Department of Linguistics

Abstract: Most second language acquisition (SLA) research has documented the processes involved in learning second/foreign languages, with few studies focusing on the durability of attained second language (L2) skills once instructed learners/users are no longer receiving formal instruction. The current study examines the effects of continued exposure and peak instructional attainment on the long‐term evolution of advanced, instructed L2 learners’ skills following a longitudinal mixed‐methods research design. Participants (n = 28) completed an oral proficiency test, an oral interview, and a vocabulary knowledge test at multiple times over an 8‐year period, 6 years of which were postinstruction. Results showed that continued exposure contributes to long‐term retention (and some further development) of oral proficiency and fluency and that peak attainment at the end of formal instruction is also an important variable for some areas of L2 performance. Additionally, even the participants with limited exposure demonstrated little attrition over time.

Understanding normal probability distributions is a crucial objective in mathematics and statistics education. Drawing upon cognitive psychology research, this study explores the use of drawings and visualizations as effective scaffolds to enhance students comprehension. Although much research has documented the helpfulness of drawing as a research tool to reveal students knowledge states, its direct utility in advancing higher-order cognitive processes remains understudied. In Study 1, qualitative methods were utilized to identify common misunderstandings among students regarding canonical depictions of the normal probability distribution. Building on these insights, Study 2 experimentally compared three instructional videos (static slides, dynamic drawing, and dynamic drawings done by a visible hand). The hand drawing video led to better learning than the other versions. Study 3 examined whether the benefits from observing a hand drawing could be reproduced by a dynamic cursor moving around otherwise static slides (without the presence of a hand). Results showed no significant learning difference between observing a hand drawing and a moving cursor, both outperforming a control. This research links the cognitive process of drawing with its educational role and provides insights into its potential to enhance memory, cognition, and inform instructional methods.

We argue that electronic dance music (EDM) exhibits a parallel structural organization to that which has been proposed for cartoons (comics) after the model of hierarchical structure proposed in theoretical linguistics. According to this parallel, both systems are governed by general cognitive mechanisms for the narrative organization of tension and release, which are not modality-specific. We show that notions from visual narrative analysis, such as an Establisher–Initial–Peak–Release template, can be applied directly to EDM tracks as an Intro/Breakdown–Buildup–Core–Outro/Cut template. In doing so, we focus on how to formally define and operationalize relevant notions such as Breakdown, Buildup, and Core. As part of our analysis, we show that the scene-setting Establisher segments of visual narratives map onto two distinct categories in EDM: they correspond to intro sections at the beginning of a track and to breakdown sections in the middle of a track; we strengthen the analogy to visual narrative analysis by introducing refinements such as a pre-drop break that often occurs at the end of a buildup segment. To adjudicate between competing hypotheses on the hierarchical structure of a given EDM track, we demonstrate that analytical tests from linguistics and visual narrative analysis can be successfully applied. By introducing these analytical tools, this article sets the stage for further explorations in the linguistically informed analysis of the structure and meaning of EDM.

Abstract: This squib presents three new arguments that the matrix subject in English tough-constructions cannot reconstruct into the embedded gap. The first two arguments reexamine data in the literature purported to show such reconstruction. Upon closer scrutiny, we argue that these data in fact involve short reconstruction below a modal or generic operator in the matrix clause, and not genuine long reconstruction into the embedded gap. The third argument is that property positions, which independently require reconstruction, are unable to host tough-gaps. This ban on long reconstruction in English tough-constructions follows without further ado on a base-generation analysis.

