Johanneke Caspers

Local speech melody as a limiting factor in the turn-taking system in Dutch

Abstract The research reported in this paper concentrates on the contribution of local melodic factors such as pitch accents and boundary tones to the (non)projection of possible turn transition places in a corpus of Dutch task-oriented dialogues. The conclusions drawn are in line with results reported for German and English: syntax seems to be the main projecting factor in the turn-taking mechanism (the developing grammatical structure is used to project upcoming Transition Relevance Places), while local melodic factors play a supporting as well as a constraining role in the process. Melody supports the grammatical structure by signaling incompleteness at positions where a pause does not coincide with a syntactic completion point and by using (low or high) boundary tones where they do coincide. In addition, specific melodic configurations may be used to bridge a syntactic completion point and continue with a further turn.

On neural correlates of individual differences in novel grammar learning: An fMRI study

&NA; We examine the role of language analytical ability, one of the components of language aptitude – a specific ability for learning languages – during acquisition of a novel grammar. We investigated whether the neural basis of Artificial Grammar Learning (AGL) differs between populations of highly and moderately skilled learners. Participants performed an AGL task during an fMRI scan and data from tasks test phases were analysed. Highly skilled learners performed better than moderately skilled ones and engaged during the task more neural resources in the right hemisphere, i.e. in the right angular/supramarginal gyrus and superior frontal and middle frontal gyrus and in the posterior cingulate gyrus. Additional analyses investigating the temporal dynamics of brain activity during learning revealed lateralisation differences in the modulation of activity in the parietal and temporal cortex. In particular, the left angular gyrus BOLD activity was coupled with high performance on the AGL task and with a steep learning curve. HighlightsWe investigate individual differences in Artificial Grammar Learning during fMRI.More brain activity in the right hemisphere was found for highly skilled learners.The left angular gyrus activity marked increase in proficiency in the new language.Engagement of the right parietal regions is crucial for efficient grammar learning.To process new rules proficiently, the left‐hemisphere activations must be present.

Melodic cues to turn-taking in English: evidence from perception

This paper presents a study of the effects of syntax and melodic configuration on turn-taking in Southern British English. Using dialogue materials, two perception experiments were carried out. In the first, subjects heard dialogue fragments in which syntactic completeness and melodic contour were systematically varied, and were asked whether they expected a subsequent turn exchange or not. In the second, subjects were presented with short speaker exchanges taken from the same material, and asked whether they thought the first speaker had intended to cede the turn or not. The results suggest that syntactic completion or non-completion is the main factor in predicting turn-taking behaviour. Only one melodic contour, the high level tone H* %, appears to operate as a turn holding device, regardless of whether the utterance is grammatically complete or not. The results of this study were found to be similar to those of a study of Dutch turn-taking.

Experiments on the Meaning of Four Types of Single-Accent Intonation Patterns in Dutch

The Grammar of Dutch Intonation (GDI) provides a description of the possible intonation contours of Dutch. The GDI distinguishes accent-lending and nonaccent-lending pitch configurations, but refrains from further functional statements. This paper describes an experimental attempt to verify meaning hypotheses for four Dutch single-accent pitch patterns as postulated in the linguistic literature. The four pitch accent types were realized on proper names; the abstract meanings, in terms of the manipulation of an element of the background shared between speaker and listener, were incorporated in situational contexts, distinguishing between a “default” and a vocative use of the proper name (“orientation”). Listeners ranked the four melodic shapes from most to least appropriate in their specific context. After revision of part of the materials a second perception experiment was conducted, in which subjects had to rank four contexts from most to least appropriate for a specific pitch accent type. Results show a distinct effect of “orientation” on the appropriateness of two of the investigated pitch accent types in the various context types; the other two pitch accent types are associated with the predicted context types (and vice versa) well above chance, indicating the viability of at least two of the linguistic proposals.

Intelligibility of Non-Natively Produced Dutch Words: Interaction between Segmental and Suprasegmental Errors

In the field of second language research many adhere to the idea that prosodic errors are more detrimental to the intelligibility of non-native speakers than segmental errors. The current study reports on a series of experiments testing the influence of stress errors and segmental errors, and a combination of these, on native processing of words produced by intermediate speakers of Dutch as a second language with either Mandarin Chinese or French as mother tongue. The results suggest that both stress and segmental errors influence processing, but suprasegmental errors do not outweigh segmental errors. It seems that a more ‘foreign’ generic pronunciation leads to a greater impact of (supra)segmental errors, suggesting that segmental and prosodic deviations should not be viewed as independent factors in processing non-native speech.

