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        <title>Frontiers in Language Sciences | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/language-sciences</link>
        <description>RSS Feed for Frontiers in Language Sciences | New and Recent Articles</description>
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        <pubDate>2026-05-13T18:18:09.221+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1756472</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1756472</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Cross-linguistic influence in the processing of aspect in L2 English: Slavic, but not Norwegian L1 speakers associate past simple with completion]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-08T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Anna Kamenetski</author><author>Natalia Mitrofanova</author><author>Julia Ermolina</author><author>Serge Minor</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study investigated the role of L1 influence on how L2 speakers interpret aspectual semantics of English past simple accomplishments. English past simple is aspectually underspecified and is thus vulnerable to the transfer of L1 aspectual representations. Slavic languages (Russian, Polish) grammaticalize dual perfective-imperfective aspect. Norwegian does not grammaticalize aspect. L1 Polish (n = 57), Russian (n = 20), and Norwegian (n = 50) speakers participated in two web-based Visual World Paradigm eyetracking experiments. Offline judgments and online gaze preferences from both experiments showed that L1 Slavic speakers associated English past simple with completed event pictures. This categorical association strengthened in offline judgments with higher L2 proficiency. L1 Norwegian speakers associated English past simple with ongoing events both online and offline. This association weakened in offline judgments with higher L2 proficiency. These findings provide evidence of L1 transfer during L2 aspectual interpretation and elucidate the interaction between crosslinguistic influence and L2 proficiency. Implications for theoretical models of cross-linguistic influence are discussed.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1689620</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1689620</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The architecture of agreement: from strings to structures]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-05-05T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Diego Gabriel Krivochen</author><author>Douglas Saddy</author><author>Julie Franck</author>
        <description><![CDATA[In this paper we raise the question “why is agreement so common across natural languages?”. We will argue that the challenge of grammar inference in natural and artificial languages provides key insights into the ubiquity of agreement. By grammar inference, we mean the discovery of a procedure that (i) determines string well-formedness on the basis of exposure to unannotated expressions of a language; and (ii) allows for the construction of structural descriptions for well-formed strings. The idealized version of this problem results in the identification of the generator of a stringset, or -more realistically- a restriction of the class of possible generators. We argue that agreement plays a crucial role not only in flagging dependencies between expressions at the string level, but also, considering that agreement relations occur in restricted structural configurations, in restricting the class of structural descriptions compatible with a string. As such, agreement mediates between strings and structure, providing a parser with information to solve the grammar inference problem. We will furthermore argue that the mechanisms involved in grammar identification are not restricted to natural language acquisition and processing, but in fact extend to a class of problems that motivated much research in the theory of symbolic encoding of dynamical systems and machine learning.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1789171</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1789171</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The power of words depends on context: action congruence differentially shapes activation by words and sounds]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-29T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Alberto Falcón</author><author>Michelle Ramírez</author><author>Ulianov Montano</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Linguistic labels have been shown to facilitate visual recognition and categorization. Labels have also been shown to be better facilitators than sounds. However, less is known about how nouns in contrast with verbs and non-verbal sounds differentially activate action-related conceptual information. In the present study, we investigated whether words and non-verbal sounds vary in their ability to facilitate visual processing depending on their congruence with an implied action. Participants were presented to an image verification task in which visual stimuli were preceded by either nouns, non-verbal sounds or verbs that were either congruent or incongruent with the action associated with the target stimulus. Reaction times were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models. Results revealed a robust interaction between cue type and action congruence. Non-verbal sounds and verbs produced significantly faster responses when the action was congruent compared to incongruent trials, whereas nouns were optimal only when action was incongruent. These findings suggest that action information plays a role in the representations activated by words and non-verbal sounds. In addition, the evidence shows that verbs appear to activate action-related information similar to that evoked by non-verbal sounds. More broadly, the results contribute to ongoing debates about the mechanisms by which language and non-linguistic cues shape perceptual processing, highlighting the role of action-related cues in predictive conceptual activation.