Publications

Abstract

To date, research has reliably shown that language can engage and modify perceptual processes in a top-down manner. However, our understanding of the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying such top-down influences is still under debate. In this review, we provide an overview of findings from literature investigating the organization of semantic networks in the brain (spontaneous engagement of the visual system while processing linguistic information), and linguistic cueing studies (looking at the immediate effects of language on the perception of a visual target), in an effort to isolate such mechanisms. Additionally, we connect the findings from linguistic cueing studies to those reported in (nonlinguistic) literature on priors in perception, in order to find commonalities in neural processes allowing for top-down influences on perception. In doing so, we discuss the effects of language on perception in the context of broader, general cognitive and neural principles. Finally, we propose a way forward in the study of linguistic influences on perception.

Abstract

This paper investigates the use of aspectual constructions in Dutch, Norwegian, and German, languages in which aspect marking that presents events explicitly as ongoing, is optional. Data were elicited under similar conditions with native speakers in the three countries. We show that while German speakers make insignificant use of aspectual constructions, usage patterns in Norwegian and Dutch present an interesting case of overlap, as well as differences, with respect to a set of factors that attract or constrain the use of different constructions. The results indicate that aspect marking is grammaticalizing in Dutch, but there are no clear signs of a similar process in Norwegian.*

Abstract

The present study focuses on the role of grammatical aspect in event construal and its function in encoding the specificity of an event. We investigate whether advanced L2 learners (L1 German) acquire target-like patterns of use of progressive aspect in Dutch, a language in which use of aspect depends on specific situation types. We analyze use of progressive markers and patterns in information selection, relating to specific features of agents or actions in dynamic event scenes. L2 event descriptions are compared with L1 Dutch and L1 German data. The L2 users display the complex situation-dependent patterns of use of aspect in Dutch, but they do not select the aspectual viewpoint (aan he construction) to the same extent as native speakers. Moreover, the encoding of specificity of the events (mentioning of specific agent and action features) reflects L1 transfer, as well as target-like performance in specific domains.