Native Language Adaptation to Novel Verb Argument Structures by Spanish-English Bilinguals: An Electrophysiological Investigation

Bilinguals have to learn two different grammatical systems. Some aspects of these grammars may be similar across the two languages (for example, the active-passive alternation) while others may exist in only one of the two grammars (for example, the distinction between recent and distant past). This dissertation investigates the degree to which grammar information specific to only one language is available when processing the other language. In particular, the current study focuses on the application of grammatical structures from the bilinguals’ second-learned language to their first-learned language, a direction of language transfer not often investigated. Based on a Shared Syntax Model of bilingual language representation (Hartsuiker, Pickering, & Veltkamp, 2004), we propose that verb argument structure information associated with verbs in the second language can become associated with the verbs’ translation equivalents in the first language. Two groups of Spanish-English bilinguals were included: Early Bilinguals were those who learned Spanish first and learned English by age 9 years while Late Bilinguals were those who learned Spanish first and learned English at age 10 years or later. Electrophysiological data was collected in addition to acceptability judgments while participants listened to sentences in Spanish in order to observe whether sentence processing was influenced by second-language knowledge in real-time. Critical Spanish sentences were those that mimic the Causative construction in English (e.g., The rider jumped the horse over the bushes was translated to El jinete brincó al caballo encima de los arbustos), which is not an allowable argument structure configuration for controlled motion verbs in Spanish. Elicited responses from the critical sentences were compared to grammatical control sentences (Transitives) and ungrammatical control sentences (Pseudo-causatives) to determine whether Spanish-English bilinguals are able to use their knowledge of English grammar to interpret Spanish sentences that mimic English Causatives. Both Early and Late Bilinguals rated Causative sentences higher than ungrammatical control sentences. The Event-Related Potential (ERP) data revealed that Early Bilinguals produced an N400 followed by a P600 for the ungrammatical control sentences but not for the Causative, which showed a Left Anterior Negativity at an earlier time window but otherwise patterned with grammatical control sentences. Late bilinguals showed a Left Anterior Negativity for the ungrammatical control sentences but not for Causative sentences, which again patterned with grammatical control sentences. In sum, Spanish-English bilinguals showed none of the ERP components for Causative sentences that were found for the ungrammatical control sentences, and only Early Bilinguals exhibited an earlier Left Anterior Negativity, which may indicate the detection of multiple possible argument structures associated with controlled motion verbs or a re-arrangement of thematic roles assigned by the verb at the detection of a Causative argument structure. The fact that the Causative sentences showed ERP patterns similar to grammatical control sentences provides evidence that highly proficient Spanish-English bilinguals can interpret ungrammatical Spanish sentences that are grammatical in English. The absence of any ERP patterns associated with grammaticality violations for the Causative sentences suggests that the bilinguals are not simply “borrowing” the construction from English while listening to sentences in Spanish but rather that the Causative argument structure has become associated with controlled motion verbs in Spanish, facilitating fast application of this construction when comprehending Causative sentences in Spanish. This is the first study, to our knowledge, that shows transfer of second-language syntactic information to first-language syntactic processing in highly proficient bilinguals using an online measure of language processing in the brain (ERPs)

Possible capture of the Mississippi by the Atchafalaya River

August 1983.Submitted to the Water Resources Planning Fellowship Steering Committee, Colorado State University, in fulfillment of requirements for AE 695V Special Study.Bibliography: pages 71-73

Master of Science

thesisEast Canyon Reservoir is located 32 km east of Salt Lake City, Utah, and serves as a resource for irrigation, culinary water, and recreation. This research used paleolimnology and historical records to investigate the impacts of multiple stressors, including land clearance, dam construction and enlargement, and climate warming on East Canyon Reservoir. Recently, blue green algal blooms, typically indicative of eutrophication, have been increasing at East Canyon Reservoir despite reductions of nutrients from point sources, so part of the impetus for this study was to understand the forcing mechanisms of these blooms. A multiproxy analysis of three sediment cores retrieved from the reservoir determined changes in nutrient concentrations and sediment composition over time. Percent organics, magnetic susceptibility, and diatom analyses of 210Pb dated cores were compared to measurements of temperature and precipitation as well as records of historical land use, which were determined using remote sensing. Percent organics and magnetic susceptibility showed changes related to dam construction and increased development. Fossil diatom assemblages indicated that East Canyon Reservoir had been eutrophic since origination; however, principal components analyses of the diatom data indicated that the canyon became more P-enriched following dam construction and increased development. Recent increases in Cyclotella diatoms indicate changes related to warming temperatures, and we speculate that this warming is also what is causing blue-green algal blooms to increase

Interview with Phil Samuell

Phil Samuell talks about the development of the Kokosing Gap Trailhttps://digital.kenyon.edu/ps_interviews/1015/thumbnail.jp

Interview with Troy Cooper

Troy Cooper talks about his job as the Extension Educator.https://digital.kenyon.edu/ps_interviews/1017/thumbnail.jp

Interview with Heather Doherty

Heather Doherty talks about the Gap Trail and how it impacts the Environmental Center.https://digital.kenyon.edu/ps_interviews/1016/thumbnail.jp

A Case Study Of Unintended Consequences Of Teams

Teams have been widely proclaimed to be the panacea of corporations.  Many teams have been very effective.  And the role of organizational culture is critical in providing an appropriate supportive environment for fostering team performance.  This paper presents a case study describing a successful and effective team development process and a modified organization culture consistent with and necessary for high team performance and member satisfaction.  It describes three stages of interaction as a consequence of a clash of radically different cultures.  This study highlights unintended social and political consequences a team development process had on non-team members in a broader organizational context