Abstract
Background: Speakers with agrammatic aphasia have greater difficulty producing unaccusative (float) compared to unergative (bark) verbs (Kegl, 1995; Lee & Thompson, 2004; Thompson, 2003), putatively because the former involve movement of the theme to the subject position from the post-verbal position, and are therefore more complex than the latter (Burzio, 1986; Perlmutter, 1978). However, it is unclear if and how sentence production processes are affected by the linguistic distinction between these two types of verbs in normal and impaired speakers. Aims: This study examined real-time production of sentences with unergative (the black dog is barking) vs unaccusative (the black tube is floating) verbs in healthy young speakers and individuals with agrammatic aphasia, using eyetracking. Methods & Procedures: Participants' eye movements and speech were recorded while they produced a sentence using computer displayed written stimuli (e.g., black, dog, is barking). Outcomes & Results: Both groups of speakers produced numerically fewer unaccusative sentences than unergative sentences. However, the eye movement data revealed significant differences in fixations between the adjective (black) vs the noun (tube) when producing unaccusatives, but not when producing unergatives for both groups. Interestingly, whereas healthy speakers showed this difference during speech, speakers with agrammatism showed this difference prior to speech onset. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the human sentence production system differentially processes unaccusatives vs unergatives. This distinction is preserved in individuals with agrammatism; however, the time course of sentence planning appears to differ from healthy speakers (Lee & Thompson, 2010).
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 813-825 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Aphasiology |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 6-7 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jun 1 2011 |
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Keywords
- Agrammatism
- Eyetracking
- Sentence production
- Unaccusative verbs
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Otorhinolaryngology
- Language and Linguistics
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Linguistics and Language
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology
- LPN and LVN
Cite this
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Real-time production of unergative and unaccusative sentences in normal and agrammatic speakers : An eyetracking study. / Lee, Jiyeon; Thompson, Cynthia K.
In: Aphasiology, Vol. 25, No. 6-7, 01.06.2011, p. 813-825.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Real-time production of unergative and unaccusative sentences in normal and agrammatic speakers
T2 - An eyetracking study
AU - Lee, Jiyeon
AU - Thompson, Cynthia K
PY - 2011/6/1
Y1 - 2011/6/1
N2 - Background: Speakers with agrammatic aphasia have greater difficulty producing unaccusative (float) compared to unergative (bark) verbs (Kegl, 1995; Lee & Thompson, 2004; Thompson, 2003), putatively because the former involve movement of the theme to the subject position from the post-verbal position, and are therefore more complex than the latter (Burzio, 1986; Perlmutter, 1978). However, it is unclear if and how sentence production processes are affected by the linguistic distinction between these two types of verbs in normal and impaired speakers. Aims: This study examined real-time production of sentences with unergative (the black dog is barking) vs unaccusative (the black tube is floating) verbs in healthy young speakers and individuals with agrammatic aphasia, using eyetracking. Methods & Procedures: Participants' eye movements and speech were recorded while they produced a sentence using computer displayed written stimuli (e.g., black, dog, is barking). Outcomes & Results: Both groups of speakers produced numerically fewer unaccusative sentences than unergative sentences. However, the eye movement data revealed significant differences in fixations between the adjective (black) vs the noun (tube) when producing unaccusatives, but not when producing unergatives for both groups. Interestingly, whereas healthy speakers showed this difference during speech, speakers with agrammatism showed this difference prior to speech onset. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the human sentence production system differentially processes unaccusatives vs unergatives. This distinction is preserved in individuals with agrammatism; however, the time course of sentence planning appears to differ from healthy speakers (Lee & Thompson, 2010).
AB - Background: Speakers with agrammatic aphasia have greater difficulty producing unaccusative (float) compared to unergative (bark) verbs (Kegl, 1995; Lee & Thompson, 2004; Thompson, 2003), putatively because the former involve movement of the theme to the subject position from the post-verbal position, and are therefore more complex than the latter (Burzio, 1986; Perlmutter, 1978). However, it is unclear if and how sentence production processes are affected by the linguistic distinction between these two types of verbs in normal and impaired speakers. Aims: This study examined real-time production of sentences with unergative (the black dog is barking) vs unaccusative (the black tube is floating) verbs in healthy young speakers and individuals with agrammatic aphasia, using eyetracking. Methods & Procedures: Participants' eye movements and speech were recorded while they produced a sentence using computer displayed written stimuli (e.g., black, dog, is barking). Outcomes & Results: Both groups of speakers produced numerically fewer unaccusative sentences than unergative sentences. However, the eye movement data revealed significant differences in fixations between the adjective (black) vs the noun (tube) when producing unaccusatives, but not when producing unergatives for both groups. Interestingly, whereas healthy speakers showed this difference during speech, speakers with agrammatism showed this difference prior to speech onset. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the human sentence production system differentially processes unaccusatives vs unergatives. This distinction is preserved in individuals with agrammatism; however, the time course of sentence planning appears to differ from healthy speakers (Lee & Thompson, 2010).
KW - Agrammatism
KW - Eyetracking
KW - Sentence production
KW - Unaccusative verbs
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79958862678&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79958862678&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02687038.2010.542563
DO - 10.1080/02687038.2010.542563
M3 - Article
VL - 25
SP - 813
EP - 825
JO - Aphasiology
JF - Aphasiology
SN - 0268-7038
IS - 6-7
ER -