Die Auswahl eines passenden Wortes aus semantisch verbundenen Wettbewerbern ist eine wesentliche Funktion der Sprachproduktion. Neuere strittige Befunde scheinen traditionellen lexikalischen Selektionsmodellen zu widersprechen. Der swinging lexical network (SLN) Ansatz offeriert eine kompetitiven Bezugsrahmen, der spezifische Voraussetzungen formuliert, unter denen semantische Erleichterungs- als auch Interferenzeffekte in Bildbenennungsparadigmen beobachtet werden können. Diese spezifischen Voraussetzungen betreffen a) die Manipulation eines Trade-offs zwischen konzeptueller Erleichterung und lexikalischer Interferenz, b) das Ausmaß an lexikalischer Kohortenaktivierung und c) die flexible Anpassungsfähigkeit des Sprachproduktionssystems. Die Trade-off-Annahme wurde durch Einflüsse von Assoziationen auf die Benennungslatenz untersucht (Studie 1), wenn Stimuli im kontinuierlichen Benennungsparadigma in einer scheinbar zufälligen Reihenfolge benannt werden. Information über den Einfluss lexikalischer Kohortenaktivierung auf die Wortproduktion wurde durch Manipulation semantischer Distanz und durch Kombination des kontinuierlichen Benennungsparadigmas mit ereignis-korrelierten Potentialen (EKPs) gewonnen (Studie 2). Zur Überprüfung der Flexibilitätsannahme werden Benennungslatenzen von Homophonen mittels Bild-Wort-Interferenzparadigma untersucht, nachdem Versuchspersonen wiederholt linguistische Mehrdeutigkeit verarbeiten haben (Studie 3). Die Ergebnisse zeigen semantische Interferenzeffekte für assoziativ und für eng kategorial verbundene Stimuli im kontinuierlichen Benennungsparadigma (Studie 1 & 2) und Erleichterungseffekte für Homophone im PWI, nachdem das kognitive System sich auf Mehrdeutigkeit adaptiert hatte (Studie 3). Eng kategorial verbundene Stimuli modulierten EKP-Komponenten in der P1, zwischen 250 und 400 ms und im N400-Zeitfenster, welche mit Wortproduktions-prozessen in Verbindung gebracht werden. / The selection of an appropriate word from other meaning-related competitors is a main function of language production. Recent inconclusive findings have casted doubt about traditional lexical selection accounts. The swinging lexical network (SLN) account presents a competitive framework that formulates specific conditions under which semantic facilitation or interference effects can be observed in picture naming paradigms. These specific conditions concern a) the manipulation of the trade-off between conceptual facilitation and lexical interference, b) the extent of lexical cohort activation and c) the flexible nature of the language production system. The trade-off assumption was assessed by investigating the impact of associations on naming latencies in the continuous naming paradigm in which semantically related items are named within a seemingly random sequence (Study 1). Information for the understanding of lexical cohort activation on word production was obtained by manipulating semantic distance in the continuous naming paradigm combined with event-related potentials (ERP; Study 2). Aiming at testing the flexibility assumption, effects of unrelated meaning alternatives of homophones in a picture-word interference (PWI) paradigm were investigated, after participants repeatedly processed linguistic ambiguities (Study 3). Results show semantic interference for associates and for closely related category co-ordinates in the continuous naming paradigm (Study 1 & 2), and facilitation effects for homophone names in the PWI after the cognitive system adapted to the processing of linguistic ambiguities (Study 3). Closely related stimuli modulated ERPs in the P1, between 250 and 400 ms, and in the N400 time window, which are known to be associated with single word naming processes. These results support the SLN model and enhance the understanding of semantic and cognitive factors that shape the microstructure of language production.

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The thesis analyses the accuracy and fluency exhibited in the spoken advanced-learner English of Czech students of English philology. It draws its data from a learner corpus comprising fifty 15-minute interviews with these learners and from a parallel native-speaker corpus of forty-nine 15-minute interviews. As regards accuracy, the learner data is analysed using techniques of error analysis. Salient features of advanced learner English are identified and the subsequent quantitative analyses reveal that throughout the entire group of students (which is characterized by what revealed itself to be a wide proficiency span) two groups of error types are found to be much more frequent than any other, namely errors in the use of articles and tenses. For the fluency measurements a small selection of variables has been chosen to describe speed fluency (speech rate) and breakdown fluency (the frequency of unfilled and filled pauses), and the results are compared with those for the parallel native-speaker corpus. The analysed native speakers are found to produce speech at a generally much higher rate than the majority of the learners. There does not appear - at least in the light of the given sample - to be any direct correlation between fluency and the frequency of errors. Moreover, the learners are found...

