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Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:42:39Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1253982 bytes, checksum: f1f9be936c7da6fa5ae321cdc78468e5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-09-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The idealization and construction of this quantitative and experimental work are justified on the contribution proposal with the Linguistic research of Brazil, being emphasized the importance of Experimental Psycholinguistics in a sub-branch, the Linguistic Processing. It is important highlight that this research we make possible to discuss and to observe certain point even as the syntactic processor of the language, the parser habitually behaves in a differentiated reality of the one that acts. From this point on, several questions are lifted up. Would the parser use the same strategy used in the speaker's native L1 (language) to process content of L2? What would happen when the processor was begun to analyze a L2 possessor's of divergent parameters of L1 content? How the language processor resist processing syntactic would structures no corresponding or simply no existent in the L1? Would it be possible that items as work memory and proficiency level of the L2 learners could influence somehow in this processing? We will discuss with larger robustness on those and other subjects in elapsing of the work. / A idealização e construção deste trabalho de característica quantitativa e experimental se justificam na proposta de contribuição com a pesquisa Linguística do Brasil, ressaltando-se a importância da Psicolinguística Experimental em seu sub-ramo, o Processamento Linguístico. É importante destacarmos que esta pesquisa nos possibilita discutir e observar até determinado ponto como o processador sintático da linguagem, o parser se comporta em uma realidade diferenciada da que habitualmente atua. A partir deste ponto, diversos questionamentos são levantados. O parser utilizaria a mesma estratégia empregada na L1(língua nativa do falante) para processar conteúdo da L2? O que ocorreria quando o processador fosse posto a analisar conteúdo de uma L2 possuidora de parâmetros divergentes da L1? Como o processador da linguagem reagiria ao processar estruturas sintáticas não correspondentes ou simplesmente não existentes em sua L1? Seria possível que itens como memória de trabalho e nível de proficiência dos aprendizes de L2 pudessem influenciar de alguma maneira neste processamento? Discutiremos com maior robustez sobre essas e outras questões no transcorrer do trabalho.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-07-03T14:13:21Z No. of bitstreams: 1 sarabarreto.pdf: 1714725 bytes, checksum: 3e320fc0cbd06b092e653d3db925a228 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-08-08T13:00:43Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 sarabarreto.pdf: 1714725 bytes, checksum: 3e320fc0cbd06b092e653d3db925a228 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-08T13:00:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 sarabarreto.pdf: 1714725 bytes, checksum: 3e320fc0cbd06b092e653d3db925a228 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-04-18 / Esta dissertação investiga a compreensão de expressões idiomáticas do tipo verbo + complemento no português brasileiro (PB) (Ex. pintar o sete, passar a bola). Na literatura psicolinguística, identificamos diferentes abordagens relativas à representação, ao acesso e ao processamento de expressões idiomáticas. Segundo modelos de acesso direto, expressões seriam compreendidas a partir da recuperação de seu sentido plenamente disponível no léxico (GIBBS, 1980, 1985, 1986), enquanto outras abordagens pontuam que o acesso ocorra de forma indireta ou mediada (BOBROW & BELL, 1973; WEINREICH, 1969). Há, ainda, propostas que defendem a ocorrência do acesso em paralelo dos sentidos literal e figurado (ESTILL & KEMPER, 1982; SWINNEY & CUTLER, 1979), bem como visões que enfatizam a relevância de se atentar para certas propriedades internas e externas das expressões idiomáticas (Ex. grau de composicionalidade e de cristalização da expressão e contexto discursivo prévio) para uma melhor compreensão do modo como as mesmas seriam processadas (GIORA, 1997, 1999; BOWDLE & GENTNER, 2005). Nossa pesquisa está alinhada com esse último tipo de visão que questiona a possibilidade de uma abordagem categórica que possa dar conta do processamento de toda e qualquer expressão sem levar em consideração aspectos específicos envolvidos em cada caso. Expressões idiomáticas são tipicamente caracterizadas como combinações fixas e não composicionais nas quais o sentido idiomático não constitui uma função da soma das partes. O grau de decomponibilidade das mesmas, entretanto, é variável (GIBBS, 1989): em alguns casos, as partes colaboram na construção do sentido figurado, em outras, essa