DOCTORAL DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The Representation and Processing of Verbal Morphology in First and Second Languages

本论文项目研究了以西班牙语为第一语言和以英语为第二语言的人的言语形态的心理计算的具体方面。该项目是由Michael Ullman指导的一个研究项目。该项目研究了表征语言的两种能力的计算和神经基础：记忆单词的心理词汇，以及指定词汇形式如何组合成更大序列的规则的心理语法。它测试了“双系统”假设，即词汇是由联想记忆服务的，而符号操作系统是语法组合的基础。相比之下，“单一系统”理论认为所有的单词和规则都依赖于联想记忆。支持双系统观点的证据来自形态学的心理语言学和神经语言学研究。这些研究表明，不规则形式(例如：‘dug’)是通过词汇记忆的，而规则的形式（例如‘dug’）。‘walked’)是按语法规则计算的。大多数研究都考察了以英语为母语的人在英语过去时屈折变化中的这种区别。该项目将测试结果的普遍性：(1)西班牙语词法，这与英语词法有很大的不同，在西班牙语母语者中；(2)以英语为第二语言的西班牙语和汉语为母语的成人学习者的英语过去时形态。

This dissertation project investigates specific aspects of the mental computation of verbal morphology in speakers of Spanish as a first language, and speakers of English as a second language. The project is framed within a research program directed by Michael Ullman. The program investigates the computational and neural underpinnings of two capacities that characterize language: the mental lexicon of memorized words, and the mental grammar of rules that specify how lexical forms combine into larger sequences. It tests the 'dual-system' hypothesis that the lexicon is subserved by associative memory, whereas a symbol-manipulation system underlies grammatical combinations. In contrast, 'single-system' theories posit that all words and rules depend upon associative memory. Evidence supporting a dual-system view has come from psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic studies of morphology. These have shown that irregular forms (e.g. 'dug') are lexically memorized, while regular forms (e.g. 'walked') are computed by grammatical rules. Most studies have examined this distinction in English past-tense inflection, in native English speakers. This project will test the generality of the results in (1) Spanish verbal morphology, which differs substantially from English morphology, in native Spanish speakers; and (2) English past-tense morphology, in Spanish and Chinese native-speaking adult learners of English as a second language.