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1806365</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1806365</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Voice onset time in Arabic L1 learners of English and Spanish: evidence for stability, interaction, and phonetic drift in multilingual speech]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-28T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Hesham Aldamen</author><author>Mutasim Al-Deaibes</author><author>Rami Alsharefeen</author><author>Mohamad Almashour</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study examines voice onset time (VOT) in Arabic first-language speakers learning English and Spanish as a multilingual test of the speech learning model-revised (SLM-r). The model predicts continuous phonetic learning, interaction among categories in a shared phonetic space, and bidirectional influence across languages. VOT production was examined in Arabic monolinguals, an Arabic–English bilingual group, an Arabic–English–Spanish multilingual group, and monolingual speakers of English and Spanish using a controlled reading task. Mixed-effects models incorporated group, phonetic condition, and continuous measures of proficiency and relative dominance. English aspirated /p/ was robustly differentiated from English /p/ after /s/ across groups, with a 57.21 ms model-estimated contrast. Spanish /p/ remained in the short-lag range and did not differ reliably between the multilingual group (M = 15.10 ms) and Spanish monolinguals (M = 14.17 ms). For voiced stops, Arabic monolinguals showed substantially more negative Arabic /b/ VOT (M = −85.55 ms) than the Arabic-English (M = −44.08 ms) and Arabic–English–Spanish (M = −43.85 ms) groups, indicating reduced prevoicing in the Arabic L1 learner groups. English /b/ and Spanish /b/ also showed higher prevoicing among Arabic L1 learners than among the respective monolingual controls. Relative English–Spanish dominance did not reliably predict voiceless-stop VOT within the multilingual group. The findings support SLM-r claims about lifelong phonetic plasticity and selective cross-language interaction, while also suggesting that Spanish /p/ may reflect facilitative transfer from Arabic short-lag timing as well as stable category separation.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1704202</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1704202</link>
        <title><![CDATA[A question of time?—Relations between temporal auditory processing abilities and literacy skills over the course of primary school and how they are mediated by phonological processing]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Sindy Weise</author><author>Jens Knigge</author><author>Gerd Mannhaupt</author><author>Claudia Steinbrink</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The role of temporal auditory processing for literacy development is still under debate. Current temporal auditory processing theories and models assume that relations between temporal auditory processing and literacy are mediated by phonological processing. However, no previous study with unselected children has simultaneously considered temporal auditory processing abilities from different timescales when testing this mediation. Additionally, it remains unclear whether mediation via phonological processing becomes weaker with increasing literacy experience. In the cross-sectional study presented here, German school children from grades 1 to 4 (N = 277) completed tablet-based tasks measuring rapid auditory processing, rhythmic auditory processing and phonological processing. Alphabetic and orthographic literacy were assessed with reading and spelling tests. Data were analyzed separately for children with early (grade 1 and 2) vs. more advanced (grade 3 and 4) literacy experience using multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM). In early readers and spellers, phonological processing was found to mediate the relations between temporal auditory processing (both rapid and rhythmic) and alphabetic literacy. In more experienced readers and spellers, phonological processing was found to mediate the relationship between rapid auditory processing and orthographic literacy. Direct relations between rhythmic auditory processing and literacy were significant only in early readers and spellers. Direct relations between rapid auditory processing and literacy were found only in more experienced readers and spellers. Thus, the findings indicate that in early literacy development, both rapid and rhythmic auditory processing are linked to (alphabetic) literacy via their effect on phonological processing. These results support key assumptions of temporal auditory processing theories and developmental models. In early literacy development, rhythmic auditory processing—presumably affecting suprasegmental (prosodic) speech processing—appears particularly relevant for literacy. In later literacy development, rapid auditory processing—likely influencing segmental (phonemic) speech processing—shows a stronger connection with literacy, partly mediated by phonological processing.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1736089</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1736089</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Bound to be noticed? Opposing effects of boundedness on attention to morphemes in L2 reading]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Georgia Knell</author><author>Saioa Cipitria</author><author>Ludovic De Cuypere</author><author>Alex Housen</author><author>Esli Struys</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionSalience—the extent to which a feature stands out from its environment-has been posited as an important cognitive factor in second language (L2) acquisition. However, supporting empirical research remains scarce, particularly looking at specific effects of salience properties in isolation. For example, although morphological boundedness of a form has been theorized to impact its salience, to date no study has considered morphological boundedness individually as an independent variable in