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Attention and Vision in Language Processing pp 185–195Cite as

Adjusting the Manner of Language Processing to the Social Context: Attention Allocation During Interactions with Non-native Speakers

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Abstract

Language processing takes place in a social context. Accordingly, it adjusts itself to the social situation. Using the case of interactions with non-native speakers, this chapter illustrates how the identity of our interlocutor influences which cues we attend to during language processing, and when and how these cues are utilised. It further demonstrates how an adjustment in allocation of attention can have cascading linguistic and social consequences. At the same time, the studies described in this chapter show that the flexibility of the language processing mechanisms is constrained by listeners’ cognitive resources and by the rate at which shifting in processing manner is required. Together, this chapter demonstrates the importance of studying cognitive processes in different social contexts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nijmegen, Netherlands

    Shiri Lev-Ari

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  1. Shiri Lev-Ari
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Correspondence to Shiri Lev-Ari .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Neural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

    Ramesh Kumar Mishra

  2. Centre of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, University of Allahabad, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Narayanan Srinivasan

  3. Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Falk Huettig

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Lev-Ari, S. (2015). Adjusting the Manner of Language Processing to the Social Context: Attention Allocation During Interactions with Non-native Speakers. In: Mishra, R., Srinivasan, N., Huettig, F. (eds) Attention and Vision in Language Processing. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2443-3_11

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