34.3588, Review: Introduction to Psycholinguistics, 2nd Edition: Traxler (2023)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-34-3588. Tue Nov 28 2023. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 34.3588, Review: Introduction to Psycholinguistics, 2nd Edition: Traxler (2023)

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Date: 29-Nov-2023
From: Ralia Thoma [rallouthoma at gmail.com]
Subject: Psycholinguistics: Traxler (2023)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/34.1983

AUTHOR: Matthew J. Traxler
TITLE: Introduction to Psycholinguistics, 2nd Edition
SUBTITLE: Understanding Language Science
PUBLISHER: Wiley
YEAR: 2023

REVIEWER: Ralia Thoma

SUMMARY

"Introduction to Psycholinguistics, Understanding Language Science" is
the 2nd edition of a groundbreaking and extensive exploration to
provide students with a thorough understanding of the cognitive
processes involved in language acquisition, production, and
comprehension. The book is divided into two parts and 16 chapters. In
the book's first part, which consists of 12 chapters, the reader will
delve into key concepts in language production, comprehension, and
acquisition. The second part, which consists of 4 chapters, is
dedicated to language disorders.
The book begins by introducing language science and its fascinating
characteristics. Thus, in Chapter 1, Traxler examines fundamental
questions such as language's origins, characteristics, and the
relation between language and thought. Although it is difficult to
answer such questions, Traxler gives a more holistic knowledge to his
reader by explaining language's properties such as arbitrariness,
discreteness, displacement, generative and duality of patterning.
Grammar, the fundamental characteristic of languages that
distinguishes them from other communication systems, language origins,
and nonhuman communication systems, is examined through a thorough
analysis of research on communication abilities in apes. In this first
Chapter, the reader also has the opportunity to delve into the
different theories, such as the continuity and discontinuity
hypothesis regarding the current form of modern languages and theories
regarding the relationship between language and thought.
In Chapter 2, Traxler shifts attention to speech production and
comprehension. In his words, "this chapter will explain why analyzing
the physical properties of speech is tricky and review current
theories that explain how listeners overcome obstacles created by
peculiar acoustic properties of speech" (p. 40). In this chapter,
Traxler shows us the magic of speech creation and its understanding.
Word processing is the title of Chapter 3, which focuses on the mental
lexicon. This, along with grammar, constitutes the two significant
components of language. In order to help the reader understand how
words are represented and processed, Traxler starts his analysis by
reviewing some classic approaches to word form representation. He
continues with lexical semantics to underline the difference between a
word’s form and its meaning by analyzing lexical access theories such
as “logogen”, “TRACE”, and “COHORT”. The author examines lexical
ambiguity by addressing the exhaustive and exclusive access
hypothesis. He also presents the concept of meaning dominance to
explain how context affects meaning selection when processing
ambiguous words. The chapter ends with the study of word-brain
relationships.
Chapter 4, devoted to sentence processing, examines how speakers
organize their words before and during speaking and how readers and
listeners use cues to determine the relationships between the words in
sentences. For this, the term syntactic parser or parser is introduced
and explained to the readers through exploring Two-stage Models and
Constraint-stage Models, with versions of the latter being accepted by
many researchers. The chapter also discusses the distinction between
local and long-distance dependencies. It analyzes the
direct-association theory, which claims that words are directly
associated while parsing local and long-distance dependencies.
As the author mentions, Chapter 5 aims to "describe the mental
representations and processes that comprehenders use to create meaning
while listening or reading discourse" (p. 192). For this reason,
Traxler focuses on narrative texts that gain the most attention from
researchers. He reviews the Construction Integration Theory, the
Structure-building Framework and the Event-Indexing Model (EIM), as
they are the "three prominent and complementary accounts of discourse
processing" (p. 233). The role of general world knowledge and causal
inferences is important in discourse processing and is thus discussed.
The chapter ends with a brief overview of the early results of
neurophysiological methods (ERP) regarding the participation of
right-hemisphere structures in discourse comprehension. In contrast,
research reveals that distributed networks of interconnected brain
systems in both hemispheres are essential for the processing and
interpreting of discourse. An answer regarding the division of labour
between the two cerebral hemispheres is yet to come.
The Chapter 6, entitled "References", focuses on the mental processes
that establish reference, which help listeners connect newly
introduced and previously discussed parts of a discourse. Traxler
introduces the reader to the fundamental concepts of referential
processing through a thorough discussion of the characteristics of
both referents and anaphors and their relationship, by reviewing
linguistic theories such as Binding Theory and psycholinguistic
theories such as the memory focus model, the Centering theory, and the
informational load hypothesis.
Indirect requests, idioms, metaphors, irony, and sarcasm are some of
the types of Nonliteral Language, the theme of  Chapter 7 of this
book. Theories of processing and interpretation of nonliteral language
are discussed, whilst emphasis is placed on the Standard Pragmatic
View, which "assumes that computing literal meaning is the core
function in language interpretation” (p. 272). However, as the
Standard Pragmatic View of the interpretation of metaphors is not
universally accepted, Traxler also discusses the strengths and
weaknesses of other hypotheses, emphasizing the class-inclusion
hypothesis that many language scientists accept. The way that idioms
and frozen metaphors are comprehended is also discussed. The chapter
ends with a brief review of researchers' attempts to explain how
"different networks of brain areas respond differently to literal and
nonliteral language" (p. 298) through neurophysiological (ERP) and
neuroimaging (fMRI, PET) experiments.
In  Chapter 8, Traxler explores Dialogue through a review of theories
that try to predict and explain how speakers and listeners work
together to exchange ideas, opinions, and knowledge during
conversation. Philosopher of language H. Paul Grice’s “Gricean
Maxims”, which are the rules of conversation, as well as Herb Clark's
Common Ground theory that seeks to explain "why contributions to
dialogue normally consist of more than just single statements" (p.
314), are discussed in-depth.

