Despina Papadopoulou

Parsing strategies in L1 and L2 sentence processing: a study of relative clause attachment in Greek

To contribute to a better understanding of second language (L2) sentence processing, the present study examines how L2 learners parse temporarily ambiguous sentences containing relative clauses. Results are reported from both off-line and on-line experiments with three groups of advanced learners of Greek whose native languages (L1s) were Spanish, German, or Russian as well as from corresponding experiments with a control group of adult native speakers of Greek. We found that, despite their nativelike mastery of the construction under investigation, the L2 learners showed relative-clause attachment preferences that were different from those of the native speakers. Moreover, the L2 learners did not exhibit L1-based preferences in their L2 Greek, as might be expected if they were directly influenced by L1 attachment preferences. We suggest that L2 learners integrate information relevant for parsing differently from native speakers, with the L2 learners relying more on lexical cues than the native speakers and less on purely structurally based parsing strategies.

Reading-time studies of second language ambiguity resolution

This article provides a review of studies that have examined the ambiguity resolution strategies employed when processing a second language (L2). The way second language learners parse the L2 input has not yet been thoroughly investigated, although recently there has been an increasing interest in this area. The exploration of the mechanisms L2 learners use to parse ambiguous constructions allows us to examine not only aspects of L2 acquisition that still remain obscure, but also the validity of existing theories of parsing. The studies reported in this article look at three different types of ambiguous construction in the L2, and their results are discussed in relation to the L2 performance pattern. Most of the findings show that even advanced L2 learners are slower readers than native speakers and apply processing routines that depart from those best suited for processing the target language input. In addition, although L2 learners show sensitivity to lexical cues such as verb argument structure when processing the L2 input, they are less likely to rapidly employ structural information on line. The issues of the transfer of processing mechanisms from the first language (L1) to the second as well as the impact of L2 exposure on the adoption of the L2 processing routines are still unresolved and need to be further investigated.

Ambiguity Resolution in Sentence Processing: the role of lexical and contextual information

This study investigates how the parser employs thematic and contextual information in resolving temporary ambiguities during sentence processing. We report results from a sentence-completion task and from a self-paced reading experiment with native speakers of Greek examining two constructions under different referential context conditions: relative clauses (RCs) preceded by complex noun phrases with genitives, [NPi +NP2 Gen ], and RCs preceded by complex noun phrases containing prepositional phrases, [NPi + pp[P NP2]]. We found different attachment preferences for these two constructions, a high (NPI) preference for RCs with genitive antecedents and a low (NP2) preference for RCs with PP antecedents. Moreover, referential context information was found to modulate RC attachment differently in the two experimental tasks. We interpret these findings from the perspective of modular theories of sentence processing and argue that on-line ambiguity resolution relies primarily on grammatical and lexical-thematic information, and makes use of referential context information only as a secondary resource.

Case morphology and word order in second language Turkish: Evidence from Greek learners

The optional use of morphology attested in second language learners has been attributed either to a representational deficit or to a ‘surface’ problem with respect to the realization of inflectional affixes. In this article we contribute to this issue by providing empirical data from the early interlanguage of Greek learners of Turkish. Three experiments have been conducted, a cloze task, a sentence picture matching task and an on-line grammaticality judgement task, in order to investigate case morphology and its interaction with word order constraints. The findings of all three experiments point towards a variable use of case morphology, which is also observed in previous studies of Turkish as a second language (L2). Moreover, they show clearly that the learners face difficulties with non-canonical word orders as well as with the interaction of word order constraints and Case. On the other hand, the learners performed well on verbal inflections. On the basis of these findings, we argue that the developmental patterns in the early stages of L2 acquisition cannot be attributed to a global lack of functional categories but rather to more localized difficulties, which seem to be related to (a) whether the features in the L2 are grammaticalized in the first language and (b) the way these features are encoded in the morphosyntax of the first language. Moreover, we claim that processing factors and the specific properties of the morphological paradigms affect L2 development.

