Confusing similar words: ERP correlates of lexical-semantic processing in first language attrition and late second language acquisition

Kasparian, Kristina; Steinhauer, Karsten

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.10.007

Cited by 56 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…Although they did detect the number agreement violations at both points within the sentence and reached similar acceptability judgment ratings (albeit at significantly slower rates), Attriters differed in how they computed syntactic relations online. Importantly, although one could argue that the shorter P600 in Attriters is a trivial effect that reflects unspecific inter‐individual differences that happened to manifest as a group difference, data we collected from the same participants over the same testing session but with different experimental stimuli did not show this pattern (Kasparian & Steinhauer, ). This rules out the possibility that Attriters show shorter P600 effects across the board.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

First Language Attrition Induces Changes in Online Morphosyntactic Processing and Re‐Analysis: An ERP Study of Number Agreement in Complex Italian Sentences

2016

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First language (L1) attrition in adulthood offers new insight on neuroplasticity and the role of language experience in shaping neurocognitive responses to language. Attriters are multilinguals for whom advancing L2 proficiency comes at the cost of the L1, as they experience a shift in exposure and dominance (e.g., due to immigration). To date, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying L1 attrition are largely unexplored. Using event‐related potentials (ERPs), we examined L1‐Italian grammatical processing in 24 attriters and 30 Italian native‐controls. We assessed whether (a) attriters differed from non‐attriting native speakers in their online detection and re‐analysis/repair of number agreement violations, and whether (b) differences in processing were modulated by L1‐proficiency. To test both local and non‐local agreement violations, we manipulated agreement between three inflected constituents and examined ERP responses on two of these (subject, verb, modifier). Our findings revealed group differences in amplitude, scalp distribution, and duration of LAN/N400 + P600 effects. We discuss these differences as reflecting influence of attriters’ L2‐English, as well as shallower online sentence repair processes than in non‐attriting native speakers. ERP responses were also predicted by L1‐Italian proficiency scores, with smaller N400/P600 amplitudes in lower proficiency individuals. Proficiency only modulated P600 amplitude between 650 and 900 ms, whereas the late P600 (beyond 900 ms) depended on group membership and amount of L1 exposure within attriters. Our study is the first to show qualitative and quantitative differences in ERP responses in attriters compared to non‐attriting native speakers. Our results also emphasize that proficiency predicts language processing profiles, even in native‐speakers, and that the P600 should not be considered a monolithic component.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

First Language Attrition Induces Changes in Online Morphosyntactic Processing and Re‐Analysis: An ERP Study of Number Agreement in Complex Italian Sentences

2016

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“…These results are particularly interesting in light of the fact that the vast majority of research on language attrition has historically relied on offline methods despite some recent – yet limited – examples using online methods (e.g., Bergmann, Meulman, Stowe, Sprenger & Schmid, 2015; Kasparian & Steinhauer, 2016; Kasparian, Vespignani & Steinhauer, 2017). Even in such studies, however, online and offline measures are not always used in tandem.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

You win some, you lose some: Comprehension and event-related potential evidence for L1 attrition

Miller

Rothman

2019

Bilingualism

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We examine first language (L1) attrition among 30 L1 Spanish – L2 English speakers living in the United Kingdom. We also tested 30 recently-arrived Spaniards to the UK as a baseline. We present several key findings: 1) attrition fluctuates over time and does not affect all individuals equally; 2) entropy can explain said fluctuation of attritional affects over time such that while length of residence and age of arrival may affect the depth of attrition, how often one is exposed to her native language, how often she uses it and for how long each day, who her friends are, and to which types of input she is regularly exposed, seemingly aid in the maintenance or loss of linguistic knowledge; 3) though offline scalar interpretations among bilinguals were predicted by canonical sociolinguistic variables, the online data revealed an overall insensitivity to pragmatic violations. Thus, offline and online methods combine to be more explanatory regarding the comprehension and processing of implicature generating quantifiers.