Der Prozess der lexikalischen Selektion, d.h. die Auswahl der richtigen Wörter zur Übermittlung einer intendierten Botschaft, ist noch nicht hinreichend verstanden. Insbesondere wurde kaum erforscht, inwiefern Bedeutungsaspekte, welche in sensomotorischen Erfahrungen gründen, diesen Prozess der Sprachproduktion beeinflussen. Die Rolle dieser Bedeutungsaspekte wurde mit zwei Studien untersucht, in denen Probanden Sätze vervollständigten. In Studie 1 wurde der visuelle Eindruck der Satzfragmente manipuliert, so dass die Sätze auf- oder absteigend am Bildschirm erschienen. In Studie 2 mussten die Probanden Kopfbewegungen nach oben oder unten ausführen, während sie die Satzfragmente hörten. Wir untersuchten, ob räumliche Aspekte der produzierten Wörter durch die räumlichen Manipulationen sowie die räumlichen Eigenschaften der präsentierten Satzfragmente beeinflusst werden. Die vertikale visuelle Manipulation in Studie 1 wirkte sich nicht auf die räumlichen Attribute der produzierten Wörter aus. Die Kopfbewegungen in Studie 2 führten zu einem solchen Effekt – bei Kopfbewegungen nach oben waren die Referenten der produzierten Wörter weiter oben im Raum angesiedelt als nach Bewegungen nach unten (und anders herum). Darüber hinaus war dieser Effekt stärker, je ausgeprägter die interozeptive Sensibilität der Probanden war. Zudem beeinflussten die räumlichen Aspekte der Satzfragmente die räumlichen Eigenschaften der produzierten Wörter in beiden Studien. Somit zeigt diese Arbeit, dass in der Erfahrung basierende Bedeutungsanteile, welche entweder in Sprache eingebettet sind oder durch körperliche Aktivität reaktiviert werden, die Auswahl der Wörter beim Sprechen beeinflussen und dass interindividuelle Unterschiede diesen Effekt modulieren. Die Befunde werden in Bezug zu Theorien der Semantik gesetzt. Darüber hinaus wird das Methodenrepertoire erweitert, indem mit Studie 3 ein Ansatz für die Durchführung von Online-Sprachproduktionsexperimenten mit Bildbenennung vorgestellt wird. / The process of lexical selection, i.e. producing the right words to get an intended message across, is not well understood. Specifically, meaning aspects grounded in sensorimotor experiences and their role during lexical selection have not been investigated widely. Here, we investigated the role of experientially grounded meaning aspects with two studies in which participants had to produce a noun to complete sentences which described sceneries. In Study 1, the visual appearance of sentence fragments was manipulated and they seemed to move upwards or downwards on screen. In Study 2, participants moved their head up- or downwards while listening to sentence fragments. We investigated whether the spatial properties of the freely chosen nouns are influenced by the spatial manipulations as well as by the spatial properties of the sentences. The vertical visual manipulation used in Study 1 did not influence the spatial properties of the produced words. However, the body movements in Study 2 influenced participants’ lexical choices, i.e. after up-movements the referents of the produced words were higher up compared to after downward movements (and vice verse). Furthermore, there was an increased effect of movement on the spatial properties of the produced nouns with higher levels of participants’ interoceptive sensibility. Additionally, the spatial properties of the stimulus sentences influenced the spatial properties of the produced words in both studies. Thus, experientially grounded meaning aspects which are either embedded in text or reactivated via bodily manipulations may influence which words we chose when speaking, and interindividual differences may moderate these effects. The findings are related to current theories of semantics. Furthermore, this dissertation enhances the methodological repertoire of language production researchers by showing how language production studies with overt articulation in picture naming tasks can be run online (Study 3).

Ce travail, dont le titre est : Le modèle d’immersion réciproque en question : enseigner en classe bilingue à New York et à Francfort / Das Two-Way-Immersion Modell im Fokus : Zweisprachig unterrichten in New York und Frankfurt/Main, a pour objectif de répondre à la problématique suivante : comment la conceptualisation du modèle d’enseignement bilingue d’immersion réciproque influence les pratiques éducatives (didactiques et pédagogiques) des enseignants et les productions langagières des enfants, et pourquoi ? / The aim of this study, the title of which is “Focussing on the model of two-way immersion: teaching in bilingual classrooms in New York and Frankfurt on the Main”, is to provide an answer to the following question: in what ways does the conceptualisation of the bilingual model of two-way immersion affect the educational practices, both didactic and pedagogical, of teachers and the language production of children, and why is this so?