relation to linguistic salience.MethodsTo address this gap, the present study uses an English-based semi-artificial target language in an implicit, reading-based learning task that allows boundedness to be manipulated in isolation from other factors. This design makes it possible to compare the effects of boundedness on attention, awareness, and early-stage acquisition (intake) of L2 morphological forms. We further considered how boundedness interacts with another salience property: morpheme length. Finally, we considered the relationship between salience effects and certain external factors that might impact attention and awareness: learning condition (incidental versus intentional), and three individual learner variables (L2 proficiency, working memory capacity, and implicit learning ability). Eye-tracking measured attention to and intake of target forms, and retrospective interviews measured awareness.ResultsResults showed greater skipping rates of bound versus unbound morphemes, but also greater fixation durations for bound morphemes. Longer forms were skipped less and fixated longer than short forms regardless of boundedness. Individual learner variables had no moderating effect on either salience variable, while the intentional learning condition yielded longer fixations on the short morpheme specifically than the incidental condition. Attention results only partially correlated with awareness, and no evidence of intake was found.DiscussionWhile the attention results were as expected regarding length, the opposing results of attention measures regarding awareness show differences in effects of boundedness on initial versus prolonged attention. Overall, the results suggest that the relationship between salience, attention, awareness, and acquisition might be more complex than some theories posit.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1835215</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1835215</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Correction: From L2 acquisition to L1 restructuring: phonotactics in perception and production]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Correction</category>
        <author>Frontiers Production Office </author>
        <description></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1796274</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1796274</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Embodied experience of LIFE and DEATH across languages: perceptual and action-based norms]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-14T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Hassan Banaruee</author><author>Omid Khatin-Zadeh</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Understanding how highly abstract concepts are grounded in bodily experience remains a central challenge in embodied cognition and language research. This study investigates the embodied representation of the highly abstract concepts LIFE and DEATH across Persian, German, and English, combining a cross-linguistic sensorimotor norming approach with an analysis of socio-cognitive predictors of embodiment. Native speakers of the three languages rated LIFE and DEATH along 11 sensorimotor dimensions, including six perceptual modalities (visual, auditory, haptic, olfactory, gustatory, and interoceptive) and five action-based dimensions associated with specific body effectors (hand/arm, foot/leg, torso, mouth/throat, and head). The results reveal systematic cross-linguistic differences in the perceptual and bodily grounding of both concepts, with LIFE showing stronger and more consistent embodiment than DEATH across languages. Importantly, multivariate analyses demonstrate that embodiment patterns are not uniform but are significantly modulated by socio-cognitive variables. Language and nation emerged as the strongest predictors of embodiment, particularly for DEATH, while handedness, gender, and religion exerted more selective, domain-specific effects. In contrast, level of education did not reliably predict sensorimotor embodiment. Our findings are consistent with graded or weak embodiment frameworks, according to which abstract concepts are instantiated through flexible, culturally and bodily mediated simulations rather than fixed sensorimotor mappings. By integrating sensorimotor norms with socio-cognitive predictors, the study advances a more nuanced account of how body, language, and culture jointly shape the embodiment of the abstract concepts LIFE and DEATH.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1705688</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1705688</link>
        <title><![CDATA[How Vietnamese tackle Japanese kanji: key factors behind handwriting competence in Japanese]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-10T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Katsuo Tamaoka</author><author>Hoàng Thị Lan Phương</author><author>Jingyi Zhang</author><author>Jun'ichiro Kawahara</author><author>Rinus G. Verdonschot</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study explored kanji handwriting behavior of Vietnamese learners of Japanese as a Foreign Language (JFL), focusing on single-kanji words with Kun-readings to minimize phonological overlap between Japanese and Vietnamese. Participants completed a real-time handwriting task using a stylus and tablet. The study analyzed writing latency, duration, and accuracy, examining how these were influenced by lexical knowledge, kanji frequency, visual complexity, and difficulty level. Results showed that higher lexical proficiency and more frequent kanji led to faster initiation times. Writing duration increased with visual complexity, as kanji with more strokes took longer to execute. Accuracy decreased for complex and difficult kanji (e.g., N2 level), especially among lower proficiency learners. Notably, learners with stronger lexical knowledge could better compensate for complexity during writing. These findings highlight the distinct cognitive and motor demands of kanji production and underscore the value of combining vocabulary exposure with structured handwriting practice in JFL instruction.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1645235</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1645235</link>