In my opinion, Chapters 9-12 could have been consolidated as the 2nd
part of this book, followed by Chapters 13-16 as the 3rd part. In
Chapters 1-8 the author helps the reader understand the fundamentals
of language processing, while in the following chapters, Chapters
9-12, the reader gets a detailed description of how the fundamentals
of language processing take on flesh and blood through the development
of language in infancy and early childhood, cooperate for the
"development of a brain that reads" (Wolf & Gottwald, 2016, p. 4), and
can support bilingualism and sign languages that use the visual
instead of the auditory channels. In Chapter 9, Traxler reviews
research concluding that infants are flexible and intelligent, in
contrast to behavioural approaches that characterize them as tabula
rasa, and they can identify language components and develop language.
The author uses previous research to support the view that children
can learn word meanings and acquire morphological and syntactic
knowledge.
Chapter 10 is dedicated to the highly complex skill of reading (Rayner
et al., 2012), emphasizing eye-movement control during reading and its
higher-order cognitive aspects. In this chapter, Traxler demystifies
the controversial topic of speed-reading by explaining eye-movement
control, reading, and its relationship to the cognitive and motor
systems involved in reading. Oculomotor and cognitive control theories
of reading, such as the serial attention model E-Z reader and the
parallel model SWIFT, are discussed. The dual-route and single-route
models that try to explain "how readers access stored information
about words during reading" (p. 197) are explained in detail, as they
serve as the basis for explaining dyslexia.
Now that the reader has delved into reading processes, the author
focuses on Bilingualism in Chapter 11 and on existing models for
explaining bilinguals' word knowledge representation, such as the Word
Association Model (WAM) and Revised Hierarchical Model (RHM). The
competition between the two languages and the models of language
control in bilingual speakers are discussed. As in almost every
chapter, Traxler presents research from neurophysiological and
neuroimaging approaches that try to understand Bilingualism, and he
also informs the reader about teaching techniques, such as study
abroad and immersion for dealing with "the complex aspects of L2 and
grammar" (p. 447).
Sign languages are within the scope of this book, as they fulfil the
goal of communication just as successfully as spoken languages do by
using the visual instead of the auditory channel. The author first
addresses sign languages' characteristics, such as their parameters:
hand shape (or hand configuration), which is considered to be sign
languages' phonological feature; location, that is, the place in space
where a sign is articulated and movement (or path) that is considered
as both phonological and syntactic features. Another theme discussed
in this chapter is sign language access and acquisition, where we
observe "striking similarities between the way sign and spoken
language are learned" (p. 481). Traxler also emphasises that essential
functions are left-lateralized in both spoken and signed languages.
The chapter ends with interesting information about cochlear implants.
The second part of this book is dedicated to language disorders.
Chapter 13 addresses aphasia, where the author starts
straightforwardly by explaining what happens to language when the
brain is damaged, through a review of localization and the
equipotentiality hypothesis that tries to explain the brain-language
relationship. The WLG  (Wernicke-Lichtheim-Geshwind) model of language
organization in the brain and the criticism that has been accepted are
thoroughly discussed. The good news is that many aphasics may recover
a significant amount of language function after having a stroke or
tumour. The availability of treatments, its start, and the severity of
the trauma should be considered essential; however, further research
is still required.
In Chapter 14, Traxler reviews important research on Developmental
Language Disorder (DLD). This chapter discusses the definition of DLD
and the identification of children with DLD by discussing the
discrepancy criteria approach and the functional impairment approach.
The author tries also to shed light on early indicators and prognosis
of DLD. He provides a detailed overview of the underlying causes of
DLD, such as genetics, brain function, and connectivity, differences
in lateralization of language functions and hypotheses regarding
cognitive representation and processing. However, the author
underlines that further research is needed. This chapter ends with a
brief discussion of treatment options.
Chapter 15 focuses on "Language and Autism". Drawing on various
research, Traxler tries to shed light on how autism is diagnosed and
the language disorders that are observed in autism, including
difficulties in understanding or producing age-appropriate language,
poor response to speech, echolalia, delayed or reduced vocabulary
development, the use of neologisms, comprehension problems, nonliteral
language problems, and pragmatically odd expression. The answer to
what causes autism spectrum disorder is not straightforward. The
author, however, reviews all contemporary research and contributions
by referring to genetics, neural development hypotheses, the left
hemisphere hypothesis, the broken mirror hypothesis, and cognitive
hypotheses such as the theory of mind hypothesis and the weak central
coherence account. Although there is no current treatment for autism,
Traxler makes a vital contribution to the field by reviewing and
organizing all the current treatments for autism, from evidence-based
practices to experimental and ineffective or harmful interventions.
Language dysfunction and schizophrenia is the topic of the 16th and
last chapter of this book, in which Traxler discusses the complex
causation of schizophrenia, both involves both genetic and
environmental factors. Additionally, the author examines general
cognitive deficits likely to contribute to language function, such as
executive control, attention, and working and episodic memory.
Regarding language deficits in schizophrenia, the author presents
well-known hypotheses, such as failure of core language systems,
failure in semantic memory systems, and the dual streams hypothesis,
which is characterized by disorders in language production and
comprehension. Most patients experience hallucinations, which can be
triggered "from perturbations of mental processes that normally
produce inner speech" (p. 631) and delusions that are explained as
thoughts that have bizarre content and may be caused by the
difficulties that patients face in assessing the emotional valence of
stimuli; both are explained at the end of this chapter.

