Vowel deletion is frequent in the Chichicastenango dialect of K’iche’ (Maya). Whereas deletion in content words is reportedly predictable based on vowel quality, syllable structure and stress, deletion in function words is much more variable. This article investigates vowel deletion in a corpus of spontaneous, monologic speech. The results show that deletion in content words is highly regular, occurring to lax vowels in unstressed, CV syllables adjacent to the stressed syllable. A difference can be observed between vowels belonging to stress domain internal morphemes and extrametrical morphemes. Deletion in extrametrical morphemes is somewhat less regular, and does not occur in word-final syllables. In function words, vowel deletion is sensitive to similar conditions to those that affect content words, but is highly variable and is influenced by the phrase-level context.

Continuous immersion in a second language causes speakers’ first language to change, a phenomenon known as L1 attrition. We explored (1) whether bilingual native Mandarin speakers display attrition-related changes in their use of referring expressions in Mandarin after exposure to English and (2) whether the severity of attrition is affected by the amount of exposure to both Mandarin (L1) and English (L2) and English proficiency. All participants completed a questionnaire to assess their language experience and a picture description task in spoken Mandarin. The results show that where more monolingual Mandarin speakers preferred null pronouns, bilingual speakers tended to use overt pronouns, suggesting attrition-related changes in their native language which favoured explicitness. Our study also shows that decreased use of L1 coupled with increased use of L2 and higher L2 proficiency are likely to result in a greater degree of attrition, although such an association is statistically unreliable in some models.

In this research agenda, we first review the thematic landscape of task engagement research, providing definitions and elaborating on the core theoretical infrastructure for task engagement. We then summarize consensus perspectives from this body of work and identify important contributions that task engagement research stands to make to second language (L2) learning and teaching research. Following this, we outline five key research tasks that we believe will broaden the field’s understanding of task engagement, sharpen insights from empirical work, and accelerate the contribution of this research. Our goals are, first, to highlight for readers the shared understandings that exist in this important area of language learning research and, second, to draw attention to specific areas where additional L2 task engagement research is needed to push the field forward productively.

The volumes of historical data locked behind unstructured formats have long been a challenge for researchers in the computational humanities. While optical character recognition (OCR) and natural language processing have enabled large-scale text mining projects, the irregular formatting, inconsistent terminology and evolving printing practices complicate automated parsing and information extraction efforts for historical documents. This study explores the potential of large language models (LLMs) in processing and structuring irregular and non-standardized historical materials, using the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Inventory books (1898–2008) as a test case. Given the frequent evolution of these historical records, we implemented a pipeline combining OCR, custom segmentation rules and LLMs to extract structured data from the scanned texts. It provides an example of how incorporating LLMs into data-processing pipelines can enhance the accessibility and usability of historical and archival materials for scholars.

The present study compares the use of morphological case for argument interpretation between German L1 speakers in Norway and Germany to investigate whether and how processing may be affected by attrition. Participants were presented with a spoken sentence and pictures of two scenes, one showing an event as described by a transitive or ditransitive sentence and another showing the same event, with the roles of agent and patient (transitives) or recipient and theme (ditransitives) reversed. Their task was to select the scene that matched the sentence. End-of-sentence responses show no between-group differences in comprehension. Moreover, eye movements show that both groups exploit case marking on the first noun phrase in transitive sentences in the same way. However, differences in processing between groups emerge for the use of case marking on the first object following a ditransitive verb. While the home country group shows a higher likelihood of looks to the target after a dative-marked article than after an accusative-marked article prior to the second object, the reverse holds for the expat group, at least temporarily. Altogether, the results indicate subtle changes in the processing of alternating argument orders in ditransitive sentences in L1 German, potentially as a result of the bi-/multilingual experience.

This study developed and evaluated an online English speaking training approach that integrates corpora and artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The training integrated a self-developed spoken corpus, generative AI tools, and text-to-speech AI tools. Pre- and post-test results identified improvements in participants’ speaking performances. Participants attempted to use more positive linguistic features (e.g. producing complex sentences more frequently) and avoid using negative linguistic features (e.g. reducing the number of vowel errors) after receiving the training. Participants showed positive attitudes towards this corpus-based and AI-integrated English oral ability learning approach and affirmed the importance of integrating both tools. The corpus helped raise participants’ awareness of features that influence speaking performance and offered prompt engineering and feedback-checking functions, while the generative AI tools provided useful feedback and tailor-made sample responses. Additionally, text-to-speech AI tools offered learners with tailor-made native speaker samples for imitation and helped learners learn pausing. Results also revealed that this approach helped create an interactive oral ability learning environment, and the combination of corpora and AI tools provided more accurate feedback for each subskill of speaking.