This thesis highlights the sociopolitics of English as a dominant/colonial language by focusing on the linkage between language, power, and race. Grounded in critical language theory, comparative education theory, and anti-racism research methodology, this research examines the inextricable relationship between language, power, and race. With this in mind, this thesis argues that language, specifically English, is not a neutral tool of communication but a highly contentious issue that is deeply embedded in sociopolitical ideologies and practices. The contexts of Japan and Trinidad and Tobago are used to illustrate how colonialism continues to impact English language policy, practice, and perceptions. In sum, this research aims to bridge the gap between critical language theory, comparative education theory, and anti-racism studies in a way that (1) highlights the complexity of language politics, (2) explores ideological assumptions inherent in the discourse of the "native" language, and (3) underscores the overlooked ubiquity of race.

This thesis highlights the sociopolitics of English as a dominant/colonial language by focusing on the linkage between language, power, and race. Grounded in critical language theory, comparative education theory, and anti-racism research methodology, this research examines the inextricable relationship between language, power, and race. With this in mind, this thesis argues that language, specifically English, is not a neutral tool of communication but a highly contentious issue that is deeply embedded in sociopolitical ideologies and practices. The contexts of Japan and Trinidad and Tobago are used to illustrate how colonialism continues to impact English language policy, practice, and perceptions. In sum, this research aims to bridge the gap between critical language theory, comparative education theory, and anti-racism studies in a way that (1) highlights the complexity of language politics, (2) explores ideological assumptions inherent in the discourse of the "native" language, and (3) underscores the overlooked ubiquity of race.

The thesis covers sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic aspects of Czech and Slovak language relations. To both fields, it contributes in the form of own empirical research. At the centre of attention are native speakers of Slovak living long-term in Czechia and their language behaviour under this setting in relation to Czech and Slovak. Given that two languages in question are genetically very close and mutual intelligible, the actual language behaviour of the described population is not strictly predetermined by the social norms (Dickins, 2009). However, there are also conditions supporting the accommodation to Czech (Sloboda, 2005). The thesis focuses on the identification of factors influencing language choice and on the impacts of such factors on the psychlinguistic processing of Slovak and Czech words. The sociolinguistic part builds on questionnaire-based surveys, such as those conducted by Sloboda (2006). The own questionnaire survey was carried out via web. The data from 651 respondents were assessed, all from native speakers of Slovak having grown up in Slovakia and commencing their stay in Czechia after the age of 18. The data revealed that Slovak is used more than Czech, that Czech is more often perceived, that the use of Czech is more common in the communication with strangers or in...

