The role of language similarity in processing second language morphosyntax: Evidence from ERPs

Carrasco-Ortíz, Haydée; Herrera, Adelina Velázquez; Jackson-Maldonado, Donna; Avecilla-Ramírez, Gloria; Silva‐Pereyra, Juan; Wicha, Nicole Y.Y.

doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2017.04.008

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Foucart and Frenck-Mestre (2011) found tentative evidence German learners of French show more electrophysiological sensitivity to gender errors when the French nouns have the same gender as German than when they have a different gender. This observation was later supported by Carrasco-Ortíz et al (2017), who observed a similar pattern with Spanish learners of French. Díaz et al (2016) examined Spanish learners of Basque, and found stronger electrophysiological responses to syntactic violations in structures that are common between Spanish and Basque compared to violations in structures unique to Basque.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 57%

“…Learning a second language (L2) can be difficult for a variety of reasons. Pedagogical context (Tagarelli et al, 2016), cognitive processing differences across learners (Ellis, 1996;Yalçın and Spada, 2016), L2 structural complexity (Pallotti, 2015;Yalçın and Spada, 2016;Housen et al, 2019), or similarity between the target L2 and the learner's first language (L1) can all conspire to affect the speed and success of L2 acquisition (Hyltenstam, 1977;Lowie and Verspoor, 2004;Foucart and Frenck-Mestre, 2011;Málek, 2013;Schepens et al, 2013;Türker, 2016;Carrasco-Ortíz et al, 2017). Similarity, in particular, is a difficult variable to examine, because it is so hard to pin down.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Deep Learnability: Using Neural Networks to Quantify Language Similarity and Learnability

Cohen

Higham

Nabi

2020

Front. Artif. Intell.

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Learning a second language (L2) usually progresses faster if a learner's L2 is similar to their first language (L1). Yet global similarity between languages is difficult to quantify, obscuring its precise effect on learnability. Further, the combinatorial explosion of possible L1 and L2 language pairs, combined with the difficulty of controlling for idiosyncratic differences across language pairs and language learners, limits the generalizability of the experimental approach. In this study, we present a different approach, employing artificial languages, and artificial learners. We built a set of five artificial languages whose underlying grammars and vocabulary were manipulated to ensure a known degree of similarity between each pair of languages. We next built a series of neural network models for each language, and sequentially trained them on pairs of languages. These models thus represented L1 speakers learning L2s. By observing the change in activity of the cells between the L1-speaker model and the L2-learner model, we estimated how much change was needed for the model to learn the new language. We then compared the change for each L1/L2 bilingual model to the underlying similarity across each language pair. The results showed that this approach can not only recover the facilitative effect of similarity on L2 acquisition, but can also offer new insights into the differential effects across different domains of similarity. These findings serve as a proof of concept for a generalizable approach that can be applied to natural languages.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 57%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deep Learnability: Using Neural Networks to Quantify Language Similarity and Learnability

Cohen

Higham

Nabi

2020

Front. Artif. Intell.

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“…In addition, although we see negative effects for both error types, negativities tend to be larger for "first-person subject + third-person verb" errors, and the largest negativities for this error type are associated with learners near the lower end of the proficiency range examined. It is thus possible that lower proficiency learners rely on qualitatively different processing mechanisms for harder dependencies (e.g., Carrasco-Ortiz et al, 2017;Osterhout et al, 2006;Tanner et al, 2014) although the small number of negative responders in our sample precludes strong conclusions. That global proficiency interacted with error type in the ERP data is consistent with the claim we made in Alemán Bañón et al (2017) that markedness impacts L2 processing without constraining it.…”

Section: L2 Processing Of Spanish Person Agreement 21mentioning

confidence: 91%

Examining the Contribution of Markedness to the L2 Processing of Spanish Person Agreement

Bañón

Miller

Rothman

2020

Stud Second Lang Acquis

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We used event‑related potentials to investigate how markedness impacts person agreement in English‑speaking learners of L2‑Spanish. Markedness was examined by probing agreement with both first‑person (marked) and third‑person (unmarked) subjects. Agreement was manipulated by crossing first‑person subjects with third‑person verbs and vice versa. Native speakers showed a P600 for both errors, larger for “first‑person subject + third‑person verb” violations. This aligns with claims that, when the first element in the dependency is marked (first person), the parser generates stronger predictions regarding upcoming agreeing elements using feature activation. Twenty‑two upper‑intermediate/advanced learners elicited a P600 across both errors. Learners were equally accurate detecting both errors, but the P600 was marginally reduced for “first‑person subject + third‑person verb” violations, suggesting that learners overused unmarked forms (third person) online. However, this asymmetry mainly characterized lower‑proficiency learners. Results suggest that markedness impacts L2 agreement without constraining it, although learners are less likely to use marked features top‑down.

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“…Individuals who are well familiar with more than two languages can go about as translators and get proper government jobs. (Carrasco-Ortíz et. al, 2017).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study of the Significance of Translation Studies in the Educational Institutions of Pakistan

Aroob

2021

JCCT

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The aim of this research is to highlight the importance of Translation Studies as a proper discipline in educational institutions of Pakistan. The analysis has been done by conducting a questionnaire survey, gathering responses from the students of acknowledged educational institutions, both public and private. The findings suggest rather mixed views of the students about Translation and Translation Studies in general. While most of the participants have a clear idea that translation is something beyond mere paragraph translation and reading translated literature, they view translation as not necessarily a part of Humanities students’ curriculum. Most of the participants have never found an opportunity to take a translation related course; whereas, they are interested in taking one. However, there were only one to two students who could name an institution that offers a translation studies degree. The majority of the students are also aware of the translational processes around them while using social media or reading print media and are able to identify them. On the whole, this research tries to identify the current situation of translation studies in Pakistan, and at the end some recommendations have been given to improve the situation of Translation Studies in Pakistan because Translation Studies is the ultimate requirement for the progress and development in the field of academics. The world has understood this; Pakistan needs to do the same.

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The role of language similarity in processing second language morphosyntax: Evidence from ERPs

Cited by 21 publications

References 57 publications

Deep Learnability: Using Neural Networks to Quantify Language Similarity and Learnability

Deep Learnability: Using Neural Networks to Quantify Language Similarity and Learnability

Examining the Contribution of Markedness to the L2 Processing of Spanish Person Agreement

A Study of the Significance of Translation Studies in the Educational Institutions of Pakistan

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