        <title><![CDATA[She is playing with my car: an investigation of possessive structures in Norwegian-Italian simultaneous bilinguals]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-08T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Marta Velnić</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study investigates possessive pronoun placement in Norwegian-Italian bilingual children, focusing on the potential effects of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) and the impact of heritage language status. Both Norwegian and Italian allow prenominal and postnominal possessives, but their contextual distributions are inverse across the two languages. Twenty-four bilingual children residing in Norway completed an elicitation task in both languages designed to elicit neutral and contrastive contexts. The results show that while the children produced both possessive variants in Norwegian, their Italian responses were overwhelmingly prenominal. This suggests a simplification of the Italian heritage grammar, consistent with patterns observed in other heritage languages. Regarding CLI, a non-significant trend was observed: children who spoke only Italian in the home produced more prenominal possessives in contrastive contexts in Norwegian. This pattern points to a possible influence of Italian on Norwegian, particularly among children exposed only to Italian at home.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1760372</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1760372</link>
        <title><![CDATA[When gender meets number: facilitative processing of one vs. two features on Spanish definite articles]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-04-01T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Zuzanna Fuchs</author><author>Esra Eldem-Tunç</author><author>Linh Pham</author><author>Leo Mermelstein</author><author>Anna Runova</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Research on real-time language comprehension has shown that speakers of various language backgrounds can use a pre-nominal morphosyntactic cue to facilitate the lexical retrieval of an upcoming noun. The present study takes the next step in this domain, investigating facilitative processing when two morphosyntactic cues to the target noun are available: gender and number. We conduct an eye-tracking study using the Visual World Paradigm, and we compare baseline and heritage speakers to determine how language experience modulates the relative weighting of multiple cues. We find evidence of facilitative processing of plural articles for both groups, not only when both features are informative cues to the target, but also when only one of the features is informative. This suggests that listeners access each morphosyntactic feature independently, which is a particularly noteworthy finding for the heritage group, who have been argued not to do so in prior offline studies. However, we find that language experience impacts the relative weighting of the two cues. When gender and number are compatible with different competitors and are thus in direct conflict, baseline speakers shift more to gender competitors, whereas heritage speakers do not. Additionally, when each feature uniquely identifies the target, in some contexts baseline speakers may attend to only the gender feature, whereas heritage speakers may attend to only the number feature. Taken together, these results suggest that baseline speakers may weight abstract grammatical gender more strongly, while heritage speakers may rely more on the semantically salient feature.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1746588</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1746588</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Professional translators' use of CAT tools in Saudi Arabia: usability perceptions, realities and difficulties]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-31T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Muhammad M. M. Abdel Latif</author><author>Sami Sulaiman Alsalmi</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Though computer-assisted translation (CAT) has gained increasing popularity, profiling the realities of its uses is still under-explored in some contexts. This study investigated professional translators' perceptions and actual uses of CAT tools in Saudi Arabia, the translation text types they commonly use these applications with, their purposes for using them, and the challenges they encounter. The study also looked at the role of gender and work status (i.e., being an employee vs. a freelancer translator) in translators' CAT use. We collected quantitative and qualitative questionnaire data from 44 professional translators working in Saudi Arabia. The results showed the translators' high degree of dependence on CAT and frequent uses of multi-purpose or integrated CAT applications, simple machine translation programmes, and online dictionaries and specialized terminology databases. They reported that such uses vary depending on text types. Translators' work status rather than gender was found to influence some dimensions of their dependence on CAT; employee translators reported higher uses of CAT than freelancers. A number of purposes for using CAT were reported, including: translating specialized texts, verifying human translation accuracy, finding term meanings, ensuring terminological consistency, managing collaborative translation projects, and building glossaries. The translators also referred to some text-related challenges and gaps encountered when using CAT applications, and to their cautious use of AI programmes. The paper discusses these results and their implications to translator training.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1768590</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1768590</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Shifting expectations: when knowledge-based predictions and linguistic context collide]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-20T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Melissa Troyer</author><author>Kara D. Federmeier</author>
