Reading key for the datasets "Are universal linguistic hierarchies innately wired?"

Evelina Leivada, UiT The Arctic University of Norway

This document provides a brief description of the two datasets related to two different experiments presented in the above work 'Are universal linguistic hierarchies innately wired'. Each dataset (one for monolinguals, one for bidialetals) corresponds to one experiment (experiment 1 and experiment 2 respectively) and is presented separately below.


Experiment 1: Its raw data are available in the file 'raw data for monolinguals_Are univesal linguistic hiearchies innately wired'


Demographic information:

1. Country1: Identifies country/city of birth.
2. Country2: Identifies country/city of residence.
3. Handendness, age, education, and gender information are also given in columns that bear these labels. 

Test items:
1. Column A: This column identifies participant ID. 
2. Column B: This column identifies type of response. In this experiment, type of response corresponds to acceptability judgments on a 3-point Likert scale. 
3. Column C: This column identifies numbers in a range from 81-134. These numbers represent test stimuli and fillers in the order they appear in the file "Test items for monolinguals_Are universal linguistic hierarchies innately wired". Example: 81 corresponds to 1, 82 to 2, etc. 
4. Column D: This column presents the actual responses to test stimuli on the 3-point Likert scale. The three available options are "Correct, neither correct nor wrong, wrong". One answer is available per test item.
5. Column E: This column involves 4 digit numbers right next to each response (= the responses given in column D). These numbers are reaction times given in milliseconds.

Design features:

• One verb per condition: get, see, and buy in 1SG past tense, all two syllables long
• All objects are full DPs-Spelke objects (3 syllables), no repetitions
• All Adjective Phrases appear in direct object position (a combination of two adjectives, 6 syllables in total), no repetitions
• 6 items per condition x 3 conditions (i. size > nationality/origin, ii. shape > color, iii. subjective comment > material). Each condition features two orders (size before/after nationality, shape before/after color, subjective comment before/after material)
• Ratio fillers – test structures 2:1
• Ratio acceptable stimuli – unacceptable stimuli 1:1
• Lemma frequency >1 for all content words in all test structures
• Test items and fillers are matched for length 



Experiment 2: Its raw data are available in the file 'raw data for bidialectals_Are univesal linguistic hiearchies innately wired'. In this experiment, the tested population was bidialectal, hence tested in two varieties. Two sets of test items were used, one per variety. The first one is the one presented above, given in the file "Test items for monolinguals_Are universal linguistic hierarchies innately wired". The second set is given in the file 'test items for bidialectals_Are universal linguistic hierarchies innately wired' and its features are described below.


Demographic information:

1. Country1: Identifies country/city of birth.
2. Country2: Identifies country/city of residence.
3. Handendness, age, education, and gender information are also given in columns that bear these labels. 

Test items:
1. Column A: This column identifies participant ID. 
2. Column B: This column identifies type of response. In this experiment, type of response corresponds to acceptability judgments on a 3-point Likert scale. 
3. Column C: This column identifies numbers in a range from 84-137 and from 222-275. The first range represents the test stimuli and fillers in the order they appear in the file "Test items for monolinguals_Are universal linguistic hierarchies innately wired". Example: 84 corresponds to 1, 85 to 2, etc. These are the same test items used in a different population for experiment 1, which was presented above. The second range represents the test stimuli and fillers in the order they appear in the file "Test items for bidialectals_Are universal linguistic hierarchies innately wired". Example: 222 corresponds to 1, 223 to 2, etc.
4. Column D: This column presents the actual responses to test stimuli on the 3-point Likert scale. The three available options are "Correct, neither correct nor wrong, wrong". One answer is available per test item.
5. Column E: This column involves 4 digit numbers right next to each response (= the responses given in column D). These numbers are reaction times given in milliseconds.

Design features for the second range of responses:

• One verb per condition: get, see, and find in 1SG past tense, all two syllables long
• All objects are full DPs-Spelke objects (3 syllables), no repetitions
• All Adjective Phrases appear in direct object position (a combination of two adjectives, 6 syllables in total), no repetitions
• 6 items per condition x 3 conditions (i. size > nationality/origin, ii. shape > color, iii. subjective comment > material). Each condition features two orders (size before/after nationality, shape before/after color, subjective comment before/after material)
• Ratio fillers – test structures 2:1
• Ratio acceptable stimuli – unacceptable stimuli 1:1
• Test items and fillers are matched for length