Grammatical analysis as a distributed neurobiological function.

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from [publisher] via http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22696Language processing engages large-scale functional networks in both hemispheres. Although it is widely accepted that left perisylvian regions have a key role in supporting complex grammatical computations, patient data suggest that some aspects of grammatical processing could be supported bilaterally. We investigated the distribution and the nature of grammatical computations across language processing networks by comparing two types of combinatorial grammatical sequences--inflectionally complex words and minimal phrases--and contrasting them with grammatically simple words. Novel multivariate analyses revealed that they engage a coalition of separable subsystems: inflected forms triggered left-lateralized activation, dissociable into dorsal processes supporting morphophonological parsing and ventral, lexically driven morphosyntactic processes. In contrast, simple phrases activated a consistently bilateral pattern of temporal regions, overlapping with inflectional activations in L middle temporal gyrus. These data confirm the role of the left-lateralized frontotemporal network in supporting complex grammatical computations. Critically, they also point to the capacity of bilateral temporal regions to support simple, linear grammatical computations. This is consistent with a dual neurobiological framework where phylogenetically older bihemispheric systems form part of the network that supports language function in the modern human, and where significant capacities for language comprehension remain intact even following severe left hemisphere damage.Computing resources were provided by the MRC-CBU. Li Su was partly supported by the Cambridge Dementia Biomedical Research Unit

Flexible perceptual sensitivity to acoustic and distributional cues

Pronunciation variation in many ways is systematic, yielding patterns that a canny listener can exploit in order to aid perception. This work asks whether listeners actually do draw upon these patterns during speech perception. We focus in particular on a phenomenon known as paradigmatic enhancement, in which suffixes are phonetically enhanced in verbs which are frequent in their inflectional paradigms. In a set of four experiments, we found that listeners do not seem to attend to paradigmatic enhancement patterns. They do, however, attend to the distributional properties of a verb’s inflectional paradigm when the experimental task encourages attention to sublexical detail, as is the case with phoneme monitoring (Experiment 1a–b). When tasks require more holistic lexical processing, as with lexical decision (Experiment 2), the effect of paradigmatic probability disappears. If stimuli are presented in full sentences, such that the surrounding context provides richer contextual and semantic information (Experiment 3), even otherwise robust influences like lexical frequency disappear. We propose that these findings are consistent with a perceptual system that is flexible, and devotes processing resources to exploiting only those patterns that provide a sufficient cognitive return on investment

Multiple alignments of inflectional paradigms

Most models of inflectional morphology rely at their core on the identification of recurrent and diverging material across inflected forms. Across theoretical frameworks, this can be expressed in terms of morpheme segmentation, rules, processes, patterns or analogies. Finding these recurrences in large structured lexicons is an important step in empirical computational morphology, where analyses are induced bottom-up from inflected forms. This can be done by aligning all the forms in each paradigm, a task of Multiple Sequence Alignments which is well known in other fields such as evolutionary biology and historical linguistics. In this paper, we present the specific problems which arise when aligning inflected forms, provide a simple alignment format, define evaluation measures and compare two implemented methods on 13 inflectional lexicons. Our intent is to provide the conditions for the inter-operability of future systems, and for incremental improvements in this fundamental step for quantitative morphology

Temporal, aspectual and modal expression in Anindilyakwa, the language of the Groote Eylandt Archipelago, Australia

This thesis provides an empirically driven and theoretically informed examination of temporal, aspectual and modal (TAM) expression in Anindilyakwa, an underdescribed and underdocumented Gunwinyguan language of the Groote Eylandt archipelago, north-east Arnhem Land, Australia. The goals of the thesis are both descriptive and theoretical. The first is to provide a detailed description of some of the core grammatical properties of Anindilyakwa, particularly related to the verbal complex. This descriptive goal is linked to, and builds the infrastructure for, the second goal of the thesis: to provide a theoretically-informed examination of temporal, aspectual and modal expression and interaction in Anindilyakwa, thus contributing towards (and building upon) research in the area of TAM semantics and pragmatics (and their interfaces with morpho-syntax). The original contribution of this thesis lies in the cross-section between theoretically-informed morpho-syntactic, semantic and pragmatic approaches to TAM expression in natural languages, and the exploration and examination of this domain in a fieldwork and language documentation setting: how do underdescribed languages inform our understanding of this domain, and how should we approach the documentation of these concepts in the field? Anindilyakwa is a particularly interesting language to examine in this regard, given the polysynthetic nature and complex morphological make-up and combinatorics of the verb. Inflectionally, TAM expression is realised through the combination of (at least) two discontinuous morphological slots of the verb structure. In addition to the complex morphological combinatorics of the verbal structure, this inflectional system displays widespread aspectuo-temporal underspecification, coupled with a widespread lack of contrastiveness in many of the paradigmatic forms (i.e. syncretism). Thus, unpacking and understanding these inflectional verbal properties, with respect to TAM expression, is where the core of this thesis lies. This comprehensive semantic and morpho-syntactic investigation into the TAM system of Anindilyakwa contributes not only to the description of this underdocumented language, but it also bolsters the representation of understudied (particularly non-European) languages that have received detailed TAM study, ensuring that future cross-linguistic typological work on TAM has access to richer data in a wider sample of the world's languages

Breaking verbs. From event structure to syntactic categories in Basque

445 p.Doktore tesi honetan, predikatuen dekonposizioa eta lexikalizazioa arakatu ditut. Zehatzago, ikerketa honen helburu nagusia da aztertzea euskarazko aditzen -batez ere aditz eratorrien- barne-osaketa eta predikatu horien aditz konfigurazioa. Horretarako, Ereduzko Prosa Gaur (Salaburu et al. 2011) corpusetik hartutako aditz zerrenda bat lagin moduan hartu dut (Landaren 2008 Corsintax arakatzailea baliatuz) eta aditz horien alderdi hauek arakatu ditut: (i) haien dekonposaketa sintaktikoa (ii) azpielementu sintaktikoen lexikalizazioa eta kategorizazioa. Bestetik, euskarazko bi aditz konfigurazio nagusiak aztertu ditut, hots, forma sintetikoa (edo trinkoa) eta forma analitikoa (edo perifrastikoa)

The Processing of Emotional Sentences by Young and Older Adults: A Visual World Eye-movement Study

Carminati MN, Knoeferle P. The Processing of Emotional Sentences by Young and Older Adults: A Visual World Eye-movement Study. Presented at the Architectures and Mechanisms of Language and Processing (AMLaP), Riva del Garda, Italy