Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/34.1983

AUTHOR: Matthew J. Traxler
TITLE: Introduction to Psycholinguistics, 2nd Edition
SUBTITLE: Understanding Language Science
PUBLISHER: Wiley
YEAR: 2023

REVIEWER: Ralia Thoma

SUMMARY

"Introduction to Psycholinguistics, Understanding Language Science" is the 2nd edition of a groundbreaking and extensive exploration to provide students with a thorough understanding of the cognitive processes involved in language acquisition, production, and comprehension. The book is divided into two parts and 16 chapters. In the book's first part, which consists of 12 chapters, the reader will delve into key concepts in language production, comprehension, and acquisition. The second part, which consists of 4 chapters, is dedicated to language disorders.
The book begins by introducing language science and its fascinating characteristics. Thus, in Chapter 1, Traxler examines fundamental questions such as language's origins, characteristics, and the relation between language and thought. Although it is difficult to answer such questions, Traxler gives a more holistic knowledge to his reader by explaining language's properties such as arbitrariness, discreteness, displacement, generative and duality of patterning. Grammar, the fundamental characteristic of languages that distinguishes them from other communication systems, language origins, and nonhuman communication systems, is examined through a thorough analysis of research on communication abilities in apes. In this first Chapter, the reader also has the opportunity to delve into the different theories, such as the continuity and discontinuity hypothesis regarding the current form of modern languages and theories regarding the relationship between language and thought.
In Chapter 2, Traxler shifts attention to speech production and comprehension. In his words, "this chapter will explain why analyzing the physical properties of speech is tricky and review current theories that explain how listeners overcome obstacles created by peculiar acoustic properties of speech" (p. 40). In this chapter, Traxler shows us the magic of speech creation and its understanding.
Word processing is the title of Chapter 3, which focuses on the mental lexicon. This, along with grammar, constitutes the two significant components of language. In order to help the reader understand how words are represented and processed, Traxler starts his analysis by reviewing some classic approaches to word form representation. He continues with lexical semantics to underline the difference between a word’s form and its meaning by analyzing lexical access theories such as “logogen”, “TRACE”, and “COHORT”. The author examines lexical ambiguity by addressing the exhaustive and exclusive access hypothesis. He also presents the concept of meaning dominance to explain how context affects meaning selection when processing ambiguous words. The chapter ends with the study of word-brain relationships.
Chapter 4, devoted to sentence processing, examines how speakers organize their words before and during speaking and how readers and listeners use cues to determine the relationships between the words in sentences. For this, the term syntactic parser or parser is introduced and explained to the readers through exploring Two-stage Models and Constraint-stage Models, with versions of the latter being accepted by many researchers. The chapter also discusses the distinction between local and long-distance dependencies. It analyzes the direct-association theory, which claims that words are directly associated while parsing local and long-distance dependencies.
As the author mentions, Chapter 5 aims to "describe the mental representations and processes that comprehenders use to create meaning while listening or reading discourse" (p. 192). For this reason, Traxler focuses on narrative texts that gain the most attention from researchers. He reviews the Construction Integration Theory, the Structure-building Framework and the Event-Indexing Model (EIM), as they are the "three prominent and complementary accounts of discourse processing" (p. 233). The role of general world knowledge and causal inferences is important in discourse processing and is thus discussed. The chapter ends with a brief overview of the early results of neurophysiological methods (ERP) regarding the participation of right-hemisphere structures in discourse comprehension. In contrast, research reveals that distributed networks of interconnected brain systems in both hemispheres are essential for the processing and interpreting of discourse. An answer regarding the division of labour between the two cerebral hemispheres is yet to come.
The Chapter 6, entitled "References", focuses on the mental processes that establish reference, which help listeners connect newly introduced and previously discussed parts of a discourse. Traxler introduces the reader to the fundamental concepts of referential processing through a thorough discussion of the characteristics of both referents and anaphors and their relationship, by reviewing linguistic theories such as Binding Theory and psycholinguistic theories such as the memory focus model, the Centering theory, and the informational load hypothesis.
Indirect requests, idioms, metaphors, irony, and sarcasm are some of the types of Nonliteral Language, the theme of Chapter 7 of this book. Theories of processing and interpretation of nonliteral language are discussed, whilst emphasis is placed on the Standard Pragmatic View, which "assumes that computing literal meaning is the core function in language interpretation” (p. 272). However, as the Standard Pragmatic View of the interpretation of metaphors is not universally accepted, Traxler also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of other hypotheses, emphasizing the class-inclusion hypothesis that many language scientists accept. The way that idioms and frozen metaphors are comprehended is also discussed. The chapter ends with a brief review of researchers' attempts to explain how "different networks of brain areas respond differently to literal and nonliteral language" (p. 298) through neurophysiological (ERP) and neuroimaging (fMRI, PET) experiments.
In Chapter 8, Traxler explores Dialogue through a review of theories that try to predict and explain how speakers and listeners work together to exchange ideas, opinions, and knowledge during conversation. Philosopher of language H. Paul Grice’s “Gricean Maxims”, which are the rules of conversation, as well as Herb Clark's Common Ground theory that seeks to explain "why contributions to dialogue normally consist of more than just single statements" (p. 314), are discussed in-depth.

