Although optional elements of speech, speakers frequently use adjunct phrases (e.g., on the rug, by the weekend) to enrich message content in communication. However, little is known about how adjunct phrases are processed in persons with aphasia (PWAs) and strategies to improve their production. This study sought to improve production of locative adjuncts in sentence and discourse tasks in PWAs using implicit structural priming and examined what factors (lexical overlap, sentential position, aphasia severity) impact degrees of structural priming effects. Twenty PWAs and 20 age- and education-matched controls completed a pretest, a structural priming task, and a posttest. During the priming task, participants read prime sentences with and without locative adjuncts and then described target pictures in sentences. In the pretest and posttest, participants completed three discourse production tasks. Both groups produced more locative adjuncts in target sentences following primes with locative adjuncts compared to those without. While lexical overlap boosted priming effects in both groups, there was no significant difference in priming effects by the sentential position (initial vs. final) of locative adjuncts. Priming effects also generalized to discourse tasks, with both groups producing a higher proportion of locative adjuncts in their connected speech after the priming task. Structural priming resulted in cumulative and generalizable production of optional locative adjuncts in sentence and discourse production in both groups, suggesting its potential to support language production beyond specific syntactic structures. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.30532967.

This honours project examines the use of BA and BEI constructions for school-aged children. The study includes in-person interviews and conversation sessions to demonstrate how syntactic priming is effective for passive BEI constructions. It emphasizes the combination of priming and translation activities of the research design. Research results summarize that girls use more BA constructions than boys, and younger children make verb omissions and word-order errors. This study provides unique insights into bilinguals ‘syntactic productivity in BA and BEI constructions and aligns with second language acquisition (SLA) and Speech-Language Pathology (SLP). Language educators can focus on the enjoyment element in their language teaching methods for elementary students whose second language is English. Future studies can find the patterns in the syntactic performances of BA and BEI constructions among those with and without language impairments (LI). Keywords: Bilingualism, Age of Acquisition (AoA), Heritage Language (HL) Learning, BA and BEI Construction, Syntactic Priming, Interlanguage (IL), Chinese Heritage Language (CHL) learner

Sentence production is impaired in many persons with aphasia (PWA). However, few effective treatments for sentence production exist. Recent research has advanced structural priming as a promising treatment for aphasia, but the underlying mechanisms of priming remain unclear. This study examined contributions of abstract syntactic and lexically boosted priming to sentence production improvements in PWA and underlying memory mechanisms. Twenty-four PWA and 16 age-matched controls completed baseline testing, three to six sessions of sentence production priming training, and 1-day and 1-week posttesting. Trained structures were passives and double-object datives. Participants were trained with same-verb and different-verb priming to assess lexical boost and abstract syntactic priming effects on treatment outcomes. The serial reaction time, fragmented picture, and picture pointing span tests were administered to assess contributions of implicit and explicit memory in predicting treatment gains. PWA and controls showed lasting improvements to both trained and untrained sentences following training. Critically, controls improved more strongly following same-verb priming, while PWA showed stronger gains following different-verb priming. High implicit memory scores facilitated greater treatment effects in both PWA and controls. Only controls showed positive effects of explicit memory. These results support structural priming as an effective sentence production treatment for PWA, especially when verbs are not matched between primes and target. We suggest lexical differentiation supports priming in PWA by allowing more efficient access and learning of abstract syntactic representations, which appears crucial to successful sentence production.

This study explores the use of pre-trained language models (PLMs) in tracking priming treatment induced language recovery in aphasia. We evaluate PLM-derived surprisals, the negative log-probabilities of a word or a sequence of words calculated by a PLM given its preceding context, as a continuous and interpretable measure of treatment-induced language change. We found that surprisal scores decreased following structural priming treatment, especially in participants with more severe sentence production impairments. We also introduce a prompting-based pipeline for clinical classification tasks. It achieved promising results in classifying aphasia sentence correctness (F1 = 0.967) and detecting error categories in aphasia (accuracy = 0.846). Such use of PLMs for modeling, tracking, and automatically classifying language recovery in aphasia represents a promising deployment of GenAI in a clinical rehabilitation setting. Together, our PLM-based analyses offer a practical approach for modeling language rehabilitation, tracking not only language structure but also individual change over time in clinical contexts.Clinical trial registrationIdentifier NTC05415501.

