Research Grant to Prof. Aya Meltzer-Asscher
From ISF-DGF
Honoring Prof. Aya Meltzer-Asscher for receiving a joint ISF-DGF research grant
in collaboration with Dr. Titus von der Malsburg (Stuttgart University):
Grammar or Working Memory? Incremental Processing of Resumptive Pronouns in Hebrew, Standard German, and Alemannic German
The project examines the role of grammar and working memory limitations in understanding sentences with dependencies such as “I met the doctor that the director said that the interns disappointed _ last week.” Specifically, we focus on the processing of resumptive pronouns (“… that the director said that the interns disappointed him last week”). These pronouns are often claimed to reduce the cognitive load involved in processing such dependencies, but existing findings are contradictory. We test the hypothesis that these contradictions stem from comparing languages with different properties — those that grammatically allow resumptive pronouns (Hebrew) and those that do not (German). In this project, we will conduct a series of parallel experiments in the different languages, using comprehension questions and eye-tracking, to determine whether these elements truly facilitate processing across languages.
Congratulations!
