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Testing the role of heritage language (HL) experience on initial third language (L3) morphosyntactic processing using event-related potentials (ERPs)
Poster Session C, Saturday, September 13, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm, Field House
Cesar Rosales1, Eleonora Rossi1; 1University of Florida
Introduction: The present study investigates the behavioral and neural signatures of initial third language (L3) processing among heritage bilingual language learners using event-related potentials (ERPs). The goals of the current study are twofold: to reveal if cross-linguistic influence affords neural sensitivity to morphosyntactic features after brief exposure to the L3, and to determine the role that heritage language (HL) experience plays in modulating this neural sensitivity. In recent years, researchers have turned towards studying the contributions of heritage bilingualism on third language acquisition. Heritage bilinguals are individuals raised in a multilingual environment in childhood. Like other bilinguals, heritage bilinguals have two potential transfer sources to choose from, namely the HL and the societal/dominant language. Yet recent research reveals heritage speakers to be particularly sensitive to overt morphophonological inflections (e.g., Di Pisa et al, 2022), a processing strategy that may arise due to their reduced input to the heritage language. As such, this study turns towards investigating if and how such processing strategies also manifest during L3 learning. Methods: To test this hypothesis, Spanish heritage speakers in the United States (US) (current n = 23) completed a mini-longitudinal language learning program aimed at teaching select (morpho-)syntactic properties of a mini-grammar based on Russian. Participants learned a total of 40 words and three (morpho-)syntactic properties via implicit instruction: grammatical gender, case morphology, and prenominal adjective placement. Following the learning phase, participants completed a grammatically judgement task (GJT) while their electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. The EEG GJT was presented at the end of the learning sessions, which occurred on average two days apart. During the GJT, participants read morphosyntactic violations for the first time (i.e., a masculine noun with the feminine marker, the object noun with the nominative marker, etc.). Results & Summary: In comparison to the first session, an increased positivity around 200 milliseconds (ms) following the presentation of a gender agreement violation was observed during the second GJT. Additionally, an increased negativity at 400 ms post stimulus onset was also recorded at the second session. Similarly, case violations elicited a greater N400 response at the second session compared to the first session. Taken together, these preliminary findings suggest the deployment of attentional resources (as evinced by the P200 response) to be an important mechanism to engage when processing L3 features. The N400 response, typically present during semantic processing, is also noteworthy given the limited exposure participants had received to this language at test. Furthermore, the presence of a N400 in response to gender violations suggests attentional resources to be associated with downstream language-related processing. Critically, the N400 sensitivity was observed for novel features (i.e., case violations); neither Spanish nor English possess overt case morphology. If these trends continue, these results may provide support for the notion that heritage speakers rely on both prior linguistic knowledge as well as language experience (i.e., bias toward morphological fixation) to shape L3 outcomes.
Topic Areas: Multilingualism,