Data_Sheet_6_Sensitivity to Inflectional Morphology in a Non-native Language: Evidence From ERPs.PDF

The extent to which non-native speakers are sensitive to morphological structure during language processing remains a matter of debate. The present study used a masked-priming lexical decision task with simultaneous electroencephalographic (EEG) recording to investigate whether native and non-native speakers of French yield similar or different behavioral and brain-level responses to inflected verbs. The results from reaction time and EEG analyses indicate that both native and non-native French speakers were indeed sensitive to morphological structure, and that this sensitivity cannot be explained simply by the presence of orthographic or semantic overlap between prime and target. Moreover, sensitivity to morphological structure in non-native speakers was not influenced by proficiency (as reflected by the N400); lower-level learners show similar sensitivity at the word level as very advanced learners. These results demonstrate that native-like processing of inflectional morphology is possible in adult learners, even at lower levels of proficiency, which runs counter to proposals suggesting that native-like processing of inflection is beyond non-native speakers' reach.

非母语使用者在语言加工过程中对词法结构的敏感程度，至今仍是学界争论的议题。本研究采用掩蔽启动词汇判断任务（masked-priming lexical decision task）结合同步脑电（EEG）记录技术，旨在探究法语母语者与非母语者对屈折动词的行为反应与脑活动模式是否存在异同。反应时与脑电分析结果显示，法语母语者与非母语者均对词法结构具有敏感性，且该敏感性无法仅通过启动词与目标词间的正字法或语义重叠加以解释。此外，非母语者对词法结构的敏感性不受语言熟练度的影响（以N400为指标）：低水平学习者与高水平学习者在词汇层面展现出相近的敏感性。本研究结果表明，即使熟练度较低的成年学习者也可实现母语式的屈折词法加工，这与"非母语者无法达成屈折形式的母语式加工"的相关主张相悖。