Syntactic Priming Experiments Research Articles

What is the next structure? Guessing enhances L2 syntactic learning in a syntactic priming task.

Previous psycholinguistic research has shown that Second Language (L2) speakers could learn from engaging in prediction. Few works have directly examined the relationship between prediction and L2 syntactic learning. Further, relatively limited attention has been paid to the effects of two linguistic factors in this area: structure type and L2 proficiency. Using a mixed experimental design, 147 L2 Arabic speakers with varying L2 proficiency levels completed two syntactic priming experiments, each targeting a different structure: (a) the dative and (b) Temporal Phrases (TP). The experimental conditions required participants to predict what the upcoming sentence's structure would be. The experimental conditions differed in the degree of engagement in prediction error. Results suggested that Arabic L2 speakers at different proficiency levels showed enhanced priming and short-term learning for two syntactic structures (PO, fronted TP) when (a) instructed to guess only (constrained condition) as well as when (b) instructed to guess and compute the prediction error (unconstrained condition), relative to the controls. These results imply a guessing benefit for priming and short-term learning. Participants also experienced different priming effects by structure type, but there was no significant effect for proficiency. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Syntactic blocking on L2 acquisition of Mandarin Ba-construction

AbstractThe Mandarin Ba-construction is one of the most challenging constructions for L2 learners. The present study attributes the difficulty in developing the taxonomic representation of the Ba-construction to the interference of competing constructions. I conducted a syntactic priming experiment to investigate the representational relationship between the Ba-construction and its SVO counterpart in native Mandarin speakers and L2 Mandarin learners with or without the equivalent of the Ba-construction in their L1. It was found that native speakers and L2 learners whose L1 features a structure equivalent to the Ba-construction represented the two constructions distinctly, manifesting as a resistance to priming and a robust syntactic preference for the Ba-construction in the picture description task. Conversely, L2 learners whose L1 does not possess an equivalent of the Ba-construction were sensitive to syntactic priming, which indicates a lack of taxonomic representations of the Ba-construction in relation to its SVO counterpart. Such reduced differentiation between the two target constructions suggests a blocking effect that stems from L1 interference.

Can Google Translate Rewire Your L2 English Processing?

In this article, we address the question of whether exposure to the translated output of MT systems could result in changes in the cognitive processing of English as a second language (L2 English). To answer this question, we first conducted a survey with 90 Brazilian Portuguese L2 English speakers with the aim of understanding how and for what purposes they use web-based MT systems. To investigate whether MT systems are capable of influencing L2 English cognitive processing, we carried out a syntactic priming experiment with 32 Brazilian Portuguese speakers. We wanted to test whether speakers re-use in their subsequent speech in English the same syntactic alternative previously seen in the MT output, when using the popular Google Translate system to translate sentences from Portuguese into English. The results of the survey show that Brazilian Portuguese L2 English speakers use Google Translate as a tool supporting their speech in English as well as a source of English vocabulary learning. The results of the syntactic priming experiment show that exposure to an English syntactic alternative through GT can lead to the re-use of the same syntactic alternative in subsequent speech even if it is not the speaker’s preferred syntactic alternative in English. These findings suggest that GT is being used as a tool for language learning purposes and so is indeed capable of rewiring the processing of L2 English syntax.

Cross-linguistic syntactic priming in Korean learners of English

AbstractThis study investigates whether L2 learners develop and share an abstract syntactic representation between an L1 and L2 with different word orders and, if so, whether one language’s unique syntactic features affect the shared representation. Korean (SOV) and English (SVO) have equivalent dative alternations; however, because Korean allows word-order scrambling, several dative structures are available in Korean that do not have English counterparts. In this study’s cross-linguistic syntactic priming experiment, intermediate and advanced Korean learners of English described pictures in English after reading various types of Korean dative sentences. The study found evidence of cross-linguistic syntactic priming between Korean and English, regardless of L2 proficiency, but only when prime and target structures shared identical functional assignments, information structures, and order of thematic roles. These results suggest that, within limits created by language-specific features, L2 learners can develop and share abstract representations between two languages with different word orders.

