanese stimuli also showed evidence of L1 perceptual drift: L2 learners tended to be more accepting of Japanese stimuli with longer VOTs compared to Japanese monolinguals.

Disentangling cues of different domains in transfer and development in L3 acquisition: An investigation of L2/L3 Mandarin yes-no questions

Abstract This empirical study aims to shed light on L3 initial-stage transfer and later development by investigating Q-operations in L1 English–L2 Cantonese and L1 Cantonese–L2 English bilinguals’ L3 Mandarin and L1 English speakers’ L2 Mandarin at low and high proficiency levels. Data from an online cross-modal priming task and an offline acceptability judgement task found that structural similarity determines transfer source selection. Adopting a de-compositional approach to cues of different domains, we have found both facilitative and detrimental transfer effects from Cantonese, with the latter triggered by orthographic and phonological cues. Our data also suggest that detrimental transfer effects can persist at an advanced stage and that L3 development and acquisition results can be affected by various factors such as word frequency and the nature of learning situations.

Investigating the effect of nativeness and speaker age on the credibility of spoken sentences

Previous studies found mixed results regarding a bias in credibility ratings for trivia statements made by L2 speakers in comparison to L1 speakers. Perceptual fluency, social attitudes, and pragmatic lenience have been proposed as underlying causes for the bias. The present study examined credibility ratings for L2 speakers and extended the scope of the investigation by adding the factor age of the speaker. In the present study, German native adult listeners were asked to judge the credibility of trivia statements recorded by L2 adults and L1 children in Experiment 1 and statements by L1 adults and L1 children in Experiment 2. In Experiment 1, the ratings showed no difference in credibility between the L2 adult statements and the L1 child statements. In Experiment 2, listeners rated statements from L1 child speakers as more credible than statements from L1 adult speakers, suggesting a positive bias for the credibility of children. The results are discussed in terms of their relevance for previously suggested causes contributing to a credibility bias.

Utility of Kolmogorov complexity measures: Analysis of L2 groups and L1 backgrounds.

The proliferation of automated syntactic complexity tools allowed the analysis of larger amounts of learner writing. However, existing tools tend to be language-specific or depend on segmenting learner production into native-based units of analysis. This study examined the utility of a language-general and unsupervised linguistic complexity metric: Kolmogorov complexity in discriminating between L2 proficiency levels within several languages (Czech, German, Italian, English) and across various L1 backgrounds (N = 10) using two large CEFR-rater learner corpora. Kolmogorov complexity was measured at three levels: syntax, morphology, and overall linguistic complexity. Pairwise comparisons indicated that all Kolmogorov complexity measures discriminated among the proficiency levels within the L2s. L1-based variation in complexity was also observed. Distinct syntactic and morphological complexity patterns were found when L2 English writings were analyzed across versus within L1 backgrounds. These results indicate that Kolmogorov complexity could serve as a valuable metric in L2 writing research due to its cross-linguistic flexibility and holistic nature.

Vowel perception in multilingual speakers: ERP evidence from Polish, English and Norwegian.

Research on Mismatch Negativity (MMN) in monolingual and bilingual speakers has shown significant differences in L1 versus L2 phonemic perception. In this study, we examined whether the MMN response is sensitive to the differences between L1, L2 and L3/Ln. We compared bioelectrical brain activity in response to changes in pairs of vowels produced in three different languages. Specifically, multilingual participants listened to selected vowel contrasts in their L1 Polish, L2 English and L3/Ln Norwegian presented within the passive-oddball paradigm. Results revealed that the MMN was modulated by language: we observed significant differences between L2 English and L3/Ln Norwegian as well as between L1 Polish and L3/Ln Norwegian. For L3/Ln Norwegian, the MMN response had a lower amplitude when compared with L2 English and L1 Polish. Such findings suggest that foreign language status (i.e., L2 vs. L3/Ln) modulates early auditory processing.

Syntactic simplification in interpreted English: Dependency distance and direction measures

This study investigates the simplification hypothesis in interpreting, as well as its cognitive implications, by examining features of syntactic dependency in three language varieties: English speech simultaneously interpreted from Chinese, original English speech produced by native speakers (L1 speech), and original English speech produced by non-native speakers (L2 speech). Two measures of the dependency relation, namely dependency distance and dependency direction, are employed to explore the distinction among the three language varieties in terms of their syntactic complexity, amount of cognitive demand, and the typological property of word order. The findings reveal that interpreted speech has the lowest mean dependency distance (MDD), followed by L2 speech and L1 speech, which indicates that interpreted English speech is syntactically more simplified than original English speech. The lowest MDD in interpreted speech is associated with the high cognitive demand in simultaneous interpreting, suggesting that increased cognitive demand in language processing is likely to lead to simplification of the syntactic structure of the linguistic output. Furthermore, dependency direction analysis of the three language varieties indicates that interpreted English tends to be more head-final than L1 English speech, confirming a typological word order distinction between translational and original language.

Korean-speaking Learners’ Production of Mandarin Non-low Back Vowels

Vowels are the main components of Chinese syllables, and in order to produce standard Chinese pronunciation, it is essential to accurately distinguish the pronunciation of vowel variants under different conditions. Korean-speaking learners often struggle with differentiating Chinese non-low back vowels, leading to pronunciation errors. Through Praat speech analysis of formant values for the pronunciation of Chinese non-low back vowels by six participants, Korean L2 Chinese speakers and L1 Chinese speakers’ vowel spaces were compared. It was found that the distinction between /ʅ / and /ɿ / was not very clear, with both vowels overall shifting closer to /i /. In terms of /u / and /o / pronunciation, Korean L2 Chinese speakers differentiated these two vowels mainly based on the value of F2, whereas L1 Chinese speakers primarily distinguished them by the difference in F1 values, indicating variations in tongue height. Furthermore, the F1 and F3 values for /ɣ / were higher for Korean L2 Chinese speakers, suggesting an incorrect interpretation of /ɣ / as a front vowel with slightly higher tongue position, whereas it should align closely with /o / in terms of height.

Bilingual Children Shift and Relax Second-Language Phoneme Categorization in Response to Accented L2 and Native L1 Speech Exposure.

Listeners adjust their perception to match that of presented speech through shifting and relaxation of categorical boundaries. This allows for processing of speech variation, but may be detrimental to processing efficiency. Bilingual children are exposed to many types of speech in their linguistic environment, including native and non-native speech. This study examined how first language (L1) Spanish/second language (L2) English bilingual children shifted and relaxed phoneme categorization along the cue of voice onset time (VOT) during English speech processing after three types of language exposure: native English exposure, native Spanish exposure, and Spanish-accented English exposure. After exposure to Spanish-accented English speech, bilingual children shifted categorical boundaries in the direction of native English speech boundaries. After exposure to native Spanish speech, children shifted to a smaller extent in the same direction and relaxed boundaries leading to weaker differentiation between categories. These results suggest that prior exposure can affect processing of a second language in bilingual children, but different mechanisms are used when adapting to different types of speech variation.