Whole-brain functional connectivity during acquisition of novel grammar: Distinct functional networks depend on language learning abilities

HighlightsWe investigate individual differences in artificial grammar learning during fMRI.A data‐driven approach to functional connectivity of the brain was adopted.Data collected during the task were decomposed into maps representing separate cognitive processes.We conclude that engagement of brain’s networks during grammar acquisition is coupled with one’s language learning abilities. ABSTRACT In an effort to advance the understanding of brain function and organisation accompanying second language learning, we investigate the neural substrates of novel grammar learning in a group of healthy adults, consisting of participants with high and average language analytical abilities (LAA). By means of an Independent Components Analysis, a data‐driven approach to functional connectivity of the brain, the fMRI data collected during a grammar‐learning task were decomposed into maps representing separate cognitive processes. These included the default mode, task‐positive, working memory, visual, cerebellar and emotional networks. We further tested for differences within the components, representing individual differences between the High and Average LAA learners. We found high analytical abilities to be coupled with stronger contributions to the task‐positive network from areas adjacent to bilateral Broca’s region, stronger connectivity within the working memory network and within the emotional network. Average LAA participants displayed stronger engagement within the task‐positive network from areas adjacent to the right‐hemisphere homologue of Brocas region and typical to lower level processing (visual word recognition), and increased connectivity within the default mode network. The significance of each of the identified networks for the grammar learning process is presented next to a discussion on the established markers of inter‐individual learners’ differences. We conclude that in terms of functional connectivity, the engagement of brain’s networks during grammar acquisition is coupled with one’s language learning abilities.

The Role of Prosody in the Identification of Persian Sentence Types: Declarative or Wh-question?

Abstract It has been reported that prosody contributes to the identification of utterances which lack lexico-syntactic indicators of interrogativity but do have characteristic prosodic correlates (e.g. Vion and Colas 2006. Pitch cues for the recognition of yes-no questions in French. Journal of Psycholinguistics Research 35. 427–445). In Persian wh-in-situ questions, the interrogativity device (the wh-phrase) does not move to the sentence-initial position, and the pre-wh part is characterized by specific prosodic correlates (Shiamizadeh et al. 2016. Do Persian native speakers prosodically mark wh-in-situ questions? Manuscript submitted for publication). The current experiment investigates the role of prosody in the perception of Persian wh-in-situ questions as opposed to declaratives. To this end, an experiment was designed in which Persian native speakers were asked to choose the correct sentence type after hearing only the pre-wh part of a sentence. We hypothesized that prosody guides perception of wh-in-situ questions independent of wh-phrase type. The results of the experiment corroborate our hypothesis. The outcome is discussed in terms of Ohala´s frequency code, and Bolinger´s claim about the universal dichotomous association between relaxation and declarativity on the one hand and tension and interrogativity on the other hand.

Do Persian Native Speakers Prosodically Mark Wh-in-situ Questions?

It has been shown that prosody contributes to the contrast between declarativity and interrogativity, notably in interrogative utterances lacking lexico-syntactic features of interrogativity. Accordingly, it may be proposed that prosody plays a role in marking wh-in-situ questions in which the interrogativity feature (the wh-phrase) does not move to sentence-initial position, as, for example, in Persian. This paper examines whether prosody distinguishes Persian wh-in-situ questions from declaratives in the absence of the interrogativity feature in the sentence-initial position. To answer this question, a production experiment was designed in which wh-questions and declaratives were elicited from Persian native speakers. On the basis of the results of previous studies, we hypothesize that prosodic features mark wh-in-situ questions as opposed to declaratives at both the local (pre- and post-wh part) and global level (complete sentence). The results of the current study confirm our hypothesis that prosodic correlates mark the pre-wh part as well as the complete sentence in wh-in-situ questions. The results support theoretical concepts such as the frequency code, the universal dichotomous association between relaxation and declarativity on the one hand and tension and interrogativity on the other, the relation between prosody and pragmatics, and the relation between prosody and encoding and decoding of sentence type.

The role of F0 and duration in the identification of wh-in-situ questions in Persian

Abstract Prosody plays an influential role in the recognition of Persian wh-in-situ questions (Shiamizadeh et al., in press). Perception of speech intonation is supported by several prosodic correlates (Lehiste, 1970). For instance, perception studies demonstrate that prosodic correlates do not contribute similarly to the identification of contrasts (oppositions) in speech intonation, and F0 contributes more prominently to the categorization of contrast in speech intonation (Lehiste, 1976; Peng et al., 2012). The current study manipulates a number of different prosodic correlates to investigate their relative contribution to sentence type categorization in Persian. This study also investigates whether identification is improved in congruent cue conditions in comparison to conflicting cue conditions. For this purpose, a perception experiment was designed in which native Persian speakers were required to listen to manipulated stimuli and decide if they perceived a wh-question or a declarative sentence. Based on the literature, we expect a primary role for F0 and a secondary role for duration in the perception of sentence modality contrasts. We also predict improved identification of sentence type in matching cue conditions in comparison to mismatching cue conditions. The results of the study confirm our predictions, i.e. a primary role of F0, and an increased identification in the matching cue condition is applicable to the perception of the contrast between Persian wh-in-situ questions and declaratives.

The perisylvian language network and language analytical abilities

Aiming at exploring the brains structural organisation underlying successful second language learning, we investigate the anatomy of the perisylvian language network in a group of healthy adults, consisting of participants with high and average language analytical abilities. Utilising deterministic tractography, six tracts per participant (left and right long direct segment, left and right indirect anterior segment and left and right indirect posterior segment) were virtually dissected and measurements pertaining to their microstructural organisation were collected. Our results obtained by means of linear discriminant analysis pointed to mean diffusivity (MD) values of three tracts (right anterior, left long and left anterior segments) as best discriminating between the two groups. By far the highest coefficient was obtained for the MD values of the right anterior segment, pointing to the role of the right white matter fronto-parietal connectivity for superior language learning abilities. The results imply the importance of attentional processes and reasoning abilities for successful L2 acquisition, and support previous findings concerning right-hemispheric involvement in language learning.