Wh-questions and relative clauses in Greek agrammatism : Evidence from comprehension and production

Background: Cross-linguistic studies on the production and comprehension of wh-questions and relative clauses, have revealed selective deficits in agrammatism with better performance observed in (a) subject questions and relative clauses compared to object ones; (b) object non-referential who questions compared to object referential questions; and (c) object what questions compared to object who questions. These selective deficits have been discussed within several neurolinguistic accounts (i.e., D-Linking Hypothesis, Derived Order Problem Hypothesis, and Relativised Minimality), which make different predictions. Limited research on wh-questions and relative clauses has been conducted in Greek agrammatism with inconclusive results, leaving open the question of which linguistic factors affect the agrammatic performance and which account best explains the attested patterns. Aims: The aim of the present study is twofold: (a) to investigate the role of three linguistic factors (syntactic function, referentiality, and φ-features) in the production and comprehension of wh-questions and relative clauses in six agrammatic Greek-speaking participants; and (b) to examine which neurolinguistic account can explain the observed patterns. Methods and Procedures: Two elicitation tasks (one for wh-questions and one for relative clauses) and two picture-pointing tasks (one for wh-questions and one for relative clauses) were used. All tasks targeted the following structures: referential and non-referential (who/what) questions, half with subject and half with object extraction, and relative clauses, half with subject and half with object dependencies. Outcomes and Results: Referentiality had a greater impact οn the production and comprehension of wh-questions compared to the other two linguistic factors under investigation, i.e., syntactic function and φ-feature assignment. Syntactic function did not affect the production or comprehension of relative clauses given that no subject/object dissociations were attested. Conclusion: With respect to wh-questions, the patterns observed in our data can be accounted for within the D-Linking Ηypothesis. The lack of subject/object dissociations attested in relative clauses is attributed to the case mismatch between the head of the relative clause and the relativisation site, and to the high proportion of complementiser omission observed in these structures.

Comprehension asymmetries in language acquisition: a test for Relativized Minimality

Cross-linguistic studies have shown that typically developing children have difficulties comprehending non-canonical structures. These findings have been interpreted within the Relativized Minimality (RM) approach, according to which local relations cannot be established between two terms of a dependency if an intervening element possesses similar morphosyntactic features. In an extension of RM, Friedmann, Belletti, and Rizzi (2009) suggested that lexical NP restriction is the source of minimality effects in non-canonical sentences. The present study aimed at investigating whether the predictions of their account can be confirmed in Greek. Our results indicate that although lexical NP restriction is a crucial factor in generating minimality effects, it is not always sufficient to account for the comprehension difficulties that young children face with non-canonical sentences, since the internal structure (i.e. the feature specification) of the moved element and of the intervener affects their performance, as well.

Zosteriform cutaneous metastasis of breast carcinoma in a male patient

a male patient Editor, A 62-year-old man was referred to our outpatient clinic for the evaluation of a gradually enlarging papulonodular asymptomatic eruption of six months duration involving the right lower part of the trunk. Clinical examination revealed the presence of multiple coalescent, red to violaceous, indurated nodules and papules in a dermatomal distribution, along the T4–T7 neurotomes, at the lower right side of the thorax (Fig. 1a). A full body examination uncovered a subtle ipsilateral retraction of the nipple, firmly attached to a palpable tumor located beneath the areola. Furthermore, ipsilateral palpable axillary and supraclavicular lymph nodes were detected. The patient’s medical history was unremarkable. Under the clinical suspicion of metastatic skin disease, we performed an incisional skin biopsy. Histological examination showed the dermal invasion of adenoid neoplastic cells compatible with metastatic carcinoma of the breast (Fig. 1b). Subsequent fine needle aspiration cytology of the breast mass was consistent with carcinoma of the breast. Further laboratory examination revealed bone and lung metastases; the patient was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer and treated accordingly. Cutaneous metastasis from an internal malignancy is a relatively frequent manifestation and is reported to occur in 5–10% of malignancies. In the vast majority of cases, it represents a sign of disease progression and is characterized by a wide array of clinical presentations. Breast cancer is the neoplasia most commonly associated with skin metastases. However, the arrangement of skin lesions in a dermatomal distribution is highly unusual: only 10 cases of zosteriform cutaneous metastasis related to breast carcinoma have been published in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a dermatomal cutaneous metastasis originating from breast carcinoma in a male patient. From a morphological perspective, dermatomal metastatic skin disease usually (in seven of 10 published cases) manifests with solid papulonodular lesions, as in our patient. Vesicobullous lesions have been reported in only three individuals. In addition to breast carcinoma, other primary malignancies associated with zosteriform patterns of skin metastases include melanoma, systemic and cutaneous B cell and T cell lymphomas, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urinary tumors, and angiosarcoma and Kaposi’s sarcoma. Possible explanations for the zosteriform spread of cancer cells in the skin include vascular (lymphatic or hematogenous) spread, neural spread, the surgical implantation of malignant cells in the skin, and Koebnerization at the site of previous herpes zoster. Given that our patient had not undergone any surgical procedures before the development of the cutaneous metastasis, and his medical history was negative for herpes zoster, we suggest that

