The subject advantage in LIS internally headed relative clauses: an eye-tracking study

• Elena Fornasiero ^[1] ; Charlotte Hauser ^[2] ; Chiara Branchini ^[1]
  1. [1] Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Venezia, Italy
  2. [2] University Paris 8, Paris, France
• Localización: Bilingualism: Language and cognition, ISSN 1366-7289, Vol. 28, Nº 2, 2025, págs. 343-356
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The scarce literature on the processing of internally headed relative clauses (IHRCs) seems to challenge the universality of the subject advantage (e.g., Lau & Tanaka [2021, Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics, 6(1), 34], for spoken languages; Hauser et al. [2021, Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics, 6(1), 72], for sign languages). In this study, we investigate the comprehension of subject and object IHRCs in Italian Sign Language (LIS) deaf native and non-native signers, and hearing LIS/Italian CODAs (children of deaf adults). We use the eye-tracking Visual-only World Paradigm (Hauser & Pozniak [2019, Poster presented at the AMLAP 2019 conference]) recording online and offline responses. Results show that a subject advantage is detected in the online and offline responses of CODAs and in the offline responses of deaf native signers. Results also reveal a higher rate of accuracy in CODAs' responses. We discuss the difference in performance between the two populations in the light of bilingualism-related cognitive advantages, and lack of proper educational training in Italian and LIS for the deaf population in Italy.