Ongoing projects
The BIMO Project: The degree of language coactivation in bimodal bilinguals
We investigate the extent and quality of language co-activation in bimodal bilinguals, i.e individuals who are Native-like competent in a sign language and a spoken language, that they can occasionally use simultaneously (code blending).
Binational project
French team (French/LSF bilinguals) : Angélique Jaber (LLF), Carlo Geraci (IJN).
Italian team (Italian/LIS bilinguals): Chiara Branchini (University Ca' Foscari, Venice), Beatrice Giustolisi (Università di Milano Bicocca)
The BILI Project: The degree of language coactivation in bilinguals
We investigate the extent and quality of language co-activation in bilinguals, exploiting the ecological setting of subtitled videos
Binational project
French team (on French/x bilinguals) : Dilara Balabna, Yimin Zu, Jovana Radisalevic, Sungwoo Kwon
Italian team (on Italian/x bilinguals): Beatrice Giustolisi (Università di Milano Bicocca)
Paris-based group working on the syntax, typology, processing, acquisition of relative clauses and complex NPs.
Radically reduced clauses and Minigrammar
with Carlo Cecchetto, (SFL/Bicocca).
We investigate participial clauses in Italian which are radically reduced and cannot be analyzed as elliptical fragments, but rather present an illocutionary force. We aim at qualify these special radically reduced structures as fossile remnants in Adult language of an Optional Participial phase Italian children go through in acquisition.
In collaboration with
Mauro Viganò (SFL)
Maël Cheval (Université d'Orléans)
Elena Ferrato (U. of Bolzano)
Effects of delay of language exposure on syntactic competences
This is the output of the Sign Hub European project that finished in April 2020.
We have investigated the impact of late exposure on the linguistic competence of European Deaf signers from France, Italy, Spain and Cataluña, Israel.
In collaboration with
France: Charlotte Hauser, Valentina Aristodemo, Doriane Gras
Italy: Carlo Cecchetto, Beatrice Giustolisi
Spain/Catalunya: Giorgia Zorzi, Josep Quer
Israel: Naama Friedmann.
We investigated
the comprehension of wh-questions in LIS, and in LSF
the comprehension of agreement in LIS, LSC and LSF
lexical comprehension in LIS, LSC, LSF.
We created a number of assessment tests, and issued some recommendations on language policies for Deaf children.
More work to come....
Structural biases in Natural Language processing
In collaboration with Carlo Cecchetto (SFL/Bicocca), Francesca Foppolo (Bicocca), Ingrid Konrad (Tours), Adrian Staub (UMass).
Using various techniques (eye tracking, self paced reading, acceptability rates), we aim at investigating the role of purely structural biases in the processing of complex structures.
Some results:
Y-justLang, COST action
Justice to youth language needs: human rights undermined by an invisible disadvantage
P.I. Maria Arche (U. Greenwich)
This Action addresses the lack of consistent policies to establish the language abilities that children and adolescents need to possess in order to participate in justice proceedings effectively. The journey through criminal justice is based on highly verbal processes that require a level of verbal ability that is unlikely among young offenders for several reasons: firstly, research in the English-speaking countries (severely limited in other European countries) shows that the prevalence of language impairment is up to six times higher in the population of youth offenders; if undiagnosed and untreated, it increases the risk of re-offending. Furthermore, linguistics research demonstrates that some syntactic abilities are still under development during (pre)puberty, and that the abilities to connect language to context may be underdeveloped even after the age of 18. In addition, comprehension of structurally complex language is low when academic attainment is low, which is the general case for young offenders. However, there are no procedures to establish language ability across populations to date and lack of awareness pervades the justice systems. Even where screening for language difficulties exists, it is not sufficiently nuanced to capture issues with the most common structures found in justice interchanges and no attention is paid to the needs of children from different education backgrounds, with disabilities, who are multilingual, or who are deaf or hearing impaired. To ensure protection of human rights of this vulnerable population, an Action to assess the situation at European transnational level and propose specific measures to identify language needs is urgent.