ABSTRACT Background Despite the importance of grammatical skills for participation in daily life, treatments for sentence–level abilities in aphasia are comparatively scarce. The psycholinguistic paradigm of syntactic priming has recently been advanced as a potential assessment and treatment for grammatical skills, and existing evidence on priming in aphasia is highly promising. Nevertheless, a comprehensive analysis of the strength of priming effects in aphasia, as well as treatment components which might amplify these effects, has not been reported. This meta–analysis synthesizes existing findings on syntactic priming in aphasia, aiming to provide a comprehensive picture of priming effects and their potential application for treatment. Method A comprehensive search of reported syntactic priming studies including persons with aphasia was conducted, yielding 27 experiments. Standardized mean differences (SMD) were computed from each experiment to account for inter –study heterogeneity. Studies were then weighted by participant numbers. An omnibus meta–analysis model was fitted to evaluate standardized differences associated with priming, followed by meta–regression analyses assessing possible treatment components. Results A large, robust effect of syntactic priming was discovered (SMD = 1.37). All but one reported studies found positive priming effects, though substantial heterogeneity was found between included experiments. Meta–regression analyses found no effects of lexical overlap between primes and targets (lexical boost), the presence of a confederate in experiments, or oral repetition of prime sentences. Conclusions This study strongly supports the development of syntactic priming as a sentence–level treatment in aphasia, and suggests high adaptability of priming to different formats and settings. Lexical overlap may not be effective in facilitating priming–induced gains. Future studies of priming in aphasia should include larger samples of participants and should investigate how lexical information interacts with syntactic priming.

ABSTRACT In the current paper, we examined the extent to which cross-linguistic structural priming effects can be found in genetically-unrelated languages, assessing the sensitivity of priming to varying degrees of overlap between the prime and target languages. In three experiments (Ns = 59, 57, 52), we tested the priming of L2 English passive sentences in response to patient-initial prime sentences in Tagalog (Experiments 1, 2) and Indonesian (Experiment 3). The linguistic properties of Tagalog and Indonesian allowed us to manipulate prime-target overlap in thematic role order, syntactic–thematic role mapping, and constituent order. Cross-linguistic priming effects were moderated by the degree of linguistic overlap between prime and target: priming effects were stronger given an overlap in syntactic–thematic role mapping, and strongest for shared constituent order. The results suggest that cross-linguistic priming effects can have different loci, and that each one has an additive effect on priming magnitude.

Abstract This study investigated whether structural priming, as a reflection of error‐driven implicit learning mechanisms, could lead first language speakers and classroom learners (including heritage speakers and second language learners) of Mandarin to adapt their productions and real‐time predictions of dative constructions. Participants completed a visual world eye tracking + structural priming (VWSP) task where they took turns reading aloud sentences (prime trials) and listening to sentences while looking at visual scenes (target trials) containing three entities (agent, theme, recipient). They also completed written picture description tasks eliciting dative sentences before and after the VWSP task. The results revealed no immediate priming effects or longer‐term adaptation in real‐time prediction. Nevertheless, the priming treatment led to longer‐term adaptation in production in a 1‐day delayed posttest. Notably, the patterns of change reflect error‐driven learning in accords with different initial biases of the target dative verbs among different types of language users.