In my opinion, Chapters 9-12 could have been consolidated as the 2nd part of this book, followed by Chapters 13-16 as the 3rd part. In Chapters 1-8 the author helps the reader understand the fundamentals of language processing, while in the following chapters, Chapters 9-12, the reader gets a detailed description of how the fundamentals of language processing take on flesh and blood through the development of language in infancy and early childhood, cooperate for the "development of a brain that reads" (Wolf & Gottwald, 2016, p. 4), and can support bilingualism and sign languages that use the visual instead of the auditory channels. In Chapter 9, Traxler reviews research concluding that infants are flexible and intelligent, in contrast to behavioural approaches that characterize them as tabula rasa, and they can identify language components and develop language. The author uses previous research to support the view that children can learn word meanings and acquire morphological and syntactic knowledge.
Chapter 10 is dedicated to the highly complex skill of reading (Rayner et al., 2012), emphasizing eye-movement control during reading and its higher-order cognitive aspects. In this chapter, Traxler demystifies the controversial topic of speed-reading by explaining eye-movement control, reading, and its relationship to the cognitive and motor systems involved in reading. Oculomotor and cognitive control theories of reading, such as the serial attention model E-Z reader and the parallel model SWIFT, are discussed. The dual-route and single-route models that try to explain "how readers access stored information about words during reading" (p. 197) are explained in detail, as they serve as the basis for explaining dyslexia.
Now that the reader has delved into reading processes, the author focuses on Bilingualism in Chapter 11 and on existing models for explaining bilinguals' word knowledge representation, such as the Word Association Model (WAM) and Revised Hierarchical Model (RHM). The competition between the two languages and the models of language control in bilingual speakers are discussed. As in almost every chapter, Traxler presents research from neurophysiological and neuroimaging approaches that try to understand Bilingualism, and he also informs the reader about teaching techniques, such as study abroad and immersion for dealing with "the complex aspects of L2 and grammar" (p. 447).
Sign languages are within the scope of this book, as they fulfil the goal of communication just as successfully as spoken languages do by using the visual instead of the auditory channel. The author first addresses sign languages' characteristics, such as their parameters: hand shape (or hand configuration), which is considered to be sign languages' phonological feature; location, that is, the place in space where a sign is articulated and movement (or path) that is considered as both phonological and syntactic features. Another theme discussed in this chapter is sign language access and acquisition, where we observe "striking similarities between the way sign and spoken language are learned" (p. 481). Traxler also emphasises that essential functions are left-lateralized in both spoken and signed languages. The chapter ends with interesting information about cochlear implants.
The second part of this book is dedicated to language disorders. Chapter 13 addresses aphasia, where the author starts straightforwardly by explaining what happens to language when the brain is damaged, through a review of localization and the equipotentiality hypothesis that tries to explain the brain-language relationship. The WLG (Wernicke-Lichtheim-Geshwind) model of language organization in the brain and the criticism that has been accepted are thoroughly discussed. The good news is that many aphasics may recover a significant amount of language function after having a stroke or tumour. The availability of treatments, its start, and the severity of the trauma should be considered essential; however, further research is still required.
In Chapter 14, Traxler reviews important research on Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). This chapter discusses the definition of DLD and the identification of children with DLD by discussing the discrepancy criteria approach and the functional impairment approach. The author tries also to shed light on early indicators and prognosis of DLD. He provides a detailed overview of the underlying causes of DLD, such as genetics, brain function, and connectivity, differences in lateralization of language functions and hypotheses regarding cognitive representation and processing. However, the author underlines that further research is needed. This chapter ends with a brief discussion of treatment options.
Chapter 15 focuses on "Language and Autism". Drawing on various research, Traxler tries to shed light on how autism is diagnosed and the language disorders that are observed in autism, including difficulties in understanding or producing age-appropriate language, poor response to speech, echolalia, delayed or reduced vocabulary development, the use of neologisms, comprehension problems, nonliteral language problems, and pragmatically odd expression. The answer to what causes autism spectrum disorder is not straightforward. The author, however, reviews all contemporary research and contributions by referring to genetics, neural development hypotheses, the left hemisphere hypothesis, the broken mirror hypothesis, and cognitive hypotheses such as the theory of mind hypothesis and the weak central coherence account. Although there is no current treatment for autism, Traxler makes a vital contribution to the field by reviewing and organizing all the current treatments for autism, from evidence-based practices to experimental and ineffective or harmful interventions.
Language dysfunction and schizophrenia is the topic of the 16th and last chapter of this book, in which Traxler discusses the complex causation of schizophrenia, both involves both genetic and environmental factors. Additionally, the author examines general cognitive deficits likely to contribute to language function, such as executive control, attention, and working and episodic memory. Regarding language deficits in schizophrenia, the author presents well-known hypotheses, such as failure of core language systems, failure in semantic memory systems, and the dual streams hypothesis, which is characterized by disorders in language production and comprehension. Most patients experience hallucinations, which can be triggered "from perturbations of mental processes that normally produce inner speech" (p. 631) and delusions that are explained as thoughts that have bizarre content and may be caused by the difficulties that patients face in assessing the emotional valence of stimuli; both are explained at the end of this chapter.