        <description><![CDATA[To cope with the demands of language comprehension, young adults often actively engage in prediction of upcoming information—which may be more or less successful depending on each individual's specific knowledge. However, limited research has directly investigated the link between existing knowledge and real-time mechanisms of prediction. Here, we focus on a specific knowledge domain, the fictional world of Harry Potter (HP). Participants with varying degrees of HP knowledge read sentences about general topics and then about HP, each containing a predictable, unexpected-but-plausible, or implausible critical word, while we recorded event-related brain potentials. As expected, HP knowledge modulated N400 amplitudes (an ERP known to index availability of word meaning) to predictable words in HP sentences. HP knowledge also modulated late frontal positivities (LFPs; associated with shifting meaning interpretation upon encountering prediction violations) to unexpected-but-plausible words. The extent to which domain knowledge modulated both N400s and LFPs to unexpected-but-plausible continuations depended on how generally well-known the content in the sentence was. High-knowledge individuals showed reduced initial facilitation (i.e., larger N400 amplitudes) for unexpected-but-plausible words when the sentence contents were generally well-known (compared to less well-known), suggesting that they used their domain knowledge to “override” a more generic interpretation. They additionally showed a greater frontal positivity when sentence contents were less (compared to more) well known, suggesting a willingness to consider alternate interpretations when knowledge is weaker and/or more uncertain—but less so when knowledge is strong. We conclude that possessing relevant knowledge may shape predictive processes during language comprehension, suggesting people may shift their “mode” of language processing depending on existing knowledge and comprehension demands.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1734306</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1734306</link>
        <title><![CDATA[ChatGPT-simulated sentence plausibility in event contexts, with teens, younger and older adults, in fiction and newspaper texts]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-19T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Pia Knoeferle</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent the large language model (LLM) would produce simulations that are close enough to human-based world knowledge to serve as pilot data for human experimentation: LLMs are developing rapidly, and if they become sufficiently accurate databases of human world knowledge, this would open up interesting opportunities for empirical research; with their advent we may have the opportunity of accessing a comprehensive model of world knowledge. This claim was assessed by simulating human plausibility ratings and their variation depending on (i) the presence vs. absence of an event description, (ii) the age of LLM-simulated participants (Pilot 1, Pilot 2, and Experiment 1a), and (iii) LLM-simulated participant expectations of distinct text sources/genres (Experiment 1b). In four pilot studies and two main experiments, ChatGPT-4o/5 plausibility ratings were simulated from the graphical user interface using written prompts, factorial designs, Latin-square counterbalanced lists, and N = 200 simulated participants per between-participant factor level. In this way, an experiment setup much like that for in-laboratory experiments with human participants was simulated. As a baseline, plausibility ratings generated via the LLM chat interface were compared against human plausibility ratings reported in prior research. Overall, ChatGPT produced simulated ratings that, on average, were higher for plausible than implausible sentences, and were higher when an event description supported the event conveyed by the target sentence. The model also revealed fine-grained differences depending on simulated participant age, context-sentence relations, and genre. These results can be used to guide the formulation of testable hypotheses for future research with human participants.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1722519</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1722519</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Cross-linguistic phonetic differences affect lexical co-activation in second-language learners]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-16T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Sophia Wulfert</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionWhen listening to speech in one language, bilinguals have been shown to activate word candidates from both their languages, which then compete for recognition. Similarity between the auditory input and the mental representations is a crucial factor for activation of a candidate. However, similarity is usually defined in terms of phoneme overlap, which might not be fine-grained enough to capture the reality of lexical co-activation and subsequent competition. The present study investigates how subphonemic differences between phonemically identical German–English word pairs influence their co-activation.MethodsIn a Lexical Decision (LD) experiment with cross-linguistic priming, L1-German learners of English heard an English prime word, followed by a written German target word or non-word and indicated whether the target was a German word or a non-word. Primes and targets showed either no phonemic overlap (Unrelated condition), partial overlap (Similar condition) or full phonemic overlap (Identical condition). In the critical Identical condition, English primes and German targets were phonemically identical—either cognates (e.g., /nεst/“nest”) or Interlingual Homophones (ILHs; e.g., /gɪft/, English “gift” /German “poison”)—but