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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language

Published on: October 13, 2018

Event Segmentation in Language and Cognition.

Sarah Hye-Yeon Lee¹, Ercenur Ünal^2,3, Anna Papafragou¹

¹Department of Linguistics, University of Pennsylvania.

Cognitive Science

|July 9, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Language influences how we linguistically segment events, but not our basic cognitive event segmentation. This study compares English and Turkish speakers, finding distinct linguistic event units but similar non-linguistic event processing.

Keywords:

Conceptualization Event Event segmentation Lexicalization bias Motion

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Linguistics
Cross-linguistic Studies

Background:

Human cognition involves segmenting dynamic stimuli into discrete event units.
Most event segmentation research relies on English speakers, potentially limiting generalizability.
Cross-linguistic variations in event encoding may influence cognitive event unit formation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if cross-linguistic differences affect event segmentation and representation.
To compare how English and Turkish speakers form cognitive event units for motion events.
To determine the relationship between linguistic and conceptual event units.

Main Methods:

Experiment 1: Compared linguistic event unit formation in English and Turkish speakers describing motion events.
Experiment 2: Utilized a classic event segmentation task to assess non-linguistic event unit formation.
Experiment 3: Employed an event enumeration task to further evaluate non-linguistic event representation.

Main Results:

Significant differences were observed in how English and Turkish speakers form linguistic event units.
Non-linguistic event unit formation remained unaffected by language differences in both event segmentation and enumeration tasks.
Conceptual and linguistic event units represent related yet distinct levels of event structure.

Conclusions:

Language impacts the linguistic encoding of events but not fundamental cognitive event segmentation.
The findings suggest a dissociation between linguistic event units and conceptual event units.
Results inform theories of event cognition and the language-thought relationship.