Doctoral Dissertation Research: Morphology in Bilingual Language Processing

在国家科学基金会的支持下，苏珊·博布女士将在朱迪思·克罗尔博士的指导下为她的博士论文收集数据。这项研究将考察第二语言发展的认知过程。在过去的十年里，关于双语和第二语言学习的研究有了显着的增长。目前的许多研究表明，二语习得背后的认知结构对一门新语言的习得具有很强的适应性。然而，仍然存在一些限制。拟议研究的目标是进一步澄清语言学习的制约因素，并帮助解决尚未完全解决的问题。计划中的实验考察了学习者和熟练掌握双语的人能够在多大程度上充分获得第二语言的语法知识。这项研究的具体目的是确定中级和高级英语-德语双语者理解语法性别分配的能力(例如das glas‘the Glass’)和解释复合名词的意义(例如das weinglas‘the wineglas’)。语法性别是通常被认为在第二语言/外语中很难获得的一个特征。特别是对于英语等母语不带有性别标志的语言，人们提出了一个问题，即是否可以完全获得性别，以及在什么情况下。作为一种在德语中卓有成效的词法过程，复合法为研究这一习得过程并进一步确定第二语言性别习得的发展轨迹提供了理想的情境。本研究提供的数据将有助于解决目前关于第二语言学习者在多大程度上能够习得和处理非母语的微妙方面的争论。该研究计划的目标是利用行为和神经认知方法(即事件相关电位)提供一致的证据，以拓宽目前对双语语言加工中可能存在的限制的理解。与之前对第二语言语义和句法的研究一起，目前对性别和复合词的研究将为加深对语言理解的理解提供基础。更全面地了解制约或促进充分接触第二语言的因素，以及调整语言理解过程的时间进程的因素，将为制定可用于改进第二语言教学和教学的策略提供基础。考虑到当代美国社会中的许多人需要掌握另一种语言的实用(如果不是完全熟练的话)熟练程度，这项计划中的研究有望利用已知的限制条件来进行教学。这项研究还将通过包括本身掌握双语的本科生和促进国际科学合作，为培养越来越多样化的语言科学家群体做出贡献。

With National Science Foundation support, Ms. Susan Bobb will collect data for her doctoral dissertation under the direction of Dr. Judith Kroll. This research will examine the cognitive processes underlying second language development. In the past decade there has been a notable increase in research investigating bilingualism and second language learning. Many of these current studies suggest that the cognitive architecture underlying second language performance is remarkably adaptive to accommodate acquisition of a new language. However, some limitations remain. The goal of the proposed research is to further clarify constraints to language learning and help address questions that have not yet been fully resolved. The planned experiments examine the degree to which learners and proficient bilinguals are able to fully access grammatical knowledge of the second language. The specific aim of the proposed research is to identify the ability of intermediate and advanced English-German bilinguals to comprehend the assignment of grammatical gender (e.g., das Glas 'the glass') and to interpret the meaning of compound nouns (e.g., das Weinglas 'the wineglas'). Grammatical gender is a feature that is typically considered difficult to acquire in a second/foreign language. Particularly for those whose native language does not mark gender, such as English, the question has been raised whether full acquisition of gender can take place and under which circumstances. As a morphological process which is very productive in German, compounding provides an ideal situation to investigate this acquisition process and further define the developmental trajectory of second language acquisition of gender. The current study will provide data that will contribute to the resolution of current debates about the degree to which second language learners can acquire and process subtle aspects of the non-native language. The goal of the proposed research program is to provide converging evidence using both behavioral as well as neurocognitive methods (i.e., event-related potentials) in order to broaden current understanding regarding possible constraints in bilingual language processing.Together with previous research on second language semantics and syntax, the current research on gender and compounds will provide a basis for developing a deeper understanding of language comprehension. A more complete understanding of the factors that restrict or enable full access to the second language and that modulate the time course of language processing for comprehension will provide a basis for developing strategies that can be used in improving second language instruction and pedagogy. Given the requirement for many in contemporary US society to acquire functional, if not full, proficiency in another language, the planned research holds promise for instructional approaches that make use of known constraints. The research will also contribute to the training of an increasingly diverse group of language scientists by including undergraduate research students who are themselves bilingual and by fostering international scientific collaboration.