Structural priming in production through ‘silence’: An investigation of verb phrase ellipsis and null complement anaphora

There are two common competing conceptions of how ellipsis can be resolved: in the first, ellipsis is resolved by constructing unpronounced syntactic representations at the ellipsis site; in the second, ellipsis can be resolved by consulting the semantic/discourse information present in the antecedent, without the mediation of any syntax at all. In four syntactic priming experiments, we examine whether resolving English VP ellipsis and Null Complement Anaphora involves accessing the syntactic representations, or only the semantic representations, of the antecedent clause. Our findings suggest both VPE and Null Complement Anaphora can trigger structural priming effects, but the conditions under which they trigger priming are different. These results have implications for both theories of structural priming mechanism and theories of ellipsis resolution.

Lexical overlap increases syntactic priming in aphasia independently of short-term memory abilities: Evidence against the explicit memory account of the lexical boost

Abstract Speakers show syntactic priming – that is, a tendency to repeat syntactic constructions they have recently comprehended or produced – and this tendency is even stronger when adjacent utterances share the same main verb, termed the lexical boost. Some have suggested that abstract syntactic priming (i.e., with no lexical overlap) derives from implicit learning, whereas the lexical boost derives from explicit short-term memory (STM) for the prime (e.g., Chang, Dell, & Bock, 2006). To address this issue, we assessed twelve people with aphasia (PWA) with varying degrees of STM and language deficits and eleven age-matched healthy control speakers in a syntactic priming experiment. Despite the PWA's difficulty in maintaining phonological, semantic, and structural information, as evidenced by various STM and sentence repetition measures, they showed lexical boost effects comparable to those of healthy speakers. Moreover, the size of the lexical boost was unrelated to the degree of STM deficit, suggesting that the lexical boost does not rely on explicit memory. Alternative explanations for the differing patterns for syntactic priming with and without lexical overlap are discussed.

The persistence of syntactic priming revisited

Abstract This study investigated the generalizability of the claim that syntactic priming persists, while only the lexical boost to syntactic priming decays (Hartsuiker, Bernolet, Schoonbaert, Spreybroek & Vanderelst, 2008). We report syntactic priming experiments and corresponding memory experiments featuring a lag manipulation (LAG 0, 2 and 6) for three different syntactic contrasts in Dutch: transitives (Experiments 1a and b), datives (Experiments 2a and b) and the choice between auxiliary-participle and participle-auxiliary word order in relative clauses (Experiments 3a and b). Even though prime and target constructions always used unrelated head verbs, decay in the strength of priming was observed for all three contrasts. Participants’ memory for the syntactic structures under study was also significantly better in the immediate condition than at later lags. We conclude that, even in unrelated verb conditions, the explicit memory of the prime sentence enhances syntactic priming, leading to stronger priming in immediate conditions than when sentences intervene between the prime and the target sentence.

A little more conversation – the influence of communicative context on syntactic priming in brain and behavior

We report on an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) syntactic priming experiment in which we measure brain activity for participants who communicate with another participant outside the scanner. We investigated whether syntactic processing during overt language production and comprehension is influenced by having a (shared) goal to communicate. Although theory suggests this is true, the nature of this influence remains unclear. Two hypotheses are tested: (i) syntactic priming effects (fMRI and behavioral) are stronger for participants in the communicative context than for participants doing the same experiment in a non-communicative context, and (ii) syntactic priming magnitude (behavioral) is correlated with the syntactic priming magnitude of the speaker’s communicative partner. Results showed that across conditions, participants were faster to produce sentences with repeated syntax, relative to novel syntax. This behavioral result converged with the fMRI data: we found repetition suppression effects in the left insula extending into left inferior frontal gyrus (BA 47/45), left middle temporal gyrus (BA 21), left inferior parietal cortex (BA 40), left precentral gyrus (BA 6), bilateral precuneus (BA 7), bilateral supplementary motor cortex (BA 32/8), and right insula (BA 47). We did not find support for the first hypothesis: having a communicative intention does not increase the magnitude of syntactic priming effects (either in the brain or in behavior) per se. We did find support for the second hypothesis: if speaker A is strongly/weakly primed by speaker B, then speaker B is primed by speaker A to a similar extent. We conclude that syntactic processing is influenced by being in a communicative context, and that the nature of this influence is bi-directional: speakers are influenced by each other.

