Resolving ambiguities in English relative clauses by Thai learners

Name: Naruemon Khunwong

keyword: Thai relative clause processing

; English relative clause processing

; Ambiguity resolution

; High attachment

Abstract: This study reexamined Dansakul’s (2016) findings which revealed that both native English speakers and Thai EFL learners employed High Attachment strategy when resolving RC ambiguity while other previous studies found that native English speakers preferred Low Attachment strategy. Dansakul questioned if the High Attachment preference in his study could be prosodic effects of the RCs modifying the matrix clause objects in his stimuli. Therefore, this study aimed to determine if native English speakers and Thai EFL learners would employ the same or different RC attachment strategies, with improved methodology. Our self-paced reading target stimuli were constructed by means of two site context NPs, relative clauses containing gender-specific reflexives bound to one of the NP antecedents, and matrix predicates, in respective order. In this respect, the RCs appeared in the region immediately adjacent to the modified noun. The critical region was the RC region where the ambiguity was resolved. As the structure of our stimuli had not been employed in L1 and L2 processing studies, the stimuli were checked with native English and native Thai speakers for parsing preferences before formulating hypotheses. The English Complex NP-RC stimuli were conducted with eleven native English speakers in pilot experiment 1, while the Thai language counterparts of Complex NP-RC stimuli were conducted with sixteen native Thai speakers in pilot experiment 2, to elicit L1 English and L1 Thai processing strategy, respectively. In pilot experiment 1, t-test results showed that the reading time (RT) at the RC critical region of the NP2 was significantly quicker than the NP1 counterpart by subject (t (1.10) = 2.662, p < .03). This confirmed Low Attachment as the preferred strategy for native English speakers, consistent with the findings from Cuetos and Mitchell (1988), Fernández (1999), Dussias (2003), and Wang (2014). In pilot experiment 2, t-test results revealed that the RT at the RC critical region of the NP1 was reliably quicker than the NP2 counterpart by item (t (1,15) = -2.335, p<.04). This confirmed High Attachment as the preferred strategy for native Thai speakers, consistent with the findings from Siriwittayakorn et al. (2014), Wang (2014), and Dansakul (2016). Both pilot experiment 1 and 2 have established L2 (LA) and L1 (HA) for English and Thai speakers, respectively. Twenty-two upper-intermediate and advanced Thai EFL learners, established by a Macmillan Quick Placement Test, were further examined in the main experiment. Three different tasks were administered, which were the English Complex NP-RC stimuli which were identical to those of pilot experiment 1, a Grammaticality Judgment (GJ) task, and the Macmillan Quick Placement Test. T-test results showed that the RC critical region of the NP1 was significantly quicker than the NP2 counterpart by item (t (1,15) = -2.583, p<.03). This confirmed High Attachment as the preferred strategy for Thai EFL learners, consistent with our findings from the native Thai speakers, and the previous studies such as Fernández (1999), Dussias and Sagarra (2007), and Wang (2014). Moreover, their GJ 85% accuracy suggests the presence of Thai EFL learners’ knowledge of binding of reflexives and gender match. In response to Dansakul’s question, the findings confirm two different strategies (LA and HA) employed by the native English speakers and Thai EFL learners. According to universal parser, Low Attachment strategy in English parser supports Late Closure (Frazier, 1987), while High Attachment strategy in Thai parser supports Construal Theory of Relativized Relevance Principle (Frazier and Clifton, 1996) and Grician Maxim Assumption of Avoid Ambiguity Principle (Carreiras & Clifton, 1993 and Frazier & Clifton, 1996). The former is based on structural locality ; the latter is based on discourse processing that operates on the current thematic domain and the absence of Saxon Genitive forms. In terms of parametric parsing theories, Low Attachment strategy in English parser is consistent with Recency strategy, where the site-modifier is minimized (Gibson et al., 1996), while High Attachment strategy in Thai parser is consistent with Predicate Proximity (Gibson et al., 1996), involving RC attachment to the noun closest to the predicate head. Thai EFL learners’ High Attachment strategy is consistent with Thai L1 speakers, suggesting L1 transfer. We recommend that L2 immersion experience be further investigated, as it was found to enhance L2 strategy in Fernández’s (1999) early learners and Dussias and Surgarra’s (2007) Spanish-English bilinguals. With regard to the RT comparisons of the three groups, although native Thai speakers and EFL leaners processed the Complex NPs and RC regions more slowly than native English speakers, they processed the matrix predicate region more quickly than native English speakers. Thai parser might assemble the information currently being processed and ensure any ambiguity was resolved before matching it with the last piece while English parser gradually took in the information and resolved the ambiguity while the last piece was revealed. In addition, the absence and presence of determiners in Thai and English could affect the slower and quicker RTs of Complex NPs. As the slow RT is evident in the Thai EFL group, this suggests involvement of a developmental issue, particularly the learning of the L2 determiner system

Thammasat University. Thammasat University Library

Address: BANGKOK

Email: preserv@tu.ac.th

Name: Pornsiri Singhapreecha

Role: advisor

Created: 2019

Modified: 2022-09-15

Issued: 2022-09-15

วิทยานิพนธ์/Thesis

application/pdf

DOI: 10.14457/TU.the.2019.979

eng

DegreeName: Master of Arts

Level: Master's Degree

Descipline: English Language Teaching

Grantor: Thammasat University

©copyrights Thammasat University

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