contribuição não é clara. Em expressões como passar a bola, por exemplo, percebe-se uma maior decomponibilidade do que em dar zebra ou em pintar o sete. Assumimos nesta pesquisa que haveria, assim, um espectro de idiomaticidade. Este trabalho pretende explorar em que medida o grau de idiomaticidade afeta a compreensão das expressões. Buscamos ainda investigar o papel da familiaridade do falante com a expressão e do contexto prévio em que as expressões aparecem e avaliar até que ponto esses fatores interagem entre si no processamento. Foram conduzidos dois experimentos visando a investigar essas questões. No Experimento 1 foi utilizada uma tarefa de maze (leitura automonitorada em forma de “labirinto”) na qual o segmento crítico era relativo à complementação do verbo: complemento idiomático vs. literal (Ex. abrir o coração/a porta). O Experimento 2, inspirado no estudo de Cacciari e Tabossi (1988), foi idealizado a partir do paradigma de priming intermodal (cross-modal priming), por meio de uma tarefa de decisão lexical em que a palavra alvo poderia ser relacionada idiomaticamente, literalmente ou não relacionada à expressão idiomática (Ex. passar a bola – palavra alvo: responsabilidade – futebolista – helicóptero). Tomados em conjunto, os resultados obtidos revelaram efeitos estatisticamente significativos das três variáveis investigadas, sugerindo que o grau de idiomaticidade, a familiaridade do falante com a expressão e o contexto prévio afetam o processamento das expressões e, portanto, devem ser considerados num modelo que vise a explicitar a representação, o acesso e a compreensão dessas estruturas. / This dissertation investigate the comprehension of verb + complement idioms in Brazilian Portuguese (e.g. passar a bola, pintar o sete – literal meaning: “to pass the ball” and “to paint the seven”; figurative meaning: “to delegate responsibility” and “to make a mess”). In Psycholinguistic literature, different approaches related to the representation, the access and the processing of idioms can be recognized. According to direct access models, idioms would be understood from the retrieval of their fully available meaning in the lexicon (GIBBS,1980, 1985, 1986), while other approaches point out that the access occurs in an indirect or mediated way (BOBROW & BELL, 1973; WEINREICH, 1969). There are also proposals that posit that literal and figurative meaning are accessed in parallel (ESTILL & KEMPER, 1982; SWINNEY & CUTLER, 1979), as well as approaches that emphasize the relevance of certain internal and external properties of the idioms (degree of compositionality and crystallization, previous discursive context, for example) for a better understanding of their processing (GIORA, 1997, 1999; BOWDLE & GENTNER, 2005). Our research is in line with the last vision that denies the possibility of a categorical approach that can account for the processing of any expression without taking into account the specific aspects involved in each case. Idioms are typically characterized as fixed and non-compositional combinations in which meaning is not a function of the sum of the parts. The degree of compositionality, however, is variable (GIBBS, 1989): in some cases, the parts collaborate in the construction of the figurative meaning, in others, this contribution is not clear. In expressions such as passar a bola, for example, one perceives a greater decomposition than in dar zebra (literal meaning: “to give zebra”; figurative meaning: “to go wrong”) or in pintar o sete. Thus, a spectrum of idiomaticity is observed. This research intends to explore to what extent the degree of idiomaticity affects the comprehension of idioms. We also investigate the role of the speaker's familiarity with the idiom and the previous context in which the idiom appear and evaluate the extent to which these factors interact with each other in the processing. Two experiments were conducted to investigate these issues. In the Experiment 1, a maze task (self-paced reading in the form of a "labyrinth") was used. The critical segment was related to the verb complement: idiomatic complement vs. literal complement (e.g. open the heart/ the door). Experiment 2 was inspired by the research of Cacciari and Tabossi (1988), based on the cross-modal priming paradigm, and conducted by means of a lexical decision task in which the target could be related idiomatically, literally or unrelated to the idiom (e.g. passar a bola – “to pass the ball”; target words: responsibility – soccer player - helicopter). Taken together, the obtained results revealed significant effects of the three investigated variables, suggesting that the degree of idiomaticity, the speaker's familiarity with the idiom and the previous context affect the processing of the idioms and, therefore, should be considered in a model that aims to explain the representation, access and comprehension of these structures.

