Constituent Order in Language and Thought
Constituent Order in Language and Thought
Traditionally, due to the availability of technology, psycholinguistic research has focused mainly on Western languages. However, this focus has recently shifted towards a more diverse range of languages, whose structures often throw into question many previous assumptions in syntactic theory and language processing. Based on a case study in field-based comparative psycholinguistics, this pioneering book is the first to explore the neurocognition of endangered 'object-before-subject' languages, such as Kaqchikel and Seediq. It draws on a range of methods - including linguistic fieldwork, theoretical linguistic analysis, corpus research, questionnaire surveys, behavioural experiments, eye tracking, event-related brain potentials, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and near-infrared spectroscopy – to consider preferred constituent orders in both language and thought, examining comprehension as well as production. In doing so, it highlights the importance of field-based cross-linguistic cognitive neuroscientific research in uncovering universal and language-particular aspects of the human language faculty, and the interaction between language and thought.
- Sheds light on endangered and little-studied 'object-before-subject' languages such as Kaqchikel and Seediq, uncovering universal and language-particular aspects of the human language faculty
- Utilises a variety of research methods to show how different approaches complement each other
- Presents a case study in field-based comparative psycholinguistics/neurolinguistics
Product details
January 2023Hardback
9781108844031
280 pages
235 × 158 × 20 mm
0.52kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Preface
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Kaqchikel Mayan
- 3. Word order preference in sentence comprehension I: behavioral studies
- 4. Word order preference in sentence comprehension II: fMRI studies
- 5. Word order preference in sentence comprehension III: ERP studies without context
- 6. Word order preference in sentence comprehension IV: ERP studies with context
- 7. Basic word order in language and natural order of thought
- 8. Constituent order preference in event representation
- 9. Word order preference in sentence production I: production frequency
- 10. Word order preference in sentence production II: time course and cognitive load
- 11. Grammatical processing and event apprehension
- 12. Syntactic structure of Kaqchikel revisited
- 13. Syntax and processing load
- 14. Concluding remarks
- Appendix A: spatial frames of reference of Kaqchikel speakers
- Appendix B: syntax and processing in Seediq: a behavioral study.
