John Benjamins Publishing Company
Chapter 4. Influence of syntactic complexity on second language prediction
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Abstract
This study investigated the influence of syntactic complexity on prediction in second language (L2) processing. In a visual world eye-tracking experiment, we compared L2 listeners’ prediction while processing simple (e.g., The dancer will open/ get the present) vs. complex sentences (e.g., I know the friend of the dancer that will open/ get the present). Prediction was measured by comparing fixations to targets (e.g., present) between semantically biasing (e.g., open) vs. neutral verb (e.g., get) conditions. Results showed that L2 speakers generated predictions while processing complex as well as simple sentences. However, the prediction effect during complex sentence processing emerged somewhat later. These findings suggest that L2 prediction is influenced by syntactic complexity which can increase cognitive load during sentence processing.
Abstract
This study investigated the influence of syntactic complexity on prediction in second language (L2) processing. In a visual world eye-tracking experiment, we compared L2 listeners’ prediction while processing simple (e.g., The dancer will open/ get the present) vs. complex sentences (e.g., I know the friend of the dancer that will open/ get the present). Prediction was measured by comparing fixations to targets (e.g., present) between semantically biasing (e.g., open) vs. neutral verb (e.g., get) conditions. Results showed that L2 speakers generated predictions while processing complex as well as simple sentences. However, the prediction effect during complex sentence processing emerged somewhat later. These findings suggest that L2 prediction is influenced by syntactic complexity which can increase cognitive load during sentence processing.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- List of contributors ix
- Chapter 1. Prediction in second language processing and learning 1
- Chapter 2. Automaticity and prediction in non-native language comprehension 25
- Chapter 3. Second language prediction ability across different linguistic domains 47
- Chapter 4. Influence of syntactic complexity on second language prediction 69
- Chapter 5. Language prediction in second language 91
- Chapter 6. Prediction in bilingual children 115
- Chapter 7. Code-switching 139
- Chapter 8. Prediction and grammatical learning in second language sentence processing 167
- Chapter 9. The role of prediction in second language vocabulary learning 187
- Chapter 10. Forcing prediction increases priming and adaptation in second language production 207
- Index 233
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- List of contributors ix
- Chapter 1. Prediction in second language processing and learning 1
- Chapter 2. Automaticity and prediction in non-native language comprehension 25
- Chapter 3. Second language prediction ability across different linguistic domains 47
- Chapter 4. Influence of syntactic complexity on second language prediction 69
- Chapter 5. Language prediction in second language 91
- Chapter 6. Prediction in bilingual children 115
- Chapter 7. Code-switching 139
- Chapter 8. Prediction and grammatical learning in second language sentence processing 167
- Chapter 9. The role of prediction in second language vocabulary learning 187
- Chapter 10. Forcing prediction increases priming and adaptation in second language production 207
- Index 233
