The effects of linear distance and working memory on the processing of gender agreement in Spanish
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Gregory D. Keating
Abstract
This study investigates the effects of linear distance and working memory on native and advanced L2 Spanish speakers’ on-line sensitivity to violations of grammatical gender. Using eye-tracking, participants were tested on agreement violations on predicative adjectives located one, four, and seven words away from a controller noun. The results revealed that linear distance influenced both groups’ sensitivity to gender anomalies, albeit at different points on the linear distance continuum. Furthermore, each group’s sensitivity to gender violations emerged at different points in the eye-movement record. The reading span analysis revealed that the advanced learners’ sensitivity to gender errors during first-pass reading was moderated by individual differences in working memory. The results are discussed in light of the Shallow Structure Hypothesis (Clahsen & Felser, 2006b).
Abstract
This study investigates the effects of linear distance and working memory on native and advanced L2 Spanish speakers’ on-line sensitivity to violations of grammatical gender. Using eye-tracking, participants were tested on agreement violations on predicative adjectives located one, four, and seven words away from a controller noun. The results revealed that linear distance influenced both groups’ sensitivity to gender anomalies, albeit at different points on the linear distance continuum. Furthermore, each group’s sensitivity to gender violations emerged at different points in the eye-movement record. The reading span analysis revealed that the advanced learners’ sensitivity to gender errors during first-pass reading was moderated by individual differences in working memory. The results are discussed in light of the Shallow Structure Hypothesis (Clahsen & Felser, 2006b).
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
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Part I. Introduction
- Second language processing and parsing 3
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Part II. Relative clauses and wh -movement
- Relative clause attachment preferences of Turkish L2 speakers of English 27
- Evidence of syntactic constraints in the processing of wh -movement 65
- Constraints on L2 learners’ processing of wh-dependencies 87
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Part III. Gender and number
- The effects of linear distance and working memory on the processing of gender agreement in Spanish 113
- Feature assembly in early stages of L2 acquisition 135
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Part IV. Subjects and objects
- Second language processing in Japanese scrambled sentences 159
- Second language gap processing of Japanese scrambling under a Simpler Syntax account 177
- The processing of subject-object ambiguities by English and Dutch L2 learners of German 207
- Connections between processing, production and placement 231
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Part V. Phonology and lexicon
- The exploitation of fine phonetic detail in the processing of L2 French 259
- Translation ambiguity 281
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Part VI. Prosody and context
- Reading aloud in two languages 297
- Near-nativelike processing of contrastive focus in L2 French 321
- Author index 345
- Subject index 349
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
-
Part I. Introduction
- Second language processing and parsing 3
-
Part II. Relative clauses and wh -movement
- Relative clause attachment preferences of Turkish L2 speakers of English 27
- Evidence of syntactic constraints in the processing of wh -movement 65
- Constraints on L2 learners’ processing of wh-dependencies 87
-
Part III. Gender and number
- The effects of linear distance and working memory on the processing of gender agreement in Spanish 113
- Feature assembly in early stages of L2 acquisition 135
-
Part IV. Subjects and objects
- Second language processing in Japanese scrambled sentences 159
- Second language gap processing of Japanese scrambling under a Simpler Syntax account 177
- The processing of subject-object ambiguities by English and Dutch L2 learners of German 207
- Connections between processing, production and placement 231
-
Part V. Phonology and lexicon
- The exploitation of fine phonetic detail in the processing of L2 French 259
- Translation ambiguity 281
-
Part VI. Prosody and context
- Reading aloud in two languages 297
- Near-nativelike processing of contrastive focus in L2 French 321
- Author index 345
- Subject index 349