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“…In our opinion, they cannot be explained in terms of a mere “bilingualism effect” (i.e., a by-product of having compared monolingual Controls to bilingual Attriters), as even within Attriters, ERP responses are modulated by factors such as exposure, proficiency and LoR. These factors have been shown to modulate ERP response patterns in these same Attriters on other lexical-semantic and morphosyntactic properties, both in their L1 (Kasparian and Steinhauer, 2016; Kasparian et al, 2016) as well as in their L2 (Kasparian et al, unpublished). Interestingly, in the latter study, we showed reduced L1 activation (increased inhibition) during L2 processing in Attriters with less frequent L1 exposure/use and a longer LoR.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Eight experimental lists were created such that, across lists, each sentence contributed equally to each condition, while no sentence was repeated within any of the experimental lists. Each participant also saw 216 filler sentences, which were part of the larger study (testing number agreement and lexical-semantic processing) and will be reported in separated papers (Kasparian and Steinhauer, 2016; Kasparian et al, 2016). Out of the total of 324 pseudorandomized stimuli (108 experimental and 216 fillers) per participant, 146 sentences (approximately 45%) were acceptable (grammatically and semantically), while 178 were expected to receive a rating of 3 or lower on a five-point rating scale (approximately 55%).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

When the Second Language Takes the Lead: Neurocognitive Processing Changes in the First Language of Adult Attriters

Kasparian

Steinhauer

2017

Front. Psychol.

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Although research on multilingualism has revealed continued neuroplasticity for language-learning beyond what was previously expected, it remains controversial whether and to what extent a second language (L2) acquired in adulthood may induce changes in the neurocognitive processing of a first language (L1). First language (L1) attrition in adulthood offers new insight on neuroplasticity and the factors that modulate neurocognitive responses to language. To date, investigations of the neurocognitive correlates of L1 attrition and of factors influencing these mechanisms are still scarce. Moreover, most event-related-potential (ERP) studies of second language processing have focused on L1 influence on the L2, while cross-linguistic influence in the reverse direction has been underexplored. Using ERPs, we examined the real-time processing of Italian relative-clauses in 24 Italian-English adult migrants with predominant use of English since immigration and reporting attrition of their native-Italian (Attriters), compared to 30 non-attriting monolinguals in Italy (Controls). Our results showed that Attriters differed from Controls in their acceptability judgment ratings and ERP responses when relative clause constructions were ungrammatical in English, though grammatical in Italian. Controls’ ERP responses to unpreferred sentence constructions were consistent with garden path effects typically observed in the literature for these complex sentences. In contrast, due to L2-English influence, Attriters were less sensitive to semantic cues than to word-order preferences, and processed permissible Italian sentences as outright morphosyntactic violations. Key factors modulating processing differences within Attriters were the degree of maintained L1 exposure, length of residence in the L2 environment and L2 proficiency – with higher levels of L2 immersion and proficiency associated with increased L2 influence on the L1. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that high levels of L2 proficiency and exposure may render a grammatical sentence in one’s native language ungrammatical. These group differences strongly point to distinct processing strategies and provide evidence that even a “stabilized” L1 grammar is subject to change after a prolonged period of L2 immersion and reduced L1 use, especially in linguistic areas promoting cross-linguistic influence.

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Confusing similar words: ERP correlates of lexical-semantic processing in first language attrition and late second language acquisition

Cited by 56 publications

References 91 publications

First Language Attrition Induces Changes in Online Morphosyntactic Processing and Re‐Analysis: An ERP Study of Number Agreement in Complex Italian Sentences

First Language Attrition Induces Changes in Online Morphosyntactic Processing and Re‐Analysis: An ERP Study of Number Agreement in Complex Italian Sentences

You win some, you lose some: Comprehension and event-related potential evidence for L1 attrition

When the Second Language Takes the Lead: Neurocognitive Processing Changes in the First Language of Adult Attriters

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