The brain has been considered an information-processing system that perceives and transforms information (Greenwood, 2015; Wickens, 2021). By learning the statistical regularities of incoming information, the brain gradually develops a predictive mechanism to help individuals navigate more effectively in the real world (Rao et al., 1999). Evidence of prediction can also be observed in the field of language processing (Ryskin it was absent or even reversed when they were different. These findings suggest that prediction facilitates subsequent within-language production but hinders cross-language production. The findings of Study 2, which indicated no prediction effect in cross-language contexts, raised the question of whether (and under which conditions) processing a classifier triggers prediction for the following input. To address this question, Study 3 conducted two visual world eye-tracking experiments, one examining a within-language context and the other a cross-language context. During the experiments, participants heard a classifier–noun phrase (e.g., a drop of water) and clicked on one picture corresponding to the noun from a set of three displayed on the screen. Across trials, the noun could be congruent (e.g., a drop of water) or incongruent (e.g., a drop of books) with the classifier. With this experimental setting, Study 3 additionally investigated how prediction was processed when it was not confirmed by the following input (i.e., when a classifier–noun phrase ended with a semantically incongruent noun). Regarding the three pictures shown on the screen, one, two, or none of the pictures could be congruent with the classifier. While Experiment 1 used the same language (participants’ L1, Chinese) for the classifier and noun, Experiment 2 used different languages (Chinese for the classifier and participants’ L2, English, for the noun). Results showed that participants looked more at congruent pictures than at incongruent pictures while and after hearing a classifier. Additionally, congruent non-target pictures attracted more attention in the within-language (Experiment 1) than in the cross-language (Experiment 2) condition. These findings suggest that processing a classifier triggers prediction for the following input. In addition, inhibition of a recently activated (i.e., congruent) target picture is more pronounced in cross-language situations (i.e., L2 comprehension following L1) than in within-language situations (i.e., L1 comprehension following L1). Together, these findings suggest that prediction influences language control during language switching. In addition, prediction differs between within-language and cross-language situations during language production and comprehension. These findings highlight the important role of prediction in language processing across diverse contexts.
Jing Tong (Wed,) studied this question.