1. Syntactic Processing in Second Language Production
Susanna Flett
Holly Branigan, Martin Pickering,
& Antonella Sorace
School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences
University of Edinburgh
I’m interested in the processing of speaking in a second language you’re learned as an adult,

2. L2 sentence level production:
Research focuses on L2 lexical level
What about phrasal/sentence level?
What ?
Which structures available
How to form them
When ?
Frequency of L2 structure
Semantic or pragmatic constraints on usage
In the process of learning a new grammar alongside a pre-exising one.
Storage and retrieval of individual words

3. Models of L1 production (Roelofs, 1992, 1993; Pickering & Branigan, 1998)
Syntactic knowledge in lexicon
Combinatorial information:
Phrasal in nature
Linked to specific lexical items
Shared between different lexical items
Same architecture in L2?
(de Bot, 1992; Truscott & Sharwood Smith, 2004)
Based on on-line behavioural evidence  syntactic priming
Tendency to re-used previously processed structure
L1 production models are well developed
In the models cited here, syntactic knowledge is assumed to be stored in the lexicon Individual words associated with appropriate syntactic knowledge (POS, gender)
knowledged need to build larger structures from words
Generalisable across all the words to which that structure can be apploied
Priming occurs when >1 possibility for saying the same thing in a language

4. Typical priming study Hear or read a sentence (prime)
Syntactic structure varies:
Active: “One of the fans punched the referee”
Passive: “The referee was punched by one of the fans”
Then describe unrelated picture (target)
Which can itself be described using more than one syntactic form
Priming Effect:
Passive target more likely after passive prime

5. Syntactic priming Found with a variety of structures
(e.g., active/passive; dative PO/DO; word order; ‘that’ complementiser...)
Not due to lexical, semantic or rhythmic overlap
(Bock, 1989; Bock & Loebell, 1990)
Indicates abstract syntactic representations
Stronger effect if lexical overlap
(e.g., Pickering & Branigan, 1998; Cleland & Pickering, 2003)
Tool to study sentence level production
Well established in L1 speakers

6. L2 syntactic processing
Do L2 speakers acquire:
Abstract syntactic representations?
Syntactic processing similar to L1?
L2 structural preferences?
L2 Priming?
Stronger than in L1?
Change with proficiency?
Change with experimental context?
Cause of priming?
Transient increase in activation level
Long-term increase in strength of message-to-syntax mappings i.e., increase in baseline activation

7. Experiments L1 and L2 Spanish (English L1)
1) Actives/Passives – dialogue
2) Actives/Passives – computerised
3) SV/VS – unergative verbs
4) SV/VS – unaccusative verbs

8. Experiments 1 & 2 English and Spanish have actives and passives
John built the house
The house was built by John
Juan construyó la casa
La casa fue construida por Juan
Spanish passive grammatical but uncommon
Active/Passive
Same/Different verb
(Branigan et al., 2000; Pickering & Branigan, 1998)

9. Experiment 1 Picture description game
Dialogue with native Spanish confederate
(e.g., Branigan, Pickering & Cleland, 2000)
Sit opposite each other
Confederate follows script
Spoken primes
Technique known to produce strong passive/active priming effects in English, also more fun as it’s an interactive game Method for producing priming in dialogue
Semi-naturalistic?

10. Experiment 1

11. “El autobús persigue el tren”
Different verb in prime and target:
Participant hears:
“El autobús persigue el tren” OR
“El tren es perseguido por el autobús”
Stooge follows a script and must pretend to be making up the descriptions on the spot
All pictures showed two inanimate objects – firstly because animacy affects the structure chosen to be used, secondly because an animate object in Spanish requires a preposition ‘a’ (El tren persigue a la bailarina)

12. Different verb in prime and target:
Then see:
Stooge follows a script and must pretend to be making up the descriptions on the spot
All pictures showed two inanimate objects – firstly because animacy affects the structure chosen to be used, secondly because an animate object in Spanish requires a preposition ‘a’ (El tren persigue a la bailarina)
Decide if previous sentence matches picture or not

13. Describe picture out loud…
Different verb in prime and target:
Then see:
Stooge follows a script and must pretend to be making up the descriptions on the spot
All pictures showed two inanimate objects – firstly because animacy affects the structure chosen to be used, secondly because an animate object in Spanish requires a preposition ‘a’ (El tren persigue a la bailarina)
Describe picture out loud…

14. “La guitarra destruye el televisor”
Same verb in prime and target:
Participant hears:
“La guitarra destruye el televisor” OR
“El televisor es destruido por la guitarra”
Stooge follows a script and must pretend to be making up the descriptions on the spot
All pictures showed two inanimate objects – firstly because animacy affects the structure chosen to be used, secondly because an animate object in Spanish requires a preposition ‘a’ (El tren persigue a la bailarina)

15. Same verb in prime and target:
Then see:
Stooge follows a script and must pretend to be making up the descriptions on the spot
All pictures showed two inanimate objects – firstly because animacy affects the structure chosen to be used, secondly because an animate object in Spanish requires a preposition ‘a’ (El tren persigue a la bailarina)
Decide if previous sentence matches picture or not

16. Describe picture out loud…
Same verb in prime and target:
Then see:
Stooge follows a script and must pretend to be making up the descriptions on the spot
All pictures showed two inanimate objects – firstly because animacy affects the structure chosen to be used, secondly because an animate object in Spanish requires a preposition ‘a’ (El tren persigue a la bailarina)
Describe picture out loud…

17. Experiment 1 Participants:
L1 Spanish (n=12)
Intermediate (n=12) and advanced (n=12) L2 Spanish (L1 English)
Scoring: Actives, Passive or Other produced in each condition
NO EFFECTS OF PROFICIENCY, SO WONT DISCUSS FURTHER