varied in their phonetic similarity due to phonetic differences between the languages.ResultsA comparison of reaction times (RTs) across all priming conditions revealed opposing effects for cognates and ILHs on the phonemic level: For cognate targets, there was facilitation the more phoneme overlap there was between prime and target, while ILH targets were subject to inhibition with more phoneme overlap between prime and target. A comparison of RTs to items of varying phonetic similarity within the Identical condition revealed similar facilitation effects for cognates and ILHs on the phonetic level: RTs to both decreased as a function of phonetic similarity between prime and target.DiscussionThese findings suggest differential roles of phonemic and phonetic similarity during the processes of (co-)activation and competition and complex interactions between levels. Implications for models of bilingual speech comprehension are discussed.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1753250</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1753250</link>
        <title><![CDATA[From metrics to meaning: large language models and the computational turn in embodied educational research]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-11T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Perspective</category>
        <author>Daniel Autenrieth</author><author>Nina Autenrieth</author><author>Danyal Farsani</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Educational science has long grappled with a methodological tension: quantitative metrics offer scale but often lack depth, while qualitative inquiry offers depth but is difficult to scale. Mixed-methods approaches have sought to address this tension by combining both paradigms, yet practical constraints of time, labor, and analytical capacity have typically limited how fully researchers can integrate interpretive depth with large-scale analysis. At the same time, theories of embodied cognition emphasize that learning, language, and communication are grounded in sensorimotor, affective, and socio-cultural experience rather than in abstract, amodal symbols. The emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs) and multimodal Artificial Intelligence (AI) provides new opportunities to bridge these methodological and theoretical developments. In this article, we conceptualize “Computational Hermeneutics” as the interpretation of meaning at scale, informed by embodied perspectives on cognition, language, and communication. We outline three computational methodologies applicable to educational research: Semantic Similarity Rating (SSR), AI-based Qualitative Content Analysis (AI-QCA), and Computational Ethnography via multimodal video analysis. We show how these approaches can operationalize embodied, hermeneutic processes, such as interpreting student reflections, tracing metaphorical embodiment, or analyzing classroom habitus, at a scale previously reserved for standardized testing. By detailing the theoretical basis, opportunities, and limitations of these methods, we argue for a “computational turn” in educational science and research that remains faithful to embodied, multimodal meaning-making while overcoming traditional scalability constraints.]]></description>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2025.1738371</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2025.1738371</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Acquisition and attrition in bilingual vowel systems: evidence from Arabic and English]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-11T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Amirah Saud Alharbi</author><author>Lisa Kornder</author><author>Anouschka Foltz</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionThis study examined how long-term immersion in a second language (L2) affects the acquisition and maintenance of long vowels in bilinguals whose first language (L1) is Arabic or English. Focusing on Arabic /aː/, /iː/, /uː/ and English /ɑː/, /iː/, /uː/, the study investigated whether highly proficient late bilinguals produce nativelike vowels in both their L1 and L2, whether sound discrimination aptitude predicts vowel production accuracy, and to what extent L2 acquisition and L1 attrition are interrelated.MethodsVowel productions by highly proficient Arabic-English and English-Arabic late bilinguals were compared with those of monolingual control speakers. Productions were analyzed in terms of vowel height (F1) and vowel frontness (F2). Linear mixed-effects models and correlation analyses were used to assess group differences and relationships between L1 and L2 nativelikeness, as well as the contribution of sound discrimination aptitude.ResultsResults revealed vowel-specific and asymmetric patterns. Both bilingual groups produced nativelike /aː/–/ɑː/, reflecting successful L2 acquisition and stable L1 maintenance. In contrast, /iː/ and /uː/ showed cross-linguistic influences: Arabic /iː/ exhibited evidence of L1 attrition, while /uː/ displayed both non-native L2 realizations and modified L1 productions. A positive association between L2 and L1 nativelikeness emerged for /uː/, suggesting parallel proficiency across languages. Sound discrimination aptitude had little effect on vowel production accuracy.DiscussionOverall, the findings support dynamic models of bilingual speech production, such as the revised Speech Learning Model, by demonstrating that L1 and L2 vowel categories remain interdependent. The results highlight that both individual and contextual factors contribute to the phonetic stability and modification of bilingual speech, and that L2 acquisition and L1 maintenance can proceed in parallel for specific phonetic categories.