This study aimed to determine the levels of syntactic priming, speech acts, and linguistic competence among Senior High School learners in Aklan for School Year 2024–2025. The findings served as the basis for the development of a language enhancement exemplar. From a population of 11,154 Senior High School students enrolled in public schools in the Division of Aklan, a total of 372 participants—191 from Grade 11 and 181 from Grade 12—were selected using the Raosoft calculator. Simple random sampling was employed so that every student had an equal chance of being selected for the study. Researcher-made tests were administered to measure syntactic priming and speech acts. Linguistic competence was assessed using a 30-item test composed of three components: reading comprehension (adapted and modified from Fernandez, 2021), grammar, and vocabulary (both researcher-made). The instruments were pilot tested on 30 Grade 12 students not included in the main study. Results from the pilot testing were used for content validation and item analysis. Data were analyzed using statistical tools such as mean, frequency, percentage, standard deviation, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson r, with a significance level set at 0.05. Findings revealed that the level of syntactic priming was “low,” speech acts “moderate,” and linguistic competence “high.” No significant difference was found in linguistic competence across levels of syntactic priming, but a significant difference was observed across levels of speech acts. Positive correlations existed between syntactic priming and both speech acts and linguistic competence, while no significant correlation was found between speech acts and linguistic competence. Based on these findings, a language enhancement exemplar titled “Enhancing English Proficiency: A Practical Guide to Syntactic Priming and Speech Acts” was developed.

Abstract Research investigating the psycholinguistic foundations of contact-induced grammatical language change suggests that new structures may enter a language through cross-linguistic structural priming in bilinguals. However, this claim implicitly assumes that priming effects can emerge even for structures which are ungrammatical in the target language. In the present study, we test this key assumption by investigating cross-linguistic ungrammatical priming for analytic comparatives between Turkish and German. In a self-paced reading experiment, Turkish–German bilinguals read German target sentences with grammatically incorrect analytic comparatives (e.g., *mehr interessant). These were preceded by a Turkish prime sentence which included a Turkish analytic comparative (daha konforlu) or an otherwise identical indicative control prime (konforlu). The results showed significantly faster reading times for ungrammatical German comparatives following Turkish comparative primes than following indicative primes. In an additional grammaticality-judgement task, Turkish–German bilinguals also rated sentences with ungrammatical German analytic comparatives as significantly more acceptable than monolingually-raised German participants. These results suggest that, at least in comprehension, cross-linguistic structural priming can even occur for ungrammatical structures. We conclude that cross-linguistic ungrammatical priming constitutes a suitable candidate for a psycholinguistic mechanism driving contact-induced language change in bilingual individuals.

Context, not grammar, is key to structural priming.

This article is dedicated to examining individualized methods for preserving and developing children’s speech characteristics in American–Slavic families. The growing prevalence of mixed-language households and the risk of heritage-language attrition underscore the relevance of targeted interventions. Drawing on nine recent studies, the paper analyzes four key domains: heritage-language assessment tools, shared-syntax priming, home-based socialization strategies, and school-based immersion models. Novelty lies in synthesizing clinical linguistics, psycholinguistic priming, ethnographic family practices, and policy analysis into a unified framework. Within the work, it describes Sentence‐Repetition‐Task scoring schemas, investigates structural priming data, and explores case studies of “One Parent, One Language” and lullaby‐based sessions. Particular attention is paid to how error‐type allowances and high‐frequency constructions can reinforce Slavic speech development. The study sets out to identify best practices for dual‐language vitality and to propose a hybrid model adaptable to Ukrainian and American schools. Methods include comparative analysis, source synthesis, and case‐study evaluation. In conclusion, it outlines an integrated model for assessment, curriculum, family engagement, and programme design. This article will benefit speech-language pathologists, bilingual educators, and policymakers.

ABSTRACT Prediction is argued to be a key feature of human cognition, including in syntactic processing. Prediction error has been linked to dynamic changes in syntactic representations in theoretical models of language processing. This mechanism is termed error-based learning. Evidence from syntactic priming research supports error-based learning accounts; however, measuring prediction error itself has not been a research focus. Here we present a study exploring the use of pupillometry as a measure of prediction error during syntactic priming. We found a larger pupil response to the more complex and less expected passive structure. In addition, the pupil response predicted priming while being weakly dependent on changes in expectations over the experiment. We conclude that the pupil response is not only sensitive to syntactic complexity in comprehension, but there is some evidence that its magnitude is related to the adjustment of dynamic mental representations for syntax that lead to syntactic priming.