Evidence for Implicit Learning in Syntactic Comprehension

This study provides evidence for implicit learning in syntactic comprehension. By reanalyzing data from a syntactic priming experiment (Thothathiri & Snedeker, 2008), we find that the error signal associated with a syntactic prime influences comprehenders' subsequent syntactic expectations. This follows directly from error-based implicit learning accounts of syntactic priming, but it is unexpected under accounts that consider syntactic priming a consequence of temporary increases in base-level activation. More generally, the results raise questions about the principles underlying the maintenance of implicit statistical knowledge relevant to language processing, and about possible functional motivations for syntactic priming.

Is young children’s passive syntax semantically constrained? Evidence from syntactic priming

Previous research suggests that English-speaking children comprehend agent–patient verb passives earlier than experiencer–theme verb passives (Maratsos, Fox, Becker, & Chalkley, 1985). We report three experiments examining whether such effects reflect delayed acquisition of the passive syntax or instead are an artifact of the experimental task, relating to children’s poor picture recognition for such verbs. In two syntactic priming experiments, 3- and 4-year-olds produced more agent–patient passives after hearing passive primes involving agent–patient and theme–experiencer verbs (Experiment 1), and theme–experiencer and experiencer–theme verbs (Experiment 2), than after corresponding active primes; moreover, the magnitude of priming was unaffected by verb type. However, a picture-sentence matching task (Experiment 3) replicated previous findings: Children performed more poorly on experiencer–theme sentences than agent–patient sentences. Our results suggest that children’s acquisition of passive syntax is not delayed, and that semantic effects found in previous studies may instead be task-related.

Is children's acquisition of the passive a staged process? Evidence from six- and nine-year-olds' production of passives

We report a syntactic priming experiment that examined whether children's acquisition of the passive is a staged process, with acquisition of constituent structure preceding acquisition of thematic role mappings. Six-year-olds and nine-year-olds described transitive actions after hearing active and passive prime descriptions involving the same or different thematic roles. Both groups showed a strong tendency to reuse in their own description the syntactic structure they had just heard, including well-formed passives after passive primes, irrespective of whether thematic roles were repeated between prime and target. However, following passive primes, six-year-olds but not nine-year-olds also produced reversed passives, with well-formed constituent structure but incorrect thematic role mappings. These results suggest that by six, children have mastered the constituent structure of the passive; however, they have not yet mastered the non-canonical thematic role mapping. By nine, children have mastered both the syntactic and thematic dimensions of this structure.

Does verb bias modulate syntactic priming?

In a corpus analysis of spontaneous speech Jaeger and Snider (2007) found that the strength of structural priming is correlated with verb alternation bias. This finding is consistent with an implicit learning account of syntactic priming: because the implicit learning model implemented by Chang (2002), Chang, Dell, and Bock (2006), and Chang, Dell, Bock, and Griffin (2000) uses probabilistic information about different verb–structure combinations to predict the form of sentences, it predicts that primes exert stronger priming when they are less expected, given the syntactic preference of their main verb. We tested this claim experimentally by comparing the strength of double-object dative priming (DO) and prepositional object dative priming (PO) between dative verbs with differing syntactic preferences in a syntactic priming experiment. The syntactic preferences of the prime and target verbs were first measured in a picture description experiment. Consistent with an implicit learning account, the results showed a verb–specific effect of inverse preference: the strength of DO-priming was modulated by the alternation bias of the dative verbs that were used in the primes.

First language transfer and long-term structural priming in comprehension

The present study investigated L1 transfer effects in L2 sentence processing and syntactic priming through comprehension in speakers of German and Italian. L1 and L2 speakers of both languages participated in a syntactic priming experiment that aimed to shift their preferred interpretation of ambiguous relative clause constructions. The results suggested that L1 transfer affects L2 processing but not the strength of structural priming, and therefore does not hinder the acquisition of L2 parsing strategies. We also report evidence that structural priming through comprehension can persist in L1 and L2 speakers over an experimental phase without further exposure to primes. Finally, we observed that priming can occur for what are essentially novel form-meaning pairings for L2 learners, suggesting that adult learners can rapidly associate existing forms with new meanings.

