A multiple regression analysis of syntactic and semantic influences in reading normal text

Semantic and syntactic influences during reading normal text were examined in a series of multiple regression analyses conducted on a large-scale corpus of eyemovement data. Two measures of contextual constraints, based on the syntactic descriptions provided by Abeillé, Clément et Toussenel (2003) and one measure on semantic constraint, based on Latent Semantic Analysis, were included in the regression equation, together with a set of properties (length, frequency, etc.), known to affect inspection times. Both syntactic and semantic constraints were found to exert a significant influence, with less time spent inspecting highly constrained target words, relative to weakly constrained ones. Semantic and syntactic properties apparently exerted their influence independently from each other, as suggested by the lack of interaction

On-line syntactic and semantic influences in reading revisited

This study is a follow-up to Pynte, New and Kennedy (2008), Journal of Eye Movement Research . 2(1):4, 1-11. A new series of multiple regression analyses were conducted on the French part of the Dundee corpus, using a new set of syntactic and semantic predictors. In line with our prior study, quite different patterns of results were obtained for function and content words. We conclude that syntactic processing operations during reading mainly concern function words and are carried out ahead of semantic processing

The optimal viewing position effect in beginning and dyslexic readers

International audienceThe present study compared the reading ability of first-grade and dyslexic children using an experimental paradigm known to elicit the optimal viewing position (OVP) effect in skilled readers. Word frequency and initial fixation location were manipulated in a word identification task. The results showed an OVP effect for both groups. However, word-recognition performance was lower for the dyslexic than for the first-grade group. In addition, whereas beginning readers obtained the typical inverted J-shape curve, dyslexics had a symmetric curve. These results were corroborated by a letter-report analysis showing that dyslexics failed to report word endings, even when fixating at that location. Robust effects of word frequency were also obtained for both groups. But unlike adult readers, this factor did not interact with fixation position

La levée des ambiguïtés syntaxiques : apport des recherches inter-langues

The first section of this article presents three types of models as a function of the solutions they propose in case of syntactic ambiguity: (1) the parser forces the decision (e.g., in favour of the simplest structure); (2) the choice is postponed until more information is available; (3) the different structures are processed in parallel, together with other sources of information. The second section shows that these models cannot explain cross-linguistic differences observed in the resolution of syntactically ambiguous sentences. The third section presents a few new models that have been proposed to explain cross-linguistic data

Language specific preferences in anaphor resolution: Exposure or gricean maxims?

International audienceIn this paper we will present evidence for language specific preferences in anaphor resolution from two series of experiments in English, German, and French. For within sentence anaphor resolution with "before" subclauses, we will show that English and German follow the generally assumed preference for the first mentioned NP or subject of the sentence, whereas French shows a clear preference for the object of the matrix clause. We will argue that our data can most easily be explained by a usage-based account, linking comprehension preferences to production preferences

The Optimal Viewing Position Effect in Beginning and Dyslexic Readers

The present study compared the reading ability of first-grade and dyslexic children using an experimental paradigm known to elicit the optimal viewing position (OVP) effect in skilled readers. Word frequency and initial fixation location were manipulated in a word identification task. The results showed an OVP effect for both groups. However, word-recognition performance was lower for the dyslexic than for the first-grade group. In addition, whereas beginning readers obtained the typical inverted J-shape curve, dyslexics had a symmetric curve. These results were corroborated by a letter-report analysis showing that dyslexics failed to report word endings, even when fixating at that location. Robust effects of word frequency were also obtained for both groups. But unlike adult readers, this factor did not interact with fixation position

Prosody in the hands of the speaker

In everyday life, speech is accompanied by gestures. In the present study, two experiments tested the possibility that spontaneous gestures accompanying speech carry prosodic information. Experiment 1 showed that gestures provide prosodic information, as adults are able to perceive the congruency between low-pass filtered-thus unintelligible-speech and the gestures of the speaker. Experiment 2 shows that in the case of ambiguous sentences (i.e., sentences with two alternative meanings depending on their prosody) mismatched prosody and gestures lead participants to choose more often the meaning signaled by gestures. Our results demonstrate that the prosody that characterizes speech is not a modality specific phenomenon: it is also perceived in the spontaneous gestures that accompany speech. We draw the conclusion that spontaneous gestures and speech form a single communication system where the suprasegmental aspects of spoken language are mapped to the motor-programs responsible for the production of both speech sounds and hand gestures

Do successor effects in reading reflect lexical parafoveal processing? Evidence from corpus-based and experimental eye movement data

Abstract In the past, most research on eye movements during reading involved a limited number of subjects reading sentences with specific experimental manipulations on target words. Such experiments usually only analyzed eye-movements measures on and around the target word. Recently, some researchers have started collecting larger data sets involving large and diverse groups of subjects reading large numbers of sentences, enabling them to consider a larger number of influences and study larger and more representative subject groups. In such corpus studies, most of the words in a sentence are analyzed. The complexity of the design of corpus studies and the many potentially uncontrolled influences in such studies pose new issues concerning the analysis methods and interpretability of the data. In particular, several corpus studies of reading have found an effect of successor word (n + 1) frequency on current word (n) fixation times, while studies employing experimental manipulations tend not to. The general interpretation of corpus studies suggests that readers obtain parafoveal lexical information from the upcoming word before they have finished identifying the current word, while the experimental manipulations shed doubt on this claim. In the present study, we combined a corpus analysis approach with an experimental manipulation (i.e., a parafoveal modification of the moving mask technique, Rayner & Bertera, 1979), so that, either (a) word n+1, (b) word n+;2, (c) both words, or (d) neither word was masked. We found that denying preview for either or both parafoveal words increased average fixation times. Furthermore, we found successor effects similar to those reported in the corpus studies. Importantly, these successor effects were found even when the parafoveal word was masked, suggesting that apparent successor frequency effects may be due to causes that are unrelated to lexical parafoveal preprocessing. We discuss the implications of this finding both for parallel and serial accounts of word identification and for the interpretability of large correlational studies of word identification in reading in general

Effects of syntactic context on eye movements during reading

Previous research has demonstrated that properties of a currently fixated word and of adjacent words influence eye movement control in reading. In contrast to such local effects, little is known about the global effects on eye movement control, for example global adjustments caused by processing difficulty of previous sentences. In the present study, participants read text passages in which voice (active vs. passive) and sentence structure (embedded vs. non-embedded) were manipulated. These passages were followed by identical target sentences. The results revealed effects of previous sentence structure on gaze durations in the target sentence, implying that syntactic properties of previously read sentences may lead to a global adjustment of eye movement control