Abstract Language contact can lead to short-term effects like cross-linguistic influence but might also contribute to long-term processes such as contact-induced language change. Recent studies suggest that structural priming may serve as a cognitive mechanism linking synchronic and diachronic outcomes in contact-induced language change since it occurs across languages and persists over time. Heritage language speakers, immersed in extreme language contact situations and often presenting an innovative language use, provide a valuable testing ground of the possible agents that produce and transmit these changes. Moreover, age is also thought to influence speakers’ tendencies to adopt innovative constructions with younger speakers being more accepting than older ones. In this study, we investigate whether priming serves as a mechanism underlying language change and its impact on speakers’ long-lasting linguistic choices. We conducted within and across languages priming experiments on motion event constructions focusing on the differences in the distribution of framing patterns between Italian (verb-framed language) and German (satellite-framed language), testing younger and older Italian HLS living in Germany. Our findings contribute to understanding the mechanisms underlying cross-linguistic influence and its role within language change and identifying its agents, bridging the gap between historical linguistics and psycholinguistic research on bilingual populations.

Many studies found that structural priming in production relied on cognitive resources (e.g., working memory), suggesting a resource-constrained mechanism of syntactic processing. To investigate the mechanism of structural priming in comprehension (automatic vs. resource-constrained), we constructed two eye-tracking experiments to test the role of working memory (i.e., a number series recall task between prime and target exerting high or low working memory load) in structural priming during visual-world comprehension. The priming effect is evaluated by the proportion of looks to predicted referents for two critical time windows in target sentence processing: the target verb and the first syllable of the first postverbal noun. When prime and target involved different verbs (Experiment 1), structural priming in both time windows was similar between the high- and low-load conditions. When prime and target involved same verbs (Experiment 2), structural priming in the time window of the first syllable of the first noun phrase was weaker in the high-load than in the low-load condition. Within the time window of the first syllable of the first noun phrase, a lexical boost effect occurred in the low-load condition but not in the high-low condition. Overall, structural priming in comprehension is partially automatic, while lexically mediated structural priming is modulated by working memory, supporting the implicit learning theory.

For children, Object Relative (OR) clauses can be late acquired across a number of languages (e.g., this is the goat that the cows are pushing), and production of non-standard ORs that include resumption is often attested (e.g., Italian; French; English). In addition, starting at age 6, children start adopting passive subject relatives (SRs) (e.g., this is the goat that is being pushed by the cows) when an OR is expected. In the present study, we designed an elicitation task to explore the effects of syntactic priming on the production of ORs and passive SRs in Italian-speaking children aged 4;4–6;0. The syntactic priming experiment took place in two sessions, 1 week apart, to explore immediate and cumulative effects of priming. The results revealed significant effects of immediate and cumulative priming, with a significant increase in the production of passive SRs and ORs with a gap in session 2 compared to session 1, in line with implicit learning accounts of syntactic priming. In addition, the results show that exposure to ORs with a gap can decrease the production of ORs with resumption in younger children (52–64 months). The results are discussed in relation to implicit learning accounts of syntactic priming, experience-based and capacity theories of processing.

Abstract We employed structural priming to test whether targeted exposure to unambiguous form–meaning mappings led to learning of noncanonical word orders, specifically in object relative clauses, among 165 low‐to‐intermediate‐level L1 German L2 learners of English. We further investigated the scope of structural priming by assessing whether priming with related grammatical structures that had been acquired earlier, namely English questions or German relative clauses, similarly led to learning of L2 English object relative clauses. Based on the assumption that relative clauses and questions are related at the level of sentence processing, we tested whether priming went hand in hand with processing changes, as assessed in visual‐world eye tracking. Results showed that learning generalized from L2 questions to L2 relative clauses via cumulative and longer‐term priming. In contrast, there was no priming from L1 relative clauses. Longer‐term L2 priming co‐occurred with changes in initial sentence processing, suggesting that prediction errors may drive learning via priming.

