Word Order Predicts Cross‐Linguistic Differences in the Production of Redundant Color and Number Modifiers

Abstract

When asked to identify objects having unique shapes and colors among other objects, English speakers often produce redundant color modifiers (“the red circle”) while Spanish speakers produce them less often (“el circulo (rojo)”). This cross‐linguistic difference has been attributed to a difference in word order between the two languages, under the incremental efficiency hypothesis (Rubio‐Fernández, Mollica, & Jara‐Ettinger, 2020). However, previous studies leave open the possibility that broad language differences between English and Spanish may explain this cross‐linguistic difference such that English speakers may generally produce more modifiers than Spanish speakers, including redundant ones, irrespective of word order. Here, we test the incremental efficiency hypothesis in a language production task crossing language (English, Spanish) with modifier type (color, number). Critically, number words occur on the same side of the noun in both English and Spanish. If broad language differences are responsible for the higher rate of color word production in English compared to Spanish, then the same effect should hold for number words. In contrast, the incremental efficiency hypothesis predicts an interaction between language and modifier type, due to different ordering for color words but identical ordering for number words. Our pre‐registered analyses offer strong support for the incremental efficiency hypothesis, demonstrating how seemingly small differences in language can cause us to describe the world in surprisingly different ways.

Contrast perception as a visual heuristic in the formulation of referential expressions

“…Another linguistic factor that has been shown to affect the use of redundant adjectives is adjective position. Recent studies have shown that English speakers produce redundant color adjectives in prenominal position more often than Spanish speakers do in postnominal position (e. g., 'The blue circle' vs 'El círculo azul'; Rubio-Fernandez, 2016Wu & Gibson, 2021; see also Kachakeche, Futrell, & Scontras, 2021) This difference supports the view that color adjectives are used redundantly to facilitate the listener's visual search for the referent, since they are a more efficient visual cue in prenominal position. Further support for this view comes from Rubio-Fernandez et al (2021), who observed that the difference in redundant color rates between English and Spanish speakers disappeared in denser displays, in which redundant color adjectives were efficient even in postnominal position.…”

“…In a series of recent studies comparing the production of referential expressions by English and Spanish speakers, Rubio-Fernandez (2016; see also) Goudbeek & Krahmer, 2012;Wu & Gibson, 2021;Kachakeche et al, 2021) observed that English speakers produced redundant color adjectives more often than Spanish speakers. The authors interpreted this difference as evidence of efficient cooperation between speakers and listeners, with eye-tracking evidence of incremental processing confirming that prenominal color adjectives are a more efficient visual cue than postnominal color adjectives (Rubio-Fernandez et al, 2021; see also Rubio-Fernandez & Jara-Ettinger, 2020).…”

Perceptual difficulty differences predict asymmetry in redundant modification with color and material adjectives

“…The results also raise an interesting issue for the study of redundant modification crosslinguistically: if perceptual difficulty involved in property verification is indeed the driving force behind redundant modification, similar patterns of redundant modification should be observed in languages besides English, assuming that perceptual mechanisms are shared across people. However, recent work by Rubio-Fernandez et al (2020) and Wu & Gibson (2021) show that word order-in particular, whether a language has pre-or post-nominal adjectivesis a predictor of cross-linguistic differences in redundant modifier use. Differences in redundant modification are attributed to the way in which incremental production planning inter-acts with language-specific word order facts.…”

ASL Production

“…Recent psycholinguistic studies have shown that adjective position affects the use and processing of color adjectives. see also Rubio-Fernandez, 2016, 2019Wu & Gibson, 2021) observed that English speakers produced more redundant color adjectives than Spanish speakers (e.g., referring to a single star in a display of shapes as 'the blue star'). This cross-linguistic difference supported the incremental efficiency hypothesis, according to which redundant color adjectives are more efficient in prenominal position because they guide the listener's visual search for a referent, whereas in languages with postnominal modification (such as Spanish), the listener's visual search is guided by the noun (for eye-tracking evidence, see .…”