The right ear advantage (REA) phenomenon has been utilized in clinical and research settings to study auditory processing disorders and linguistic lateralization. Previous research has established that the REA is not reliable in its measures within or between individuals. This is likely due to the influence of other variables, such as neuromaturation and attention. One variable that has not been studied in depth in this context is linguistic complexity. It was hypothesized that stimulus conditions with levels of linguistic complexity would elicit corresponding levels of temporal lobe activity. Understanding and controlling the variables that affect the REA will increase the reliability of the measure. Twenty right handed, neurotypical individuals aged 18-29 participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study that identified the regions and the extent of activation involved in listening to dichotic syllables, words, and sentences. Three durations of speech babble corresponding to the mean duration of the syllables, words, and sentences were used as control stimuli. Participants listened to dichotic stimuli and reported the stimulus they heard best during an fMRI scan. Reaction time (RT), ear preference, and fMRI data were recorded simultaneously and analyzed post hoc. Behavioral results showed that words had the shortest RTs and the greatest REA; syllables and sentences were similar to each other for both measures. Significant main effects were found in brain regions known to be involved in cognitive control of attention and linguistic processing. Words were associated with significant activation differences for ear preferences and minimal frontal lobe involvement for right ear preference. Syllables caused the least activity in the frontal lobe regions and less voxel activity in the temporal lobes than syllable-length babble. Sentences had the greatest voxel activity in the frontal and temporal lobe regions. It was concluded that words would best reflect the REA in clinical and experimental designs. Words had minimal involvement of frontal lobe regions indicating minimal cognitive control of attention and the largest discrepancies in activation patterns between right and left ear preferences that showed less cognitive power to process right ear stimuli in a dichotic listening situation.

O presente estudo investiga a aquisição da expressão reflexiva \'ele mesmo\' por crianças adquirindo Português Brasileiro como língua materna, considerando a influência que tal expressão sofre da alternância entre os traços semântico-pragmáticos de reflexividade [+ provável] e reflexividade [- provável] dos predicados em que se encontra. Dois experimentos foram conduzidos, um de produção e um de compreensão, para descobrirmos que, nem mesmo dentre as crianças mais velhas testadas por nós (5;7 - 6;6), o desempenho adulto com a proforma complexa foi verificado. A variação semântica dos predicados, tendo se mostrado apreendida já pelas crianças entre 3;6 - 4;6, foi descartada como agente causador dos erros cometidos pelos sujeitos, razão pela qual recorremos à explicação que responsabiliza, pelo domínio tardio da expressão, a sobrecarga computacional que as operações mentais relevantes à interpretação do \'ele mesmo\' impõem sobre a limitada memória de trabalho infantil. / The present study investigates the acquisition of the reflexive expression \'ele mesmo\' by children acquiring Brazilian Portuguese as their mother language, considering the influence that such expression suffers from the variation between the semantic-pragmatic features of [+ probable] reflexivity and [- probable] reflexivity of the predicates in which it is included. Two experiments were conducted, one of production and another of comprehension, and we discovered that, not even among the oldest children tested (between 5;7 - 6;6 years of age), adult performance with the complex proform was achieved. The younger children tested (between 3;6 - 4;6 years of age) showed mastery of the semantic variation of the predicates. Therefore, the mistakes committed by the subjects cannot be explained by a lack of knowledge of these pragmatic features. In order to account for such non-adult behavior, we resorted to an explanation that blames the computational overload that the relevant mental operations to the interpretation of \'ele mesmo\' impose over the limited working memory of the children.