Syntactic priming refers to the tendency of individuals to reproduce previously encountered syntactic structures in sentence production. It plays a crucial role in understanding language acquisition and production mechanisms. While extensive research has been conducted on Indo-European languages, studies focusing specifically on Chinese as a second language (CSL) learners remain limited. This study reviews previous empirical research, examining the factors influencing syntactic priming effects in CSL learners, including language proficiency, syntactic structure complexity, discourse position, input methods, and input frequency. The findings highlight the importance of tailoring teaching strategies to learners' proficiency levels and optimizing input methods and frequency to enhance syntactic structure acquisition. The study provides valuable insights for improving CSL instruction, suggesting that teachers design diverse tasks and adjust input modalities to facilitate more effective language learning. Future research should extend to natural language environments and explore the interactions among various influencing factors to further advance understanding and application in this field.

This study investigates the cross-linguistic priming effect in the syntactic written output of late bilingual Levantine Arabic speakers who learn English as a second language. In particular, we examined priming sentence type (simple vs. complex sentences) and priming language condition (Levantine Arabic vs. English). Forty-nine bilinguals (Mean age = 33.3, SD = 8.5), who learned Levantine Arabic as their L1 and English as their L2, were primed with a short paragraph presented on the computer screen in either English or Levantine Arabic and asked to produce a written response in the counterpart language. Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant cross-linguistic priming effect, suggesting that the syntactic structure of the prime in the participants’ first language (Levantine Arabic) predicts the participants’ written output in the second language (English), and the reverse is also true. However, there was no significant effect of priming sentence type (simple vs. complex) on the likelihood of producing primed res ponses, indicating that both priming conditions yielded similar levels of priming. In contrast, there was a significant effect of the priming language condition, with participants significantly more likely to produce syntactically primed responses when the priming language was Arabic compared to English. In addition, there was a significant interaction between the priming language condition and priming sentence type: Arabic priming led to more simple sentence production in English, whereas English priming did not significantly affect sentence complexity in Arabic. These findings align with the shared syntax account but highlight the need to consider factors such as language dominance in bilingual syntactic processing.

ABSTRACT In the context of error-based implicit learning models, we investigate how structural preferences shape the learning of syntactic optionality across languages. In a German-to-English cross-linguistic structural priming experiment, we tested how structural preferences in terms of prime verb bias affect immediate, cumulative and longer-term priming in L1-German-L2-English (L1-to-L2) and L1-English-L2-German adults (L2-to-L1). In immediate priming, participants showed positive prime verb bias effects, but inverse preference effects in cumulative and longer-term priming. In both L1-to-L2 and L2-to-L1 priming, L1 prime verb biases predicted priming effects, causing PO priming from L1-to-L2, but DO priming from L2-to-L1. The combined findings of positive and inverse preference effects are captured by hybrid models of priming comprising lexically-driven and error-based learning components. Due to different L1 preferences in different groups of L2 learners, error-based learning can cause different learning trajectories: Cross-linguistic priming with the same input can lead to opposite learning outcomes across different speakers.

Abstract Recent psycholinguistic research has demonstrated that structural priming can occur not only within linguistic cognition but also across different cognitive domains. However, the factors influencing cross-domain priming remain underexplored. This study aims to investigate the roles of working memory, L2 proficiency, and cognitive flexibility in the priming from mathematical processing to L2 comprehension. Sixty-three Chinese college students learning English were recruited as participants. Simple mathematical expressions were presented as primes, and English sentences with relative clauses served as the targets. The participants were categorized based on their working memory, L2 proficiency, and cognitive flexibility. They processed mathematical expressions followed by an English sentence comprehension task to examine whether the processing of mathematical expressions influenced their comprehension of English relative clauses, which shared structural similarities with the mathematical expressions. The results revealed that (1) a priming effect existed from mathematical expressions to L2 sentence comprehension and (2) working memory, L2 proficiency, and cognitive flexibility significantly impacted the priming effect. These findings suggest that cross-domain structural priming is constrained by cognitive factors such as working memory, L2 proficiency and cognitive flexibility.