18. Experiment 1: Percentage of passive targets
Group
% Passives
Significant priming effect: all participants produced more passives following a passive prime than active prime (all ps < .001)
Interaction with verb type: priming was stronger when the verb in the target was the same as in the prime than when different, for all groups (ps < .001)
Priming was significantly stronger for both non-native groups than native speakers (advanced speakers: 54%; intermediates: 40%; natives 14%)
Don’t focus on how high the bars are, focus on the difference between conditions
Prime Type

19. Experiment 2
Social influence – pressure to conform to native speaker interlocuter?
Experiment 2:
Monologue
Primes and pictures on computer
Visual primes
Identical pattern of results, attenuated L2 priming

20. Implications L2 abstract representation
Linked to specific verbs  lexical boost
Shared in comprehension and production
L2 more susceptible to priming than L1
Passives exist in English and Spanish
Shared across languages
(e.g., Hartsuiker, Pickering and Veltkamp, 2004)
Prime a new structure?
Mention Hartsuiker et al.

21. Experiments 3 & 4: word order
Spanish allows SV and VS order
Juan llegó ‘Juan arrived’
Llegó Juan ‘*Arrived Juan’
Preference determined by:
lexical verb class
discourse structure
Difficult for L2 learners to use appropriately
Rarely taught in classrooms or textbooks
Inappropriate word order not ungrammatical  pragmatic anomaly

22. Intransitives Two intransitive verb groups
(e.g., Perlmutter, 1978)
Unaccusatives: Arrive; enter; leave; fall
(argument is theme or patient, base-generated in object position)
Unergatives: Shout; dance; speak; laugh
(argument is an agent, generated in subject position)
Semantic differences, syntactically represented
(e.g., Levin and Rappaport Hovav, 1995)
Affects syntactic behaviour.
Binary distinction now questioned – more of a gradient/hierarchy, with some verbs at one or the other extreme:
Core unaccusative verbs: Change of location
Arrive, depart, fall, escape, flee
Core unergative verbs: Controlled processes
Talk, sing, work, run, walk, swim
First learned in L1 and L2
Intermediate verbs exhibit more variation

23. Lexical preferences in neutral context:
Unergatives take SV order
Mi hermana gritó (‘my sister shouted’)
Unaccusatives prefer VS order
Llegó mi hermana (‘arrived my sister’)
Early L2 (English L1) use only SV
Increasing sensitivity to preferences
Then over-generalise VS
(Hertel, 2003; Lozano, 2004)

24. Experiments 3 & 4: Word order is primable
(e.g., Hartsuiker & Westenberg, 2000; Hartsuiker, Kolk & Huiskamp, 1999)
How will priming and lexical preferences interact in L1 and L2 speakers?

25. Method: Primes presented on computer Expt 3: Unergatives (shout-type)
SV or VS order
Same or different verb
Expt 3: Unergatives (shout-type)
Expt 4: Unaccusatives (arrive-type)
L1 Spanish (n=20)
L2 Spanish (L1 English; n=24) c

26. “El pingüino baila” “Baila el pingüino”
Different verb in prime and target:
Participant reads:
“El pingüino baila” OR
“Baila el pingüino”
Stooge follows a script and must pretend to be making up the descriptions on the spot
All pictures showed two inanimate objects – firstly because animacy affects the structure chosen to be used, secondly because an animate object in Spanish requires a preposition ‘a’ (El tren persigue a la bailarina)

27. Different verb in prime and target:
Then see:
Stooge follows a script and must pretend to be making up the descriptions on the spot
All pictures showed two inanimate objects – firstly because animacy affects the structure chosen to be used, secondly because an animate object in Spanish requires a preposition ‘a’ (El tren persigue a la bailarina)
Decide if previous sentence matches picture or not

28. Describe picture out loud…
Different verb in prime and target:
Then see:
Stooge follows a script and must pretend to be making up the descriptions on the spot
All pictures showed two inanimate objects – firstly because animacy affects the structure chosen to be used, secondly because an animate object in Spanish requires a preposition ‘a’ (El tren persigue a la bailarina)
Describe picture out loud…

29. Experiment 3 (unergatives): proportion of VS
Group
% VS order
Prime Type

30. Experiment 4 (unaccusatives): proportion of VS
Group
% VS order
BIGGER TENDENCY TO PRODUCE VS
Prime Type

31. Comparing Expts: 3 and 4
% VS order

32. Summary of findings Word order priming in L1 and L2 Spanish
Stronger when verbal repetition
Lexical preferences affect L1 priming
L2 priming same for both verb groups
L2 speakers more willing to use less frequent structures (passives, VS)
L2 > L1 priming only when structure dispreferred in L1

33. Structural preferences in L1 and L2
Priming stronger for lower-frequency structures
(Bock, 1986; Hartsuiker & Kolk, 1998; Hartsuiker & Westermann, 2000; Scheepers, 2003)
But dispreference of structures?
L1 dispreference  resist priming
(e.g., Pickering, Branigan & McClean, 2002, no heavy NP shift priming in English ; Hartsuiker & Kolk, 1998, passives in Dutch)
L2 speakers: find passive and unerg-VS more acceptable

34. Conclusions
Syntactic representation and processing similar in L1 and L2 (á la de Bot, 1992)
Syntactic priming
Lexical overlap boost
L2 speakers not sensitive to preferences – can prime dispreferred structure
L1 speakers floor effect can’t be overcome

35. Future Research? How would effects vary for:
Proficiency: beginner and near-native L2?
L1 and L2 speakers based in Spanish environment?
Structures equally acceptable in both languages?

36. Thank you for listening