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Investigating Bilingual Language Learning Using Artificial Grammars, Kyla Kelly Jan 2026

Investigating Bilingual Language Learning Using Artificial Grammars, Kyla Kelly

Honors Theses

Language development research has established that infants can learn language rapidly and without explicit instruction through implicit learning mechanisms like statistical learning. These mechanisms can be used to learn word boundaries, sounds, meanings, and grammar rules of language. One method for investigating this is artificial grammar learning (AGL), in which people are exposed to sequences of nonwords to see if they can unconsciously learn their underlying grammars. While much of statistical learning and AGL research has focused on a monolingual perspective, most of the world’s population is multilingual. Studies like Weiss, Gerfen, and Mitchel (2009) and Mitchel and Weiss (2010) …


The Syntax Of Passives And Related Constructions In Mandarin Chinese, Shangyan Pan Jan 2022

The Syntax Of Passives And Related Constructions In Mandarin Chinese, Shangyan Pan

Honors Theses

This thesis discusses the Mandarin Chinese passive, a construction that differs in significant ways from its better known, European counterparts. While the passive is one of the most well-studied constructions in syntax, the passive in Chinese remains understudied and not as well understood. The thesis offers an analysis of multiple passive markers in Chinese, focusing on bei and gei. Superficially, the two markers both participate in passive and passive-like constructions. However, upon closer scrutiny, it is demonstrated that only bei qualifies as a true passive marker, while gei is shown to belong to a more general category of Non-Active …