This study investigates whether metaphors and similes are processed the same way or not. Comparison accounts of metaphor claim that metaphors and similes use the same cognitive mechanisms because metaphors are implicit similes, while Categorization accounts claim that the two figures of speech require different cognitive mechanisms. It is unclear which position has the most support. We address this by introducing the distinction between single and extended metaphors to this debate. Several experiments have shown that a metaphor preceded by another metaphor is read faster than a single metaphor. If similes in extended and non-extended contexts display a similar processing difference, this would support views saying that metaphors and similes are processed the same way. If not, it would be more in line with the view that they are processed differently. Using an eye-tracking reading paradigm, we find that the difference between processing single and extended metaphors does not hold in the case of simile comprehension. This is more compatible with Categorization accounts than with Comparison accounts; if the cognitive mechanism behind metaphor and simile processing is the same, we would expect there to be a comparable processing difference between metaphors and similes in the single and extended conditions.

This study investigates the English of-NP (noun phrase) evaluation construction (e.g., It’s nice of you to help me plan this wedding), hypothesizing that its constructional meaning encodes socially mediated evaluation and imposes semantic constraints on the NP slot. We adopt a dual methodological approach, combining collostructional analysis to identify lexeme–construction associations with surprisal analysis using a large language model (LLM) (GPT-2) to assess predictive processing difficulty. The two methods complement each other, capturing both static distributional patterns and dynamic expectancy profiles. Three experimental manipulations were implemented: preposition alternation, variation in NP agentivity and variation in NP intentionality. Results show that NPs conforming to the hypothesized slot constraints yield lower surprisal values, whereas constraint-violating NPs trigger higher surprisal, aligning with the observed collostructional strengths. These findings provide empirical support for the view that constructional compatibility shapes predictive processing and contributes to integrating Construction Grammar (CxG) with prediction-based models of language processing.

This study investigated the impact of familiar versus unfamiliar environments on mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) task writing performance, English as a foreign language (EFL) writing proficiency, and learner perceptions. Fifty undergraduate students were divided into an experimental group and a control group. Both groups engaged in EFL learning in the classroom and later completed writing tasks in different learning environments outside the classroom: the experimental group in familiar environments and the control group in unfamiliar ones. Using a mobile learning system on tablet PCs, students completed five writing tasks describing resources in their environments, such as objects, people, situations, and scenarios. We assessed MALL task writing performance based on factors including the amount of writing, content quality, organization, creativity, grammar, and vocabulary, and compared results between the two groups. EFL writing proficiency was evaluated through a post-test directly related to the MALL tasks, and student perceptions of the MALL experience were measured through a survey. The results indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group in both writing tasks and the post-test. Furthermore, the experimental group reported more positive perceptions of their MALL experience, reflected in higher emotional engagement and cognitive involvement. Based on these findings, we offer both theoretical insights into the role of familiar environments in facilitating language learning and practical suggestions for EFL teachers and researchers to incorporate real-world, contextually rich environments in MALL activities.

Anaphora, as an important linguistic phenomenon, represents a cohesive relationship concerning two parts, namely antecedent and anaphor. The choice of anaphoric forms is understudied in previous research. In this study, an annotation framework is built and a machine learning method is employed to analyse the influence of motivators on the choice of anaphoric forms. In addition, the framework of accessibility theory is modified, with causals as the study object. Results indicate that competition-, salience- and distance-related motivators, as well as text type, can significantly influence the variation of anaphoric forms. Among those motivators, predictability emerges as the most significant variable. Under the influence of these motivators, zero pronouns, noun phrases and pronouns exhibit significant differences in distribution. Pronouns have a broader distribution range and fewer restrictions compared to zero pronouns and noun phrases. Based on the results, we also modify the accessibility theory in terms of competition and salience.

We examined how language affects moral judgments in a non-WEIRD population. Tanzanian participants (N = 103) evaluated utilitarian agents in moral dilemmas, either in native Chagga or foreign Swahili. Agents were rated significantly more moral and braver when evaluated in a foreign language. Bravery predicted morality more strongly in the foreign language than in the native language. Indirect sacrifices were judged more moral than direct ones, but equally brave. These findings extend the moral foreign language effect to informally acquired languages and highlight methodological implications for cross-cultural research.