The language network, comprised of brain regions in the left frontal and temporal cortex, responds robustly and reliably during language comprehension but shows little or no response during many nonlinguistic cognitive tasks (e.g., Fedorenko & Blank, 2020). However, one domain whose relationship with language remains debated is semantics-our conceptual knowledge of the world. Given that the language network responds strongly to meaningful linguistic stimuli, could some of this response be driven by the presence of rich conceptual representations encoded in linguistic inputs? In this study, we used a naturalistic cognition paradigm to test whether the cognitive and neural resources that are responsible for language processing are also recruited for processing semantically rich nonverbal stimuli. To do so, we measured BOLD responses to a set of ∼5-minute-long video and audio clips that consisted of meaningful event sequences but did not contain any linguistic content. We then used the intersubject correlation (ISC) approach (Hasson et al., 2004) to examine the extent to which the language network "tracks" these stimuli, that is, exhibits stimulus-related variation. Across all the regions of the language network, meaningful nonverbal stimuli elicited reliable ISCs. These ISCs were higher than the ISCs elicited by semantically impoverished nonverbal stimuli (e.g., a music clip), but substantially lower than the ISCs elicited by linguistic stimuli. Our results complement earlier findings from controlled experiments (e.g., Ivanova et al., 2021) in providing further evidence that the language network shows some sensitivity to semantic content in nonverbal stimuli.

The channel vocoder has become a useful tool to understand the impact of specific forms of auditory degradation-particularly the spectral and temporal degradation that reflect cochlear-implant processing. Vocoders have many parameters that allow researchers to answer questions about cochlear-implant processing in ways that overcome some logistical complications of controlling for factors in individual cochlear implant users. However, there is such a large variety in the implementation of vocoders that the term vocoder is not specific enough to describe the signal processing used in these experiments. Misunderstanding vocoder parameters can result in experimental confounds or unexpected stimulus distortions. This paper highlights the signal processing parameters that should be specified when describing vocoder construction. The paper also provides guidance on how to determine vocoder parameters within perception experiments, given the experimenters goals and research questions, to avoid common signal processing mistakes. Throughout, we will assume that experimenters are interested in vocoders with the specific goal of better understanding cochlear implants.

How do polyglots-individuals who speak five or more languages-process their languages, and what can this population tell us about the language system? Using fMRI, we identified the language network in each of 34 polyglots (including 16 hyperpolyglots with knowledge of 10+ languages) and examined its response to the native language, non-native languages of varying proficiency, and unfamiliar languages. All language conditions engaged all areas of the language network relative to a control condition. Languages that participants rated as higher proficiency elicited stronger responses, except for the native language, which elicited a similar or lower response than a non-native language of similar proficiency. Furthermore, unfamiliar languages that were typologically related to the participants high-to-moderate-proficiency languages elicited a stronger response than unfamiliar unrelated languages. The results suggest that the language networks response magnitude scales with the degree of engagement of linguistic computations (e.g. related to lexical access and syntactic-structure building). We also replicated a prior finding of weaker responses to native language in polyglots than non-polyglot bilinguals. These results contribute to our understanding of how multiple languages coexist within a single brain and provide new evidence that the language network responds more strongly to stimuli that more fully engage linguistic computations.

In six experiments we explored how biphone probability and lexical neighborhood density influence listeners' categorization of vowels embedded in nonword sequences. We found independent effects of each. Listeners shifted categorization of a phonetic continuum to create a higher probability sequence, even when neighborhood density was controlled. Similarly, listeners shifted categorization to create a nonword from a denser neighborhood, even when biphone probability was controlled. Next, using a visual world eye-tracking task, we determined that biphone probability information is used rapidly by listeners in perception. In contrast, task complexity and irrelevant variability in the stimuli interfere with neighborhood density effects. These results support a model in which both biphone probability and neighborhood density independently affect word recognition, but only biphone probability effects are observed early in processing.

Children who receive cochlear implants develop spoken language on a protracted timescale. The home environment facilitates speech-language development, yet it is relatively unknown how the environment differs between children with cochlear implants and typical hearing. We matched eighteen preschoolers with implants (31-65 months) to two groups of children with typical hearing: by chronological age and hearing age. Each child completed a long-form, naturalistic audio recording of their home environment (appx. 16 hours/child; >730 hours of observation) to measure adult speech input, child vocal productivity, and caregiver-child interaction. Results showed that children with cochlear implants and typical hearing were exposed to and engaged in similar amounts of spoken language with caregivers. However, the home environment did not reflect developmental stages as closely for children with implants, or predict their speech outcomes as strongly. Home-based speech-language interventions should focus on the unique input-outcome relationships for this group of children with hearing loss.