The Comprehension of Syntactic and Affective Prosody by Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder Without Accompanying Cognitive Deficits

The present study investigates the comprehension of syntactic and affective prosody in adults with autism spectrum disorder without accompanying cognitive deficits (ASD w/o cognitive deficits) as well as age-, education- and gender-matched unimpaired adults, while processing orally presented sentences. Two experiments were conducted: (a) an on-line sentence completion task containing local subject/object ambiguities and (b) an affective prosody task exploring the comprehension of six emotions. The syntactic prosody task revealed that the experimental group performed similar to the control group on the fillers and the object condition. On the other hand, the ASD w/o cognitive deficits group manifested lower accuracy compared to the unimpaired controls in the subject reading condition, as well as slower reaction times in all conditions. In the affective prosody task, the experimental group performed significantly worse than the controls in the recognition of the emotion of surprise, whereas no differences between the experimental and the control group were attested in the recognition of all other emotions. A positive correlation was found between the two tasks in the ASD w/o cognitive deficits group. Thus, individuals with ASD w/o cognitive deficits face slight difficulties with the decoding of prosody, both the syntactic and the affective one. More specifically, these difficulties are attested in the most difficult conditions, i.e. the subject reading and the emotion of surprise.

The acquisition of Greek gender by bilingual children: The effects of lexical knowledge, oral input, literacy and bi/monolingual schooling

Aim: The objectives of this study are to examine (a) the development of gender assignment and agreement in real and pseudo nouns by bilingual Greek-Albanian children and (b) how different input-related factors impact on these different processes. Methodology: Real and pseudo nouns were investigated to assess the effect of lexical knowledge (real nouns) and of morphological cues (pseudo nouns). Four tasks eliciting gender production in determiner phrases (assignment) and adjective predicates (agreement) for real and pseudo items were administered. Data: 150 bilingual children and 57 Greek monolingual children, aged 8–12 years old, were tested. Bilingual performance is investigated in relation to the role of the bilinguals’ Greek vocabulary knowledge, as well as in relation to early/current language exposure, oral input, literacy, monolingual/bilingual schooling and parental education as a proxy for socioeconomic status. Findings: The results show a strong relationship between the bilinguals’ performance and their Greek vocabulary development, the amount of oral Greek input and the type of school they are attending. For real nouns, oral Greek input is a positive predictor for accuracy, while literacy in Albanian is associated with lower scores. In pseudo nouns, bilinguals attending bilingual schools are shown to perform significantly better than those attending monolingual schools. Originality: The contribution of this study is related to (a) the examination of pseudo nouns along with real ones showing that gender marking in the former involves a distinct process, (b) the finding regarding the pervasive role of vocabulary knowledge and (c) the consideration of schooling type in relation to the development of a specific grammatical feature. Implications: Bilingual education was shown to positively affect the development of gender, which suggests that schooling type has a significant impact not only on literacy development but also on grammatical development.

Language external and language internal factors in the acquisition of gender: the case of Albanian-Greek and English-Greek bilingual children

ABSTRACT The aim of this experimental study is to examine the development of gender assignment and gender agreement in bilingual Albanian-Greek and English-Greek children as well as the exploitation of gender cues on the noun ending in real and pseudo-nouns. Four gender tasks were designed, two targeting gender assignment (determiner + noun production) and two gender agreement (predicate adjective production). Performance is investigated in relation to the role of (positive) L1 transfer (Albanian vs. English), the role of the bilingual’s vocabulary knowledge in Greek as well the role of input factors including the monolingual/bilingual school contexts and the role of parental education as a proxy for socioeconomic status (SES). The results show a strong interaction between the bilinguals’ performance and their Greek vocabulary development and a negative link between gender accuracy and use of the other language.