RT Journal Article
T1 Lexico-syntactic interactions during the processing of temporally ambiguous L2 relative clauses: An eye-tracking study with intermediate and advanced PortugueseEnglish bilinguals
A1 Soares, Ana Paula
A1 Oliveira, Helena
A1 Ferreira, Marisa
A1 Comesaña Vila, Montserrat
A1 Macedo, António Filipe
A1 Ferré, Pilar
A1 Hernández Cabrera, Juan
A1 Fraga Carou, Isabel
A1 Acuña Fariña, Juan Carlos
K1 Syntax
K1 Sentence processing
K1 Multilinguism
K1 Multilingualism
K1 Learning
K1 Linguistics
K1 Semantics
K1 Grammar
K1 Time measurement
AB There is extensive evidence showing that bilinguals activate the lexical and the syntacticrepresentations of both languages in a nonselective way. However, the extent to which thelexical and the syntactic levels of representations interact during second language (L2) sentence processing and how those interactions are modulated by L2 proficiency remainunclear. This paper aimed to directly address these issues by using an online technique(eye-tracking) that is highly sensitive to the lexical and syntactic processes involved in sentence reading. To that purpose, native-speakers of European Portuguese (EP) learningEnglish as L2 at intermediate and advanced levels of proficiency were asked to silently readtemporally ambiguous L2 relative clause (RC) sentences disambiguated with a High-Attachment (HA) or Low-Attachment (LA) strategy while their eye-movements were monitored.Since EP and English native speakers differ in the way they process and comprehend thissyntactic structure (EP: HA, English: LA), HA preferences were used as a marker of L1 RCsyntax interference. Additionally, the cognate status of the complex NP that preceded theRC was manipulated to further analyze how the lexical co-activation of both languageswould also affect the syntactic representations of the non-target (L1) language. Resultsshowed cognate facilitation in early and late reading time measures regardless of L2 proficiency, and also that the cognate status of the complex NP impacted L2 reading performance, particularly at lower levels of L2 proficiency. These findings provide compellingevidence for a bilingual reading system that seems to be highly dynamic and interactive notonly within each level of processing, but, importantly, across levels of representation. Theyalso suggested that, as the level of L2 proficiency increases, L1 RC syntax interferencebecomes stronger, in a syntactic parser that seems to operate in a more integrated and nonselective way, with both strategies being equally available to guide L2 reading comprehension. Results are discussed attending to the current models of bilingual syntacticprocessing.
PB PLOS
YR 2019
FD 2019
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21008
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/21008
LA eng
NO Soares AP, Oliveira H, Ferreira M, Comesaña M, Macedo AF, Ferré P, et al. (2019) Lexico-syntactic interactions during the processing of temporally ambiguous L2 relative clauses: An eye-tracking study with intermediate and advanced Portuguese-English bilinguals. PLoS ONE 14(5): e0216779. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216779
NO This study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (PSI/01662), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds, and co-financed by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653). It was also supported by the grant EXPL/MHC-PCN/0859/2013 from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science (https://www.fct.pt/apoios/) and from the grants UID/PSI/01662/2013 and PSI2015-65116-P from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (http://www.mineco.gob.es/portal/site/mineco/)
DS Minerva
RD 24 abr 2026