O presente estudo investiga a aquisição da expressão reflexiva \'ele mesmo\' por crianças adquirindo Português Brasileiro como língua materna, considerando a influência que tal expressão sofre da alternância entre os traços semântico-pragmáticos de reflexividade [+ provável] e reflexividade [- provável] dos predicados em que se encontra. Dois experimentos foram conduzidos, um de produção e um de compreensão, para descobrirmos que, nem mesmo dentre as crianças mais velhas testadas por nós (5;7 - 6;6), o desempenho adulto com a proforma complexa foi verificado. A variação semântica dos predicados, tendo se mostrado apreendida já pelas crianças entre 3;6 - 4;6, foi descartada como agente causador dos erros cometidos pelos sujeitos, razão pela qual recorremos à explicação que responsabiliza, pelo domínio tardio da expressão, a sobrecarga computacional que as operações mentais relevantes à interpretação do \'ele mesmo\' impõem sobre a limitada memória de trabalho infantil. / The present study investigates the acquisition of the reflexive expression \'ele mesmo\' by children acquiring Brazilian Portuguese as their mother language, considering the influence that such expression suffers from the variation between the semantic-pragmatic features of [+ probable] reflexivity and [- probable] reflexivity of the predicates in which it is included. Two experiments were conducted, one of production and another of comprehension, and we discovered that, not even among the oldest children tested (between 5;7 - 6;6 years of age), adult performance with the complex proform was achieved. The younger children tested (between 3;6 - 4;6 years of age) showed mastery of the semantic variation of the predicates. Therefore, the mistakes committed by the subjects cannot be explained by a lack of knowledge of these pragmatic features. In order to account for such non-adult behavior, we resorted to an explanation that blames the computational overload that the relevant mental operations to the interpretation of \'ele mesmo\' impose over the limited working memory of the children.

The mismatch negativity (MMN) is a specific event-related potential (ERP) component used frequently in the observation of auditory processing. The MMN is elicited by a deviant stimulus randomly presented in the presence of repeating stimuli. The current study utilized the MMN response in order to determine the temporal (timing) and linguistic processing of natural and synthetic vowel stimuli. It was hypothesized that a significant MMN response would be elicited by natural and synthetic vowel stimuli. Brain mapping of the MMN response was hypothesized to yield temporal resolution information, which would provide detail regarding the sequential processing differences between natural and synthetic vowel stimuli. It was also hypothesized that the location of dipoles within the cortex would provide information pertaining to differences in cortical localization of processing for natural and synthetic stimuli. Vowel stimuli were presented to twenty participants (10 females and 10 males between the ages of 18 and 26 years) in a three-forced-choice response paradigm. Data from behavioral responses, reaction times, and ERPs were recorded for each participant. Results demonstrated that there were differences in the behavioral and electrophysiological responses between natural and synthesized vowels presented to young, normal hearing adults. In addition, significant MMN responses were evoked by both natural and synthetic vowel stimuli. Greater reaction times existed for the synthetic vowel phonemes compared to the natural vowel phonemes. Electrophysiological differences were primarily seen in the processing of the synthetic /u/ stimuli. Scalp distribution of cognitive processing was essentially the same for naturally produced phonemes. Processing of synthetic phonemes also had similar scalp distributions; however, the synthetic /u/ phoneme required more complex processing compared to the synthetic /æ/ phoneme. The most significant processing localizations were located in the superior temporal gyrus, which is known for its role in linguistic processing. Continued processing in the frontal lobe was observed, suggesting continual evaluation of natural and synthetic phonemes throughout processing.