Home > Research > Publications & Outputs > Determiner-Number Specification and Non-Local A...

Links

Text available via DOI:

View graph of relations

Determiner-Number Specification and Non-Local Agreement Computation in L1 and L2 Processing

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
Close
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>31/08/2022
<mark>Journal</mark>Journal of Psycholinguistic Research
Issue number4
Volume51
Number of pages17
Pages (from-to)847-863
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date24/03/22
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

The present study employed a self-paced reading task in conjunction with concurrent acceptability judgements to examine how similar or different English natives and Chinese learners of English are when processing non-local agreement. We also tested how determiner-number specification modulates number agreement computation in both native and non-native processing by manipulating number marking with demonstrative determiners (the versus that/these). Results suggest both groups were sensitive to non-local agreement violations, indexed by longer reading times for sentences containing number violations. Furthermore, we found determiner-number specification facilitated processing of number violations in both native and non-native groups in an acceptability judgement task only, with stronger sensitivity to violations with demonstrative determiners than those with bare determiners. Contrary to some theories that predict qualitative differences between native and non-native processing, we did not find any significant differences between native and non-native speakers, despite the fact that the Chinese speakers of English had to process a novel linguistic feature absent in their native language.

Bibliographic note

Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).