Past Event

Please join us on Thursday, November 5th from 11:45 to 12:45, Dunton 2203, for the fourth talk in our 2009-2010 Cognitive Science Colloquium series. You are welcome to bring your lunch.

Speaker: Dr. Jeff Muehlbauer, University of Lethbridge

Title: Cross-validating ERP Results: N400 and the Grammar of Plains Cree

Abstract: In this paper, I examine two Dutch ERP studies on N400 effects (Nieuwland and Van Berkum. 2006, Van Berkum et al. 2008), comparing their findings to the grammatical system of Plains Cree (Algonquian, Western Canada). I show that the results of these ERP studies are independently attested in the overt grammar of this language. That is, we can know these results are valid for Plains Cree without ever having conducted an ERP study on speakers of the language. I then consider the theoretical and methodological implications of these findings, concluding that the parallels between Plains Cree and Dutch ERP studies necessitate a re-evaluation of the relation between processing data and formal linguistic work.