[pt] Esta tese investiga os fatores semânticos e sintáticos que afetam a codificação do objeto direto anafórico (ODA) no português brasileiro (PB). O ODA pode ser um DP pleno [+ definido], um clítico acusativo, um pronome tônico ou um elemento nulo (cuja natureza é controversa na teoria linguística). Busca-se: (i) avaliar como fatores semânticos (animacidade, especificidade e gênero conceitual), sintáticos (função sintática) e pertinentes à interface sintaxe/semântica (papel temático) afetam a codificação da retomada, em diferentes contextos sintáticos (sentenças simples e ilha sintática) e/ou discursivos (respostas a perguntas QU e complementação de narrativas curtas ou conversas informais); (ii) verificar a influência da escolarização nas estratégias de codificação do ODA; e (iii) discutir a natureza das formas nulas produzidas. O aporte teórico parte da concepção de língua veiculada no Programa Minimalista (CHOMSKY,1995. 2005) e da perspectiva de produção trazida do modelo de computação gramatical em tempo real (CORRÊA, 2006; 2008; CORRÊA; AUGUSTO, 2007; em diante) no tratamento das questões ligadas à acessibilidade relativa do antecedente a ser retomado (ARIEL, 2001; ARNOLD, 2010; BOCK; WARREN, 1985; SANDERS; GERNSBACHER, 2004), quando da codificação gramatical do enunciado (LEVELT, 1989). Parte-se da hipótese de que a produção de ODAs é função das condições de processamento às quais o falante está submetido e que propriedades semânticas e sintáticas do antecedente afetam sua acessibilidade relativa, impondo restrições à codificação de sua retomada. Seis experimentos de produção eliciada são reportados. O contexto sintático influenciou a acessibilidade dos antecedentes, retomados predominantemente por DPs completos entre sentenças no discurso; e por formas mínimas (pronominais e elementos nulos), quando em sentenças complexas. Os efeitos de animacidade e de especificidade sugerem que o pronome tônico seja default para antecedentes acessíveis [+animado; +específico], enquanto o nulo o é para [-animados; mais ou menos específico], corroborando achados da literatura com produção espontânea. O gênero conceitual não foi decisivo para a retomada anafórica, mas pareceu aumentar a especificidade de antecedentes cujo gênero conceitual era conhecido. O papel temático, por si só, não é decisivo para a forma da retomada anafórica. Entretanto, a possibilidade de o elemento nulo recuperar um fato/evento descrito anteriormente o compatibiliza com uma alternativa ao clítico sentencial. O grau de escolaridade dos participantes elevou as taxas de clíticos acusativos, especialmente com antecedentes [+animado] (como alternativa aos pronomes tônicos), evidenciando a interferência da língua escrita sobre a língua falada, bem como a produtividade dessa forma para falantes com alto grau de escolaridade. A função sintática do antecedente não interferiu no ODA. A ocorrência do elemento nulo em contextos de ilha corrobora a visão de que este não seja uma variável no PB. À luz do modelo de computação em tempo real, considera-se que as condições de acesso do antecedente determinam a natureza da forma nula: se a representação da estrutura sintática do antecedente se mantiver ativa na memória de trabalho, este pode ser recuperado como uma elipse, a ser restaurada na interface semântica; se apenas seus traços phi ou a representação semântica de seu antecedente são acessíveis, ODA é codificado como pro. / [en] This thesis investigates the semantic and syntactic factors that affect the encoding of the anaphoric direct object (ADO) in Brazilian Portuguese (BP). The ADO can be a full DP [+definite], an accusative clitic, a stressed pronoun, or a null element (whose nature is controversial in linguistic theory). This research aims to: (i) investigate how the semantic properties (animacy, specificity and conceptual genre) of the antecedent, its syntactic function and factors pertaining to the syntax/semantic interface (thematic role) affect the encoding of the ADO in different syntactic contexts (simple sentences and syntactic island) and/or discourse (answers to WH-questions and continuations of short narratives or informal conversations); (ii) verify the influence of schooling in the strategies of ADO encoding; and (iii) discuss the nature of the null forms produced. The theoretical background incorporates the conception of language conveyed in the Minimalist Program (CHOMSKY, 1995; 2005) and an approach to issues regarding the relative accessibility of the antecedent to be resumed (ARIEL, 2001; ARNOLD, 2010; BOCK; WARREN, 1985; SANDERS; GERNSBACHER, 2004) in the grammatical encoding of a sentence (LEVELT, 1989), in the light of an on-line model of grammatical computation (CORREA, 2006; 2008; CORREA; AUGUSTO, 2007) The working hypothesis is that the production of the ODA is a function of particular processing conditions and that the semantic and syntactic properties of the antecedent affect its relative accessibility, imposing restrictions on its resumption. Six elicited production experiments are reported. The syntactic context influenced the accessibility of the antecedents, predominantly recovered by full DPs, when between-sentences in the discourse; and by minimal forms (pronominals and null elements) in complex sentences. The effects of animacy and of specificity corroborate spontaneous production data, suggesting that the full pronoun is the default option for [+animated; +specific], while the null form is the default option for [-animated; +- specific] antecedents. The conceptual genre of the antecedent was not decisive for a particular form of encoding, but it seemed to enhance the specificity of the antecedent whose conceptual gender was known. The thematic role, by itself, does not determine the form of anaphoric resumption. However, the possibility of the null resumption of an fact/event previously mentioned makes it compatible with an alternative to the sentential clitic. Schooling increased the rates of accusative clitics, especially with [+animated] antecedents (as an alternative to tonic pronouns), showing the interference of the written language on the spoken language, as well as the productivity of this form for educated speakers. The syntactic function of the antecedent did not affect ADO production. The occurrence of the null element in island contexts corroborates the view that the null element is not a variable in BP. It is argued, in the light of the on-line model, that the accessibility of the antecedent determines the nature of null element: if the representation of the syntactic structure of the antecedent is still active in working memory, it can be retrieved as an ellipsis, to be restored at the semantic interface; if it is the phi features of the antecedent or the semantic representation of its referent that remain available, ADO is encoded as a pro.