Psychocentricity and participant profiles: implications for lexical processing among multilinguals

Lexical processing among bilinguals is often affected by complex patterns of individual experience. In this paper we discuss the psychocentric perspective on language representation and processing, which highlights the centrality of individual experience in psycholinguistic experimentation. We discuss applications to the investigation of lexical processing among multilinguals and explore the advantages of using high-density experiments with multilinguals. High density experiments are designed to co-index measures of lexical perception and production, as well as participant profiles. We discuss the challenges associated with the characterization of participant profiles and present a new data visualization technique, that we term Facial Profiles. This technique is based on Chernoff faces developed over 40 years ago. The Facial Profile technique seeks to overcome some of the challenges associated with the use of Chernoff faces, while maintaining the core insight that recoding multivariate data as facial features can engage the human face recognition system and thus enhance our ability to detect and interpret patterns within multivariate datasets. We demonstrate that Facial Profiles can code participant characteristics in lexical processing studies by recoding variables such as reading ability, speaking ability, and listening ability into iconically-related relative sizes of eye, mouth, and ear, respectively. The balance of ability in bilinguals can be captured by creating composite facial profiles or Janus Facial Profiles. We demonstrate the use of Facial Profiles and Janus Facial Profiles in the characterization of participant effects in the study of lexical perception and production.

Reading fluency and morpho-lexical processing : developmental studies in Italian. 'Fluidez en la lectura y procesamiento morfolexical : estudios de desarrollo en Italia'.

Resumen en español

Balanced bilinguals favor lexical processing in their opaque language and conversion system in their shallow language

Referred to as orthographic depth, the degree of consistency of grapheme/phoneme correspondences varies across languages from high in shallow orthographies to low in deep orthographies. The present study investigates the impact of orthographic depth on reading route by analyzing evoked potentials to words in a deep (French) and shallow (German) language presented to highly proficient bilinguals. ERP analyses to German and French words revealed significant topographic modulations 240-280ms post-stimulus onset, indicative of distinct brain networks engaged in reading over this time window. Source estimations revealed that these effects stemmed from modulations of left insular, inferior frontal and dorsolateral regions (German>French) previously associated to phonological processing. Our results show that reading in a shallow language was associated to a stronger engagement of phonological pathways than reading in a deep language. Thus, the lexical pathways favored in word reading are reinforced by phonological networks more strongly in the shallow than deep orthography.

English compound and non-compound processing in bilingual and multilingual speakers: effects of dominance and sequential multilingualism

This article reports on a study investigating the relative influence of the first and dominant language on L2 and L3 morpho-lexical processing. A lexical decision task compared the responses to English NV-er compounds (e.g., taxi driver) and non-compounds provided by a group of native speakers and three groups of learners at various levels of English proficiency: L1 Spanish-L2 English sequential bilinguals and two groups of early Spanish-Basque bilinguals with English as their L3. Crucially, the two trilingual groups differed in their first and dominant language (i.e., L1 Spanish-L2 Basque vs. L1 Basque-L2 Spanish). Our materials exploit an (a)symmetry between these languages: while Basque and English pattern together in the basic structure of (productive) NV-er compounds, Spanish presents a construction that differs in directionality as well as inflection of the verbal element (V[3SG] + N). Results show between and within group differences in accuracy and response times that may be ascribable to two factors besides proficiency: the number of languages spoken by a given participant and their dominant language. An examination of response bias reveals an influence of the participants' first and dominant language on the processing of NV-er compounds. Our data suggest that morphological information in the nonnative lexicon may extend beyond morphemic structure and that, similarly to bilingualism, there are costs to sequential multilingualism in lexical retrieval.

The Latest Prague Contributions to Written Cultural Heritage Processing

* The following text has been originally published in the Proceedings of the Language Recourses and Evaluation Conference held in Lisbon, Portugal, 2004, under the title of "Towards Intelligent Written Cultural Heritage Processing - Lexical processing". I present here a revised contribution of the aforementioned paper and I add here the latest efforts done in the Center for Computational Linguistic in Prague in the field under discussion.