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1757671</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1757671</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Navigating language learning through metalinguistic beliefs: a theoretical exploration informed by multilingual narratives]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-06T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Constanza Quinteros Ortiz</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This article reconceptualizes metalinguistic beliefs in multilingual learning by examining how they are constructed and mobilized in learners' narratives. Rather than treating self-reports as evidence of stable internal knowledge structures, the study approaches beliefs as discursively enacted interpretations that emerge through storytelling. Drawing on six multilingual life-story interviews conducted in Germany, the analysis combines narrative inquiry with reflexive thematic analysis to identify both the discursive mechanisms through which beliefs are expressed and their recurrent content across cases. The findings show that metalinguistic beliefs are constructed through epistemic positioning, modality, metaphor, and narrative sequencing. Three recurring domains were identified: beliefs about language (e.g., language as structured system, cultural world, or representation of cognition), beliefs about learners (e.g., inherent dispositions, self-regulatory tendencies, and heterogeneity), and beliefs about learning processes (e.g., experiential, cumulative, pattern-driven, and condition-dependent development). These beliefs function as interpretive resources that organize experience, stabilize explanations of progress and difficulty, and shape perceived agency across multilingual trajectories. Situated within a Complex and Dynamic Systems Theory framework, metalinguistic beliefs are understood as emergent and temporarily stabilizing components of multilingual meaning-making. This perspective refines their conceptualization and highlights the value of multilingual narratives for examining how such belief systems develop and operate.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1756463</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1756463</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Lexical vs. structural cue use in L2 prediction: filler-gap parsing ability shapes learners' information use]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-04T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Chie Nakamura</author><author>Suzanne Flynn</author><author>Yoichi Miyamoto</author><author>Noriaki Yusa</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This study examines whether second language (L2) sentence processing is governed by the same underlying mechanisms as native language processing or whether it relies on qualitatively distinct mechanisms. Using the visual-world paradigm and permutation analyses, we compared native English speakers and Japanese second language (L2) learners of English in processing globally ambiguous filler-gap dependencies (e.g., Where did Lizzie tell someone that she was going to catch butterflies?). By distinguishing L2 learners based on their comprehension accuracy for unambiguous filler-gap sentences, we identified systematic variation in the mechanisms guiding predictive processing. High-accuracy learners exhibited anticipatory eye-movement patterns comparable to those of native speakers, consistent with the use of structurally guided predictive dependency formation. In contrast, low-accuracy learners also showed predictive behavior, but this prediction was driven primarily by lexical or surface-level regularities rather than structural information. Importantly, neither the structure-based prediction observed in the high-accuracy group nor the lexical cue-based predictive observed in the low-accuracy group can be attributed to direct transfer from Japanese. Together, these results support a gradient view of L2 sentence processing in which qualitatively different predictive mechanisms coexist and may shift as a function of learners' structural computation ability, rather than a simple contrast between non-predictive and native-like processing.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1763160</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/flang.2026.1763160</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Auditory-perceptual acuity impacts prosodic boundary prediction in a gating task]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-03-02T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Andrea Hofmann</author><author>Outi Tuomainen</author><author>Sandra Hanne</author><author>João Veríssimo</author><author>Isabell Wartenburger</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Processing of prosodic phrasing requires listeners to integrate acoustic cues that unfold incrementally during speech comprehension, yet substantial individual differences exist in how listeners use unfolding prosodic information. This study investigated whether individual differences in auditory-perceptual discrimination abilities for prosodic boundary cues are related to processing of prosodic phrasing, and, more specifically, the ability to use the incremental bottom-up prosodic information for making top-down predictions about the syntactic structure of an unfolding utterance. Sixty German-speaking adults completed adaptive staircase procedures measuring Just-Noticeable-Difference thresholds for auditory-perceptual acuity in pitch, pause, and final lengthening discrimination. In addition, they performed a gating task that provided snippets of coordinate three-name sequences with or without an internal prosodic boundary in a randomized order. Performance in the gating task was analyzed using Bayesian multilevel Signal Detection Theory models to separate discriminability from response bias. Participants with higher auditory-perceptual acuity demonstrated better prediction of the upcoming structure across all gates. When all three auditory-perceptual acuity measures were modeled simultaneously, each individual effect attenuated substantially, indicating shared, rather than independent, predictive variance. These findings suggest that top-down prediction during speech comprehension is related to overall auditory-perceptual acuity rather than independent boundary-cue-specific sensitivities.]]></description>
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