EVALUATION

Matthew Traxler's "Introduction to Psycholinguistics - Understanding
Language Science" (2nd Edition) captures the multidimensional nuances
of psycholinguistics by further refining and augmenting what was
already an excellent work on the subject. Traxler's approach in the
book is profoundly pedagogical, ensuring that students and
professionals can immerse themselves in the material regardless of
their initial grasp of the subject.
The book is methodically structured, starting with the basics and
moving towards more complex ideas. What particularly stands out in the
2nd edition is the updated research and perspectives integrated into
each chapter. The book reflects recent discoveries and paradigm shifts
to give readers a solid foundation in both traditional theories and
the most cutting-edge ideas.
Traxler writes in a manner that is both engaging and educational.
Throughout the book, readers will find a balance between dense
scientific explanations and accessible real-life examples. By doing
so, Traxler humanizes the scientific foundations of psycholinguistics,
making that material relatable and easier to digest. In addition,
Traxler presents opposing viewpoints that are particularly
illuminating as they discuss well-established models and introduce
readers to the prevailing debates and controversies in the field,
fostering a holistic understanding of psycholinguistics.
One of the novel inclusions in this edition is the companion website,
where instructors can find lecture slides, a multiple-choice question
testbank, and their answers.
In sum, "Introduction to Psycholinguistics – Understanding Language
Science" (2nd Edition) is a monumental contribution to the world of
psycholinguistics. Whether you are a student eager to dive into the
intricacies of language science or a professional seeking a
comprehensive refresher, this book promises to be an indispensable
resource.

REFERENCES

Rayner., K., Pollatsek, A., Ashby, J, Clifton, Ch., Jr. (2012).
Psychology of reading. Psychology Press. New York

Wolf, M., and Gottwald, St. (2016). Tales of literacy for the 21st
century. Oxford University Press United Kingdom

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

After earning her PhD in 2021 with an honours thesis entitled "The
Influence of Greeklish in Greek Students' Language Awareness", Ralia
Thoma is currently a primary school teacher at the European School of
Brussels I. She also contributes to research projects that run at the
University of Thessaly, Democritus University, and the University of
the Aegean in Greece. Her primary research interests center around
reading multiple documents, digital reading, reading comprehension,
and special pedagogy, focusing on specific learning difficulties.



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