Syntactic and referential processes in second-language learners: event-related brain potential evidence.
Automatic phrase-building processes were investigated in second-language (L2) learners of French (native German speakers). Event-related brain potentials were recorded while participants listened to syntactically or semantically correct or incorrect French sentences containing a subject-modifying relative clause. Phrase structure violations in the subject-modifying relative clause leading to difficulties in reference processing of the subject noun in the main clause (syntactic condition) were associated with a frontal negativity (150-600 ms) followed by a late anterior negativity (750-1500 ms). Violations of the selectional restriction (semantic condition) elicited the classical N400 (300-600 ms). Taken together, our results suggest that automatic syntactic phrase-building processes can also be involved in L2 learners, at least when the word category violation occurs in a syntactically obligatory constituent such as predicative prepositional phrase.
Isel
Frédéric
F
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany. f.isel@uke.uni-hamburg.de
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007807:Language Tests; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012660:Semantics; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*