The representation of lexical and syntactic information in bilinguals: Evidence from syntactic priming

To what extent do bilinguals have a single, integrated representation of syntactic information? According to Hartsuiker et al. (2004) [Hartsuiker, R. J., Pickering, M. J., & Veltkamp, E. (2004). Is syntax separate or shared between languages? Cross-linguistic syntactic priming in Spanish–English bilinguals. Psychological Science, 15, 409–414.], bilinguals represent syntactic information in terms of links between lexical representations and combinatorial nodes that specify syntactic structure, in a single cross-linguistic network. We describe predictions of this account and test them in two pairs of syntactic priming experiments with Dutch–English bilinguals. In Experiments 1 and 2, we tested priming in English (L2) production. Experiment 1 showed priming within English, and found that this priming was boosted by lexical repetition. Experiment 2 showed priming from Dutch to English, and found that this priming was boosted when prime and target used translation-equivalent verbs. However, this boost was weaker than the lexical boost in Experiment 1. In Experiments 3 and 4, we tested priming in Dutch (L1) production. Experiment 3 showed priming within Dutch, again boosted by lexical repetition. Experiment 4 showed priming from English to Dutch, but found no boost when prime and target were translation-equivalent verbs. We interpret these results in terms of an integrated model of lexical-syntactic representation.

The role of local and global syntactic structure in language production: Evidence from syntactic priming

Experimental research has provided evidence for an autonomous stage of syntactic processing during language production. We report eight syntactic priming experiments that investigated whether this stage uses the same procedures to produce phrases with a particular structure when they appear in different syntactic contexts. Experiments 1–3 demonstrated syntactic priming for verb phrase structure in main clauses, irrespective of whether the global structure of the prime and target sentences varied. Experiments 4–6 demonstrated syntactic priming for verb phrase structure in subordinate clauses, both when prime and target were both subordinate clauses, and when one was a subordinate clause and the other was a main clause. Experiments 7 and 8 directly compared syntactic priming between main and subordinate clauses with priming between main clauses and priming between subordinate clauses. We interpret these results as evidence that the processor uses the same procedures to build syntactic structure in different syntactic contexts.

Syntactic representation in the lemma stratum

Levelt, Roelofs, & Meyer (henceforth Levelt et al. 1999) propose a model of production incorporating a lemma stratum, which is concerned with the syntactic characteristics of lexical entries. We suggest that syntactic priming experiments provide evidence about how such syntactic information is represented, and that this evidence can be used to extend Levelt et al.'s model. Evidence from syntactic priming experiments also supports Levelt et al.'s conjecture that the lemma stratum is shared between the production and comprehension systems.

Constituent Structure Is Formulated in One Stage

In four syntactic priming experiments, participants completed target fragments as “prepositional object” sentences (e.g., “The patient showed his leg to the doctor”) or “double object” sentences (e.g., “The patient showed the doctor his leg”) or used another non-ditransitive form. The syntactic form of a prime sentence affected the form of participants' target completions. Experiments 1 to 3 used written sentence completion. Experiment 1 demonstrated that priming is a two-way process by comparing “prepositional object” and “double object” priming conditions with a baseline condition containing an intransitive verb. Experiments 2 and 3 found that “shifted” primes (e.g., “The racing driver showed to the helpful mechanic the problem with the car”) did not prime the production of “prepositional object” sentences but instead behaved like baseline primes. Experiment 4 found similar results to those of Experiment 3 in spoken sentence production, where participants repeated the prime and then completed it. We interpret the results in terms of accounts that assume that constituent structure is formulated in one stage.

Activation of syntactic information during language production.

In order to produce utterances, people must draw upon syntactic information. This paper considers how evidence from syntactic priming experiments casts light upon the nature of syntactic information activation during language production. We examine three issues: the way in which syntactic information is initially activated, the circumstances under which activation may persist or dissipate, and the effects of residual activation of syntactic information on subsequent language production. Evidence from dialog experiments suggests that the information that is initially activated is the same in both production and comprehension. Evidence about the persistence of activation following initial activation is more complex. We suggest that persistence may be related to the potential relevance of the information for subsequent syntactic processing. We show that current evidence is inconclusive about how long syntactic information remains activated.