EVALUATION

Matthew Traxler's "Introduction to Psycholinguistics - Understanding Language Science" (2nd Edition) captures the multidimensional nuances of psycholinguistics by further refining and augmenting what was already an excellent work on the subject. Traxler's approach in the book is profoundly pedagogical, ensuring that students and professionals can immerse themselves in the material regardless of their initial grasp of the subject.
The book is methodically structured, starting with the basics and moving towards more complex ideas. What particularly stands out in the 2nd edition is the updated research and perspectives integrated into each chapter. The book reflects recent discoveries and paradigm shifts to give readers a solid foundation in both traditional theories and the most cutting-edge ideas.
Traxler writes in a manner that is both engaging and educational. Throughout the book, readers will find a balance between dense scientific explanations and accessible real-life examples. By doing so, Traxler humanizes the scientific foundations of psycholinguistics, making that material relatable and easier to digest. In addition, Traxler presents opposing viewpoints that are particularly illuminating as they discuss well-established models and introduce readers to the prevailing debates and controversies in the field, fostering a holistic understanding of psycholinguistics.
One of the novel inclusions in this edition is the companion website, where instructors can find lecture slides, a multiple-choice question testbank, and their answers.
In sum, "Introduction to Psycholinguistics – Understanding Language Science" (2nd Edition) is a monumental contribution to the world of psycholinguistics. Whether you are a student eager to dive into the intricacies of language science or a professional seeking a comprehensive refresher, this book promises to be an indispensable resource.

REFERENCES

Rayner., K., Pollatsek, A., Ashby, J, Clifton, Ch., Jr. (2012). Psychology of reading. Psychology Press. New York

Wolf, M., and Gottwald, St. (2016). Tales of literacy for the 21st century. Oxford University Press United Kingdom

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

After earning her PhD in 2021 with an honours thesis entitled "The Influence of Greeklish in Greek Students' Language Awareness", Ralia Thoma is currently a primary school teacher at the European School of Brussels I. She also contributes to research projects that run at the University of Thessaly, Democritus University, and the University of the Aegean in Greece. Her primary research interests center around reading multiple documents, digital reading, reading comprehension, and special pedagogy, focusing on specific learning difficulties.