Análisis de la preposición hacia y establecimiento de sus equivalentes en finés

Title of the Master's thesis: Análisis de la preposición hacia y establecimiento de sus equivalentes en finés (trans. Analysis of the Spanish preposition hacia and the finding of its equivalents in Finnish) Abstracts: The aim of this Master thesis is to provide a detailed analysis of the Spanish preposition hacia from a cognitive perspective and to establish its equivalents in Finnish language. In this sense, my purpose is to demonstrate the suitability of both cognitive perspectives and Contrastive Linguistics for semantic analysis. This thesis is divided into five chapters. The first chapter includes a presentation and a critical review of the monolingual lexical processing and semantic analysis of the Spanish preposition hacia in major reference works. Through this chapter it is possible to see both the inadequacies and omissions that are present in all the given definitions. In this sense, this chapter shows that these problems are not but the upper stage of an ontological (and therefore methodological) problem in the treatment of prepositions. The second chapter covers the presentation of the methodological and theoretical perspective adopted for this thesis for the monolingual analysis and definition of the Spanish preposition hacia, following mainly the guidelines established by G. Lakoff (1987) and R. Langacker (2008) in his Cognitive grammar. Taken together, and within the same paradigm, recent analytical and methodological contributions are discussed critically for the treatment of polysemy in language (cf. Tyler ja Evans 2003). In the third chapter, and in accordance with the requirements regarding the use of empirical data from corpora, is my aim to set out a monolingual original analysis of the Spanish preposition hacia in observance of the principles and the methodology spelled out in the second chapter. The main objective of this chapter is to build a full fledged semantic representation of the polysemy of this preposition in order to understand and articulate its meanings with Finnish language (and other possible languages). The fourth chapter, in accordance with the results of chapter 3, examines and describes and establishes the corresponding equivalents in Finnish for this preposition. The results obtained in this chapter are also contrasted with the current bilingual lexicographical definitions found in the most important dictionaries and grammars. Finally, in the fifth chapter of this thesis, the results of this work are discussed critically. In this way, some observations are given regarding both the ontological and theoretical assumptions as well regarding the methodological perspective adopted. I also present some notes for the construction of a general methodology for the semantic analysis of Spanish prepositions to be carried out in further investigations. El objetivo de este trabajo, que caracterizamos como una tarea de carácter comparativo-analítico, es brindar un análisis detallado de la preposición castellana hacia desde una perspectiva cognitiva en tanto y a través del establecimiento de sus equivalentes en finés. Se procura, de esta forma, demostrar la adecuación de una perspectiva cognitiva tanto para el examen como para el establecimiento y articulación de la serie de equivalentes que una partícula, en nuestro caso una preposición, encuentra en otra lengua. De esta forma, y frente a definiciones canónicas que advierten sobre la imposibilidad de una caracterización acabada del conjunto de usos de una preposición, se observa como posible, a través de la aplicación de una metodología teórica-analítica adecuada, la construcción de una definición viable tanto en un nivel jerárquico como descriptivo. La presente tesis se encuentra dividida en cinco capítulos. El primer capítulo comprende una exposición y revisión critica del tratamiento monolingüe lexicográfico y analítico que la preposición hacia ha recibido en las principales obras de referencia, donde se observa que las inadecuaciones y omisiones presentes en la totalidad de las definiciones analizadas representan tan sólo el estadio superior de una problemática de carácter ontológico y, por tanto, metodológico, en el tratamiento de las preposiciones. El capítulo segundo comprende la presentación de la perspectiva teórica metodológica adoptada en esta tesis para el análisis y definición monolingüe de la preposición hacia, teniendo por líneas directrices las propuestas realizadas por G. Lakoff , así como a los fundamentos establecidos por R. Langacker en su propuesta cognitiva para una nueva gramática. En forma conjunta y complementaria, y dentro del mismo paradigma, empleamos, discutimos críticamente y desarrollamos diferentes aportes analítico-metodológicos para el tratamiento de la polisemia en unidades lingüísticas locativas. En el capítulo tercero, y en acuerdo con las exigencias respecto a la utilización de datos empíricos obtenidos a partir de corpus textuales, se expone un análisis original monolingüe de la preposición hacia en observancia de los principios y la metodología explicitada en el capítulo segundo, teniendo por principal objetivo la construcción de una representación semántica de la polisemia de la preposición que comprenda y articule los sentidos prototípicos para ésta especificados. El capítulo cuarto, y en acuerdo con los resultados de nuestro análisis monolingual de la preposición, se examinan, describen y establecen los equivalentes correspondientes en finés para hacia; asimismo, se contrastan en este capítulo los resultados obtenidos con las definiciones lexicográficas bilingües vigentes. Se recogen en el último y quinto capítulo de esta tesis algunas observaciones tanto respecto a los postulados ontológicos y teórico-metodológicos de la perspectiva adoptada, así como algunas notas para la construcción de una metodología general para el análisis semántico preposicional.

Early and late electrophysiological effects of distractor frequency in picture naming: Reconciling input and output accounts

The “distractor-frequency effect” refers to the finding that high-frequency (HF) distractor words slow picture naming less than low-frequency distractors in the picture–word interference paradigm. Rival input and output accounts of this effect have been proposed. The former attributes the effect to attentional selection mechanisms operating during distractor recognition, whereas the latter attributes it to monitoring/decision mechanisms operating on distractor and target responses in an articulatory buffer. Using high-density (128-channel) EEG, we tested hypotheses from these rival accounts. In addition to conducting stimulus- and response-locked whole-brain corrected analyses, we investigated the correct-related negativity, an ERP observed on correct trials at fronto-central electrodes proposed to reflect the involvement of domain general monitoring. The wholebrain ERP analysis revealed a significant effect of distractor frequency at inferior right frontal and temporal sites between 100 and 300-msec post-stimulus onset, during which lexical access is thought to occur. Response-locked, region of interest (ROI) analyses of fronto-central electrodes revealed a correct-related negativity starting 121 msec before and peaking 125 msec after vocal onset on the grand averages. Slope analysis of this component revealed a significant difference between HF and lowfrequency distractor words, with the former associated with a steeper slope on the time windowspanning from100 msec before to 100 msec after vocal onset. The finding of ERP effects in time windows and components corresponding to both lexical processing and monitoring suggests the distractor frequency effect is most likely associated with more than one physiological mechanism.

The neural basis of naming impairments in Alzheimer's disease revealed through positron emission tomography.

The naming impairments in Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been attributed to a variety of cognitive processing deficits, including impairments in semantic memory, visual perception, and lexical access. To further understand the underlying biological basis of the naming failures in AD, the present investigation examined the relationship of various classes of naming errors to regional brain measures of cerebral glucose metabolism as measured with 18 F-Fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) and positron emission tomography (PET). Errors committed on a visual naming test were categorized according to a cognitive processing schema and then examined in relationship to metabolism within specific brain regions. The results revealed an association of semantic errors with glucose metabolism in the frontal and temporal regions. Language access errors, such as circumlocutions, and word blocking nonresponses were associated with decreased metabolism in areas within the left hemisphere. Visuoperceptive errors were related to right inferior parietal metabolic function. The findings suggest that specific brain areas mediate the perceptual, semantic, and lexical processing demands of visual naming and that visual naming problems in dementia are related to dysfunction in specific neural circuits.

The nature of compounds: A psychocentric perspective

Although compound words often seem to be words that themselves contain words, this paper argues that this is not the case for the vast majority of lexicalized compounds. Rather, it is claimed that as a result of acts of lexical processing, the constituents of compound words develop into new lexical representations. These representations are bound to specific morphological roles and positions (e.g., head, modifier) within a compound word. The development of these positionally bound compound constituents creates a rich network of lexical knowledge that facilitates compound processing and also creates some of the well-documented patterns in the psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic study of compounding.

Latéralisation hémisphérique et lecture : l’utilisation de l’information visuelle disponible en reconnaissance de mots par chaque hémisphère cérébral

Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous investiguons la capacité de chaque hémisphère cérébral à utiliser l’information visuelle disponible lors de la reconnaissance de mots. Il est généralement convenu que l’hémisphère gauche (HG) est mieux outillé pour la lecture que l’hémisphère droit (HD). De fait, les mécanismes visuoperceptifs utilisés en reconnaissance de mots se situent principalement dans l’HG (Cohen, Martinaud, Lemer et al., 2003). Puisque les lecteurs normaux utilisent optimalement des fréquences spatiales moyennes (environ 2,5 - 3 cycles par degré d’angle visuel) pour reconnaître les lettres, il est possible que l’HG les traite mieux que l’HD (Fiset, Gosselin, Blais et Arguin, 2006). Par ailleurs, les études portant sur la latéralisation hémisphérique utilisent habituellement un paradigme de présentation en périphérie visuelle. Il a été proposé que l’effet de l’excentricité visuelle sur la reconnaissance de mots soit inégal entre les hémichamps. Notamment, la première lettre est celle qui porte habituellement le plus d’information pour l’identification d’un mot. C’est aussi la plus excentrique lorsque le mot est présenté à l’hémichamp visuel gauche (HVG), ce qui peut nuire à son identification indépendamment des capacités de lecture de l’HD. L’objectif de la première étude est de déterminer le spectre de fréquences spatiales utilisé par l’HG et l’HD en reconnaissance de mots. Celui de la deuxième étude est d’explorer les biais créés par l’excentricité et la valeur informative des lettres lors de présentation en champs divisés. Premièrement, nous découvrons que le spectre de fréquences spatiales utilisé par les deux hémisphères en reconnaissance de mots est globalement similaire, même si l’HG requière moins d’information visuelle que l’HD pour atteindre le même niveau de performance. Étonnament toutefois, l’HD utilise de plus hautes fréquences spatiales pour identifier des mots plus longs. Deuxièmement, lors de présentation à l’HVG, nous trouvons que la 1re lettre, c’est à dire la plus excentrique, est parmi les mieux identifiées même lorsqu’elle a une plus grande valeur informative. Ceci est à l’encontre de l’hypothèse voulant que l’excentricité des lettres exerce un biais négatif pour les mots présentés à l’HVG. De façon intéressante, nos résultats suggèrent la présence d’une stratégie de traitement spécifique au lexique.

Using E-Z Reader to examine the concurrent development of eye-movement control and reading skill

Compared to skilled adult readers, children typically make more fixations that are longer in duration, shorter saccades, and more regressions, thus reading more slowly (Blythe & Joseph, 2011). Recent attempts to understand the reasons for these differences have discovered some similarities (e.g., children and adults target their saccades similarly; Joseph, Liversedge, Blythe, White, & Rayner, 2009) and some differences (e.g., children’s fixation durations are more affected by lexical variables; Blythe, Liversedge, Joseph, White, & Rayner, 2009) that have yet to be explained. In this article, the E-Z Reader model of eye-movement control in reading (Reichle, 2011; Reichle, Pollatsek, Fisher, & Rayner, 1998) is used to simulate various eye-movement phenomena in adults versus children in order to evaluate hypotheses about the concurrent development of reading skill and eye-movement behavior. These simulations suggest that the primary difference between children and adults is their rate of lexical processing, and that different rates of (post-lexical) language processing may also contribute to some phenomena (e.g., children’s slower detection of semantic anomalies; Joseph et al., 2008). The theoretical implications of this hypothesis are discussed, including possible alternative accounts of these developmental changes, how reading skill and eye movements change across the entire lifespan (e.g., college-aged vs. elderly readers), and individual differences in reading ability.

Polyset: modelo linguístico-computacional para a estruturação de redes de polissemia de nominais

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The mismatch negativity (MMN) response to complex tones and spoken words in individuals with aphasia

Background: The mismatch negativity (MMN) is a fronto-centrally distributed event-related potential (ERP) that is elicited by any discriminable auditory change. It is an ideal neurophysiological tool for measuring the auditory processing skills of individuals with aphasia because it can be elicited even in the absence of attention. Previous MMN studies have shown that acoustic processing of tone or pitch deviance is relatively preserved in aphasia, whereas the basic acoustic processing of speech stimuli can be impaired (e.g., auditory discrimination). However, no MMN study has yet investigated the higher levels of auditory processing, such as language-specific phonological and/or lexical processing, in individuals with aphasia. Aims: The aim of the current study was to investigate the MMN response of normal and language-disordered subjects to tone stimuli and speech stimuli that incorporate the basic auditory processing (acoustic, acoustic-phonetic) levels of non-speech and speech sound processing, and also the language-specific phonological and lexical levels of spoken word processing. Furthermore, this study aimed to correlate the aphasic MMN data with language performance on a variety of tasks specifically targeted at the different levels of spoken word processing. Methods M Procedures: Six adults with aphasia (71.7 years +/- 3.0) and six healthy age-, gender-, and education-matched controls (72.2 years +/- 5.4) participated in the study. All subjects were right-handed and native speakers of English. Each subject was presented with complex harmonic tone stimuli, differing in pitch or duration, and consonant-vowel (CV) speech stimuli (non-word /de:/versus real world/deI/). The probability of the deviant for each tone or speech contrast was 10%. The subjects were also presented with the same stimuli in behavioural discrimination tasks, and were administered a language assessment battery to measure their auditory comprehension skills. Outcomes O Results: The aphasic subjects demonstrated attenuated MMN responses to complex tone duration deviance and to speech stimuli (words and non-words), and their responses to the frequency, duration, and real word deviant stimuli were found to strongly correlate with performance on the auditory comprehension section of the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB). Furthermore, deficits in attentional lexical decision skills demonstrated by the aphasic subjects correlated with a word-related enhancement demonstrated during the automatic MMN paradigm, providing evidence to support the word advantage effect, thought to reflect the activation of language-specific memory traces in the brain for words. Conclusions: These results indicate that the MMN may be used as a technique for investigating general and more specific auditory comprehension skills of individuals with aphasia, using speech and/or non-speech stimuli, independent of the individual's attention. The combined use of the objective MMN technique and current clinical language assessments may result in improved rehabilitative management of aphasic individuals.

The time-course of lexical activation in Japanese morphographic word recognition: Evidence for a character-driven processing model

This lexical decision study with eye tracking of Japanese two-kanji-character words investigated the order in which a whole two-character word and its morphographic constituents are activated in the course of lexical access, the relative contributions of the left and the right characters in lexical decision, the depth to which semantic radicals are processed, and how nonlinguistic factors affect lexical processes. Mixed-effects regression analyses of response times and subgaze durations (i.e., first-pass fixation time spent on each of the two characters) revealed joint contributions of morphographic units at all levels of the linguistic structure with the magnitude and the direction of the lexical effects modulated by readers’ locus of attention in a left-to-right preferred processing path. During the early time frame, character effects were larger in magnitude and more robust than radical and whole-word effects, regardless of the font size and the type of nonwords. Extending previous radical-based and character-based models, we propose a task/decision-sensitive character-driven processing model with a level-skipping assumption: Connections from the feature level